MVP polling has 2 new leaders

MVP polling has 2 new leaders

June 24th, 2022

The MVP Award poll is back -- and there's a new No. 1 in both leagues.

While you can probably guess who those two new MVP leaders are, a lot has changed since our last MVP poll at the beginning of June.

MLB.com voters were asked to rank their top five MVP candidates in each league based on what has happened so far and what they expect will happen in the months to come. Players received vote points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on, with 50 voters participating. Here are the results. (All stats are through Wednesday. All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. , OF, Yankees (27 first-place votes)

Judge's monster slugging has vaulted him over Mike Trout and into first place in the AL MVP poll for the first time this season. Judge leads the Majors with 27 home runs, a .663 slugging percentage and 57 runs scored. The 2017 AL MVP runner-up has already crushed nine homers in June as the Yankees have rolled past the 50-win mark.

2. José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians (11 first-place votes)

Ramírez has been in the top three in every MVP poll so far, placing third in the last poll and second in the first poll. The three-time AL MVP finalist is batting .302 with 16 home runs and a league-leading 62 RBIs, and he has 34 walks to only 20 strikeouts. Ramírez is the rock of the Guardians' lineup as Cleveland battles the Twins atop the AL Central.

3. , CF, Angels (5 first-place votes)

Trout led both of the first two polls -- no surprise, as he's a three-time MVP and nine-time top-five finisher -- but Judge and Ramírez make this a stacked top three. The Angels superstar has 21 home runs and a 1.025 OPS this season after homering eight times in a 10-game span from June 7-19.

4. , 3B, Red Sox (2 first-place votes)

Devers finished just outside the top 10 in AL MVP voting in 2019 and '21, but he could do much better than that this year. The Red Sox third baseman is in the top five in our poll for a second straight time. Devers leads the Major Leagues with 90 hits and the AL with 24 doubles, and he's also batting .328 with 16 home runs.

5. , LF/DH, Astros (2 first-place votes)

Alvarez is the best hitter in an Astros lineup full of star sluggers, and he's looking to get MVP votes for the first time in his career. The 24-year-old lefty slugger leads the Majors with a 1.064 OPS, and he's batting .315 with 21 home runs and 51 RBIs for the AL West leaders. Alvarez is in the top five of our MVP poll for the first time this season, but probably not the last.

Others receiving votes: Shohei Ohtani (3 first-place votes), Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Byron Buxton, Justin Verlander, Kyle Tucker, Anthony Rizzo, Luis Arraez, Xander Bogaerts

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. , 1B, Cardinals (26 first-place votes)

Goldschmidt, who has been an NL MVP finalist three times, is still looking for his first career MVP Award. Our voters think he's in position to get it. The Cardinals first baseman, who placed third in our last MVP poll, is leading the NL in hits (87), batting average (.339), on-base percentage (.418), slugging percentage (.623) and OPS (1.041).

2. , 3B, Padres (15 first-place votes)

Machado led our first NL MVP poll, and he's now placed second in the last two. A three-time top-five MVP finisher in his career, the veteran third baseman is leading the way as the Padres battle the rival Dodgers in the NL West race, although he's currently dealing with a sprained left ankle. Machado is batting .328 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs and leads the Majors with 4.3 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs.

3. , DH, Phillies (1 first-place vote)

The reigning NL MVP is having another MVP-caliber season, batting .326 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and a 1.010 OPS for the Phillies. Harper moves up from fifth in our last MVP poll to third in this one as he's batting .400 with a 1.220 OPS in June.

4. , 1B, Mets (5 first-place votes)

Alonso got the third-most first-place votes in the NL, but he stays right in the same spot he was in in our last poll. The Mets' cleanup hitter is leading the National League with 20 home runs and the Major Leagues with 66 RBIs as New York holds onto its lead over the Braves in the NL East.

5. , RF, Dodgers (2 first-place votes)

The leader of our last NL MVP poll rounds out the top five of this one. Betts will miss some time with a broken rib that has him on the injured list, and he can't return soon enough with the Dodgers in a tight race with Machado and the Padres. The 2018 AL MVP (and 2020 NL runner-up with Los Angeles) has 17 home runs this season to go along with his stellar play in the outfield.

Others receiving votes: Sandy Alcantara, Tommy Edman (1 first-place vote), Nolan Arenado, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Willson Contreras, Ronald Acuña Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., Joe Musgrove, Josh Hader, C.J. Cron, Francisco Lindor