By Tim Ryder
The Major League Baseball Players’ Association announced the National League and American League finalists for their Outstanding Player award, voted on by the players themselves, in a press release on Thursday.
In the AL, Boston’s Rafael Devers, Houston’s Alex Bregman, and Los Angeles’ Mike Trout were nominated as finalists, with Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger, and Washington’s Anthony Rendon honored as their NL counterparts.
Devers, 22, hit .361/.361/.555 with 32 homers, 115 RBIs, 132 weighted runs created plus, -6.0 defensive runs saved and 2.4 UZR/150 over 1,353 innings at third base, and 5.9 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) — good for eighth-best in the AL — for the Red Sox.
Bregman, 25, slashed .296/.423/.592 with 41 home runs, and 112 RBIs with 168 wRC+ and 8.5 fWAR (both second in the league) for the AL West-champion Astros. He racked up 7.0 DRS and 5.3 UZR/150 over 806.1 innings at third base and -2.0 DRS with -3.9 UZR/150 in 495 innings at shortstop.
Trout, 28, put together another outstanding season with the Angels, hitting .291/.438/.645 with 45 home runs, 104 RBIs, and AL-leading marks in wRC+ (180) and fWAR (8.6) over 134 games played. His -1.0 DRS and -1.2 UZR/150 ranked 13th and 17th, respectively, among qualified AL outfielders.
Yelich, 27, paced the NL with his entire slash line (.329/.429/.671), and his 174 wRC+ and 7.8 fWAR led the league, as well. His 44 home runs ranked third in the league. Over 1,093 innings in the outfield, Yelich notched -1.0 DRS and 2.5 UZR/150 (10th in NL).
Bellinger, 24, hit .305/.406/.629 with 47 homers (second in the NL), 115 RBIs, 162 wRC+, and 7.8 fWAR, tying Yelich for the league lead. Over 1,082 innings between right field and center field, Bellinger’s 22 DRS tied for second and his 13.7 UZR/150 ranked third among qualified NL outfielders.
Rendon, 29, slashed .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs, 126 RBIs, 154 wRC+ (fourth in NL), and 7.0 fWAR (also fourth) for the NL-champion Nationals. The impending free agent put up 2.0 DRS and 2.0 UZR/150 over 1,265.1 innings at third base, both good for sixth in the league.
Respective league winners will be awarded $200,000 grants from the MLB Players Trust to be donated to the charity of their choosing. Voting results will be announced next week, as per the announcement.
