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Half of the season is over. Can you believe it? For my money, Martin Prado has easily been the Braves' MVP for the first half of the season. Could he be more though? Could he be the MVP of the National League if he keeps this up? The first thought is a resounding "NO.", but check this out.
Through 81 games:
Martin has been incredible consistent this season. Besides a little mini-slump he had on the most recent road trip, he's been as steady as they come.
So, let's say that Prado has the exact same 2nd half that he had the 1st half. I know it won't happen, but I'm honestly not sure if his numbers will improve or worsen as the season continues. And don't you dare give me that "He's good, but lucky..." bull crap. The great hitters make their own luck. And that's exactly what Martin Prado is: A great hitter.
If he keeps this pace up:
Now let's take a look at Dustin Pedroia's stat line when he won the American League MVP in 2008. The Red Sox also won the Wild Card in '08 with 95 wins. The Braves are on pace for 96 wins, the best record in the NL and a playoff berth. I'm sorry, but unless you have a Hall of Fame worthy season on a non-contending team, you shouldn't win the award. Being a part of a winning team plays a huge role and Prado is certainly on a winning team.
You can do the comparisons.
If Martin Prado keeps this up, he's not just a a candidate for National League MVP, but one of the favorites for the award. Get ready for one hell of a ride.
0 recs | 61 comments
one word to answer that question: YES
he’s been phenomenal this year
southman - July 4, 2010
Pitchers aside...
(Afterall,Jimmenez has actually won over 30% of the Rockies games).The question for me is who is second in the voting? Votto is having a super year,but has a killer lineup around him.Eithier has had a special season. CarGo has been the Rockies version of Martin.Wright has to be up there as well.Oh, one other guy….the kid from St Louis? Yeah,Albert “something or other”. As hard as those guys play, they all finish second to Mr Prado in that category as well.You can throw the numbers out there…
mikie baseball - July 4, 2010
Eh...
I think there are other candidates – Wright, Votto, Holliday and Pujols, if you want to filter WAR by playoff contention – but he certainly deserves to be in the conversation. The fact that he doesn’t hit for power and doesn’t steal bases is going to hurt them with the incompetant voters, but he’d have to get some votes if the season ended today…
ejruiz - July 4, 2010
He absolutely deserves it, but he won’t win it because he doesn’t play for the sawks
telemakhos - July 4, 2010
You know, it’s really hard to win the NL MVP when you play in the AL. Not even Heyward could do that.
Broccoman - July 4, 2010
I’m just saying that comparing him to pedroia stands up stat wise, but with the way that major media outlets cover the big market teams, martin doesn’t stand a chance.
telemakhos - July 4, 2010
Wrong.
Heyward can do anything he wants
eaheckman10 - July 4, 2010
prado, if he keeps this up, has to be the mvp
When everyone was slumping, he was the only one hitting, winning us a lot of games.
now, he is the sparkplug and our offense obviously needs him. isnt that the definition of the award?
dc_allday - July 4, 2010
mvhsbball
i stated this in a fanpost telling us to vote for prado, and you said not to get ahead of myself, so… and i said its like pedroia and in a year no one has really stepped up for MVP, prado very well deserves it
I believe MVP standings right now should be like
1. Votto
2. Prado
3. The Machine
bflobraves - July 4, 2010
You also have to consider...
…Adrian Gonzalez. What he is doing in that park with that lineup around him puts him right in the conversation, too.
cavebird - July 4, 2010
pedroia was not the best candidate for MVP and prado isn’t either. still, he should be in the conversation since he is one of the league’s best hitters… at least as a reference point for comparative purposes.
brndn - July 4, 2010
there really wasn’t a better candidate than Pedroia in 2008
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2008.shtml
the only one who are better are Youk and Quentin…Quentin missed 30 games down the stretch. and Pedroia won over Youk bc of the steals most likely and playing a more important defensive position.
It was a pretty weak class for the AL MVP in 2008. Thats not the case in the NL this year. Votto is raking. Albert Pujols is alive. And there is a slew of pitchers who could win it this year.
Swo12bv - July 4, 2010
your point is well-taken; but as a side note, mauer appears to make the best case out of that group.
brndn - July 4, 2010
Again, I don't have a dog in this fight but this is kind of hubris.
According to Fangraphs, the WAR leaders are David Wright, Joey Votto, Matt Holiday, Chase Utley, Marlon Byrd, Albert Pujols, and Josh Willingham.
David Wright deserves to be the MVP if the season ended today. He plays great defense at a corner position and is truly, truly mashing right now.
Prado’s having a great season and deserves to be the all-star starter at 2B. He’s a great player and if this were player value (WAR taken into consideration with salary) it would be him with David Wright.
And for anyone complaining about the Braves going after international players in the last thread Prado was signed by the Braves as an international free agent. Congratulations to your wise front office as always.
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
Prado's 3.1 WAR
is the same as Pujols and Willingham. They’re “ahead” of him by mere percentage points (actually, Willingham isn’t ahead of him at all). Prado’s high enough to be in the discussion, and when you consider that Utley is going to be out for 8 weeks, there’s a dog that will fall out of the race.
The MVP doesn’t always have to be THE leader in WAR: certainly, even when using WAR, you’ve got Fangraphs WAR and B-R WAR. FanGraphs uses UZR to tabulate the defense, which is a significant portion of how WAR is valued, but there’s other defensive metrics which can have discrepancies like Total Zone or DRS. For example, Matt Holliday is way up there, but a big part of what’s keeping him among the leaders is the 17.8 UZR/150 pace he’s maintaining, where he’s never been more than 5 runs above average on defense. When you look at DRS, it’s actually much less impressive.
I’m not saying Prado is the MVP, but he should definitely be in the discussion going forward if he can maintain his current pace.
Bronn - July 4, 2010
Sure he should be in the discussion. That's fine. He's a great player.
Votto’s been better. Wright’s been better by a bunch. Where’s the evidence that contradicts that?
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
I am not sure of the criteria for a ballplayer to become MVP (it seems like they focus on HR, Ave. and RBI) but from what I have seen, Prado is the best player on the team with the best record. That is enough for me to consider him a MVP.
romone_braves91 - July 4, 2010
I wish you guys would stop pimping Prado for MVP
he’s been awesome—maybe one of the top 5 guys in the league. “Maybe one of the top 5” is not the same thing as “the best.” Comparing Prado’s stats to Pedroia’s is meaningless, since the MVP is comparative to the other plays in the league in a given year. Pedroia only won because it was a weak year in the AL in 2008. This year in the NL is not.
Pujols is a bit down from his normal numbers but is still better than Martin. Wright and Votto are both clearly more deserving as well—and on playoff-contending teams. You could also make a good case for Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday and Scott Rolen. If Ethier stays healthy the rest of the year and plays at this level, he’d be ahead of Martin, too, I’d think. The highest I could play Martin right now is 4th:
1) Wright (.313 / .391 / .543 and a .400 wOBA from 3B)
2) Votto (.313 / .414 / .574 and a .425 wOBA from 1B)
3) Pujols (.306 / .415 / .571 and a .411 wOBA from 1B)
4) Prado (.336 / .375 / .482 and a .373 wOBA from 2B)
Actually, I think even 4th is being somewhat generous to Prado. He might only deserve 5th or 6th right now. But he’s certainly not ahead of those 3, no matter how you slice it. This isn’t a knock on Martin at all—he’s a helluva player and I love him to death. But let’s not take leave of our senses just because he’s having an awesome year. Awesome != best.
Jacob Peterson - July 4, 2010
Buzzkill…
EricGreggWasPaidOff - July 4, 2010
You put a Met #1?...
-22
Mr. Sanchez - July 4, 2010
If the shoe fits...
I don’t play favorites when it comes to awards. Unless a guy is a world-class douchebag, a la Barry Bonds.
Jacob Peterson - July 4, 2010
+1
Pacgnosis is my hero!
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
Pagnosis…remember when that guy called you out near the beginning of the year about how he didn’t like your writing style and he was going to quit coming to TC because of you….maybe he was right!!!!!
haha. Just kidding man!
dunnytwogloves - July 4, 2010
this so much
VivaLosBravos - July 4, 2010
someone on this board has a brain
awesome
VivaLosBravos - July 4, 2010
I am just going to keep repeating this...
…since nobody puts him on the list, but I think you have to consider Adrian Gonzalez, too. When park factors are included, he is right up there with that group.
cavebird - July 4, 2010
+1
You always wonder what Adrian Gonzalez would like if he were in a real lineup instead of one where he has to carry the whole team on his back. After next year, we’ll probably find out.
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
You need to get out on some other boards and make your voice known in these times.
There’s going to be some blowback on all of the Braves taken and you should be sent forward as the emissary of reason, especially at Red Reporter to represent that there is some folks who can see beyond homerism amongst the Braves’ fan base.
People can root for who they want and rep their team how they want, but if this were a neutral board with a lot of people on it and you made a case for him as more than a top 5 candidate, you’d probably get laughed out the room.
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
definitely
he’s been the most consistent piece in our entire batting lineup
saipol - July 4, 2010
Regardless of how that shakes out
The only thing he probably cares about winning, is the World Series
And maybe Team MVP
award6 - July 4, 2010
Just like Pedroia didn’t deserve his MVP, Prado doesn’t deserve one either.
As much as it sucks, unless he hits near .400, he won’t win without power.
justincredubil02 - July 4, 2010
Very true
Ichiro doesn’t win MVP’s either. I’ve been trying to find a decent comp to Prado’s 1st half, 80 games, 115 hits, 38 multi-hit games, 7 HR’s, Ichiro is pretty close.
bighop - July 4, 2010
Ichiro did win the MVP, though.
Bronn - July 4, 2010
really
I had no idea, sorry.
bighop - July 4, 2010
it was his rookie year.
has he won it since? no.
better question:
have the M’s made the playoffs since? no.
sanctarian - July 4, 2010
Omar Infante is an all-star
Weird. I can only guess that Charlie want to have an extra reserve who could play any position in case the game runs long or something.
Bronn - July 4, 2010
i saw that to
it was really weird
Erihury - July 4, 2010
Just for the record...
I know Marteeen probably isn’t going to win the award. I was just having a little fun. Prado has been a personal favorite for 3 years now and I love to see him succeed.
I had to sit here all off-season and hear how much better Kelly Johnson is/was than Prado and how the Braves were making a mistake. It got annoying.
Just lighten up a bit. We’re in 1st place in the NL. Let’s celebrate our great, All Star 2nd baseman.
Scott Coleman - July 4, 2010
Wow…
I’m pretty sure that every debate that was started was initiated by an Anti-KJ comment, or an antagonistic Prado comment…yet YOU had to endure it?
justincredubil02 - July 4, 2010
Not every debate, but the lion’s share, perhaps.
UMDBHIK - July 4, 2010
For the record
Martin is better than Kelly.
Jacob Peterson - July 4, 2010
Well yes, I’ve been saying this for a year now.
Scott Coleman - July 4, 2010 via mobile
Without question.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 4, 2010
Howard
makes it cuz he hits DINGERZ. Joey Votto does not approve
Erihury - July 4, 2010
Baseball is an individual sport disguised as a team sport.
Prado shouldn’t win because of the braves. he should win because of his own skills.
Braves Biceps - July 4, 2010
Random......How is the manager of the All-Star Game decided?
Why is Chaz Manual seemingly just “doing it again,” anyways?
It’s supposedly another prominent NL manager’s last year…..from what I hear. And his club is in 1st place. And he hangs out with Prado a whole lot.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 4, 2010
The manager of the team that represented its league in the WS the previous year.
Bronn - July 4, 2010
Naturally, Bobby Cox managed a bunch of these.
Bronn - July 4, 2010
Ugh. Doh! Thanks.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 4, 2010
Not in 1st Place
Just to correct, Manuel’s club is NOT in first place and hasn’t been for several weeks.
iamthesgt - July 4, 2010
But the guy who hangs out with Prado a lot’s club IS in. Which is the person to whom he was referring.
UMDBHIK - July 4, 2010
All Stars
Prado will start at 2nd bae
Hudson will pitch
McCann and Infante go as reserves
Heyward wins starting job, but obviosly won’t play
Best Braves showing in quite a few years
bighop - July 4, 2010
pedroias year
was still a bit better than martins projected year.. less k’s more walks, and those 20 steals i think are a big deal. if prado can mash 18-20 homeruns this year, i think it would help him alot. and maybe if he can steal 15.
second, if prado would not be so hung up on making contact a la ichiro, and his OBP was much higher than his BA.. i think he would be more deserving. prado just loves to get hits, so he wont walk much just like ichiro does. their OBP and BA seem to stay pretty close to one another.
MacsGlasses - July 4, 2010
Well, Prado’s job is to get on base… he’s the lead off man. How often do lead off guys win the MVP?
abraves - July 4, 2010
prado is an all star no question about that im come on he plays for the best team in the national leauge in my opinion the best team in the league but i think there might be a few better players (not many) i hope he does get it though got to go for the braves no matter who it is .
Big Daddy Cox - July 4, 2010
Admitted bias on my part,
but I think the MVP would go to David Wright. He’s had a great year as someone mentioned above, he plays in NY so that bias would probably influence the voters, and he’s having a bounce-back from what was a “poor” season last year.
Brian. - July 4, 2010
Yep.
Wright would get my vote at this point in the season. If he keeps putting up the numbers he’s been putting up as Ike Davis finds his levelling point and Bay continues to be decent but not up to contract, he would deserve it if the Mets can contend for much of the year.
souldrummer - July 4, 2010
Not sure if he’s the NL MVP but definitely the Braves MVP.
MBL1 - July 4, 2010
If the Braves make the playoffs and Prado keeps this pace up, he absolutely deserves to be considered. However, individual awards are often times a product of the hype, and as such can be rather pointless.
I’d rather see a WS ring on Prado’s finger next spring than see how many indiviidual awards the team can rack up.
UMDBHIK - July 4, 2010
Honestly, these are good points, and Prado has put up amazing numbers. He has been the catalyst at the top of the order, but he hasn’t quite carried the team. As a predominately singles hitter without walks or steals, he needs the rest of the order to hit with him. The way the Braves have been playing lately, they are using superior pitching and timely hitting, playing together. That’s why despite having many homers, they have produced at a superior level. Other NLers have carried their team more than just being one critical cog in a great wheel. Prado doesn’t deserve the NL MVP in my opinion. But he does deserve great credit for his impressive season. Right now he is probably the Braves’ MVP.
And as UMDBHIK said, I would rather see a WS ring than an MVP.
iamthesgt - July 4, 2010
Prado's like
“My dick is yay big”
nick9314 - July 4, 2010
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