The Most Valuable Oriole vote is winding down, and the finish line comes next week with the announcement set for the final homestand. Ballots allow three choices, scored 5-3-1, and only players currently in the organization are eligible.
If there’s any real suspense at the top, it starts after Pete Alonso.
Alonso has spent the weekend series in Toronto sitting on top of the Orioles’ offense in just about every meaningful category. He entered yesterday leading the club in hits with 147, homers with 34, RBIs with 97, batting average among qualified players at .268, OPS at .861, on-base percentage at .363 and walks with 74, with the latter two marks leading only current Orioles.
Taylor Ward had been first in some categories, but he’s in Seattle. Alonso also led the club in fWAR at 3.9 and bWAR at 4.0, and he began last night leading the American League in RBIs.
That kind of line usually makes MVO feel like a formality, and it would be a stunner if Alonso doesn’t take it. He’s also made his share of mistakes at first base, but his overall defense has been better than advertised and better than the reputation he carried into the year.
He’s not just showing up on MVO ballots, either. His name is going to appear on some 10-player MVP ballots, too.
Behind him, though, the ballot gets messy fast.
Rico Garcia and Blaze Alexander were both pushing toward strong vote totals before their paths changed. Garcia’s bullpen work had been so effective that it set the bar extremely high, though his performance has dipped lately.
Alexander landed on the injured list for a second time and has played in only 93 games, but there’s still a case for him after he moved from a utility-type role into an everyday one and handled six positions. Before the pitch that fractured his left hand, he had been among the Orioles’ best hitters.
The wording of the award matters here. It’s for “outstanding” rather than strictly “valuable,” and that leaves room for interpretation.
Garcia was the arm the Orioles leaned on in rescue mode when they needed outs and saves. Alexander was productive enough to force his way into a much larger role.
Both fit the spirit of the thing.
The pitching group belongs in the conversation, too.
Brandon Young, Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish all have cases. Young is 9-4 with a 3.71 ERA in 25 starts, and the Orioles were 18-5 in his outings before back-to-back losses.
His value showed up in the way the team won when he pitched, and for a stretch he may have been their best starter. Rogers, meanwhile, has settled back into form after a bumpy stretch.
He has a 4.15 ERA in 27 starts, but since the break that number is 3.67. This month he’s given up three runs with no walks and 17 strikeouts in 14 innings, and his 3.6 fWAR ranked second on the team last night.
Shane Baz was third at 3.3 in that same category, though his numbers tell a mixed story. He has 15 losses, but his run support was the worst in the majors before his last start, when the Orioles scored eight times in the third inning.
Before allowing five runs in 5 2/3 innings in that outing, his ERA sat at 3.91. He’s also made a team-high 29 starts and threw the first complete game of his career this season.
Bradish has come back from elbow-reconstructive surgery and posted a 3.91 ERA in 28 starts, even if he may be fading a bit now.
On the offensive side, Gunnar Henderson and Coby Mayo were tied for second on the team with 22 homers going into last night. Mayo was second in RBIs with 59, just ahead of Henderson at 57, while Henderson led the club with 25 doubles. The problem is the slash line: Henderson was at .219/.303/.395.
Mayo may be changing the way people think about him. He spent plenty of time being known as a lefty masher, but he hit his third straight homer off a right-hander last night and moved ahead of Henderson in the discussion. Fans are starting to get louder about him, while Henderson’s night in Toronto did not exactly silence the questions, even after he went 2-for-2.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has made a strong late push, but he hasn’t played enough games to be a real MVO candidate. He added two more hits last night, which at least keeps him in the mix of tempting names for third.
Colton Cowser brings a different kind of case. He has two walk-off homers and one of the great defensive plays in baseball history, and no one on the roster can match his outfield glove. But before last night’s two-run double, he was hitting .213/.306/.364.
Samuel Basallo’s power output also deserves a mention, with 17 homers good for fourth on the team. Even so, his .227/.296/.415 line keeps him outside the serious conversation.
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