Kuzul

The votes are in and your 2010 National League MVP is the Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto.

The vote wasn’t even close as Votto received 31-of- 32 first place votes. The Cardinals Albert Pujols finished a distant second and the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez finished third.

“It’s pretty fricking awesome to beat Albert Pujols for the MVP Award,” he said.

Votto, 27, hit .324 with 37 home runs and 113 RBI.

Pujols led the NL in home runs (42) and RBI (118), and Cargo led the N.L in average at .336, but Votto’s team was the only one to make the postseason.

In just his third full year in the majors, Votto led the NL in on-base percentage (.424) and slugging percentage (.600).

Let’s take a look at why Votto could compete for the next 10 MVP’s.

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Over the last four weeks, Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists have released the results of our mock vote for every significant MLB award, from Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers to Rookies of the Year and Cy Youngs.

Yesterday, we reached the apex of our American League awards with the announcement of Josh Hamilton as our AL MVP. Today, our series comes to a close with our choice for the National League Most Valuable Player.

This time, the top 10 vote-getters are featured here, with commentary from the writers who chose them. The full list of results—featuring 41 players who were picked on our ballots—is after the No. 1 pick.

Thank you to all the writers who voted and contributed commentary. I hope it’s been as fun for all of you to read these as it’s been for me to write them. If you missed one of the previous 15 slideshows, the full list with links is at the end.

So read on, see how we did, and be sure to tell us what we got wrong!

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It’s time to usher in a new player to the league’s elite, and he may just be Major League Baseball’s biggest secret.

Carlos Gonzalez finished the 2010 season with numbers that far and away defeat those of past MVPs, but did anyone notice? They should have, because he’s for real. Gonzalez may have topped Albert Pujols this season, and voters should take notice.

As the MVP voting heats up, here are three reasons why Carlos Gonzalez should come out on top.

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There were a lot of players whose average was based on a lot of luck in 2010.  What are the prospects of them replicating those numbers in the upcoming season? 

Will they continue to hold value?  Let’s break them down, one-by-one, and take a look:

1. Austin Jackson – Detroit Tigers – .396

We all kept waiting for the regression to come for Jackson, but it just never seemed to.  Despite posting a strikeout rate of 27.5%, Jackson’s luck helped him post a .293 average. 

Can we realistically expect that to continue?  He had a minor-league strikeout mark of 23.6%, so that number is extremely believable. 

With his speed, a higher than normal BABIP is not outrageous, but this was a bit over-the-top.  Look for his luck to turn in 2011, meaning his average will likely fall significantly.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him hit .260ish, and without power and only 24 SB, his value is likely going to take a significant hit.

2. Josh Hamilton – Texas Rangers – .390

It was a magical season, buoyed by an unrealistic BABIP.  Hamilton is a great player and will remain one of the elite, but he’s just not likely to hit .359 once again. 

As long as he can stay healthy, I’m talking .300/30/100/100 type of value.  People looking for a reason to downgrade him will point to the BABIP, but you really shouldn’t.

The only concern is his health.  Outside of that, consider him among the elite outfielders in the game.

3. Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado Rockies – .384

Many were expecting a breakout 2010 campaign and boy, did he deliver.  However, the BABIP is just one of the questions that surround him entering the 2011 campaign.

Can he deliver a 20.4% HR/FB again?  If not, that drop, along with the inevitable fall in BABIP, is going to cause his average to fall significantly.  It will also mean fewer runs and RBI, further hurting his potential value.

Don’t get me wrong, Gonzalez should be among the best outfielders available, but I just don’t see him repeating his .336, 34 HR, 117 RBI, 111 R, 26 SB campaign.  That said, even if he falls to .300/27/95/95/20, with the potential for more, what is there not to like? 

A regression is likely coming, but there’s little to be concerned about.  We’ll talk about him in a lot more detail in the coming months, however, so I’ll save the bulk of the discussion for later.

4. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – .361

Like the two names before him, his value isn’t solely entrenched in his average (.324 in 2010), so a regression here is not going to be devastating. 

He has shown tremendous power and RBI potential, as well as adding double-digit stolen bases from a position where you rarely see it.  At a deep position, he’s emerged as one of the elite.

5. Omar Infante – Atlanta Braves – .355

Unfortunately for Infante, he has no power and no speed.  In fact, is he guaranteed to even have an everyday job entering 2011? 

He’s a career .274 hitter (who hit .321 in 2010) and has always been more of a utility player. 

With even a small fall in his BABIP, his value disintegrates, since average is all he has going for him (8 HR, 7 SB in ‘10).  Even with full-time playing time, he’s not worth considering.

6t. Justin Upton – Arizona Diamondbacks – .354

He’s posted big BABIP for the past two years, having posted a .360 mark in 2009.  Does that mean we should come to believe it?  Unfortunately, I don’t think so. 

The hope has to be that he can reduce his strikeout rate (30.7% in 2010) and rediscover his power (he went from 26 HR to 17 HR in 2010) in order to maintain a usable average.

Chances are he’s going to regress in the BABIP department, so if he can’t do those two things, his average is going to become unusable (he hit .273 in ‘10). 

It’s going to be interesting to watch how this plays out, because he has the potential to be one of the elite players in the game.  We will certainly revisit him as the season gets closer.

6t. Colby Rasmus – St. Louis Cardinals – .354

His feud with Tony La Russa and whether he asked out of St. Louis helped to mask that some of his success was buoyed by a lot of luck. 

However, before we say that he’s going to post an unusable average (he was at .276 in ‘10), he saw his strikeout rate go from 20.0% in 2009 to 31.9% in 2010. 

Considering his 22.7% minor league strikeout rate, there’s little reason to believe he’s that bad.  Even with a fall in his BABIP, he should continue to post a usable average.

8. Ichiro Suzuki – Seattle Mariners – .353

What is there to say about Ichiro that we don’t already know?  He has a career BABIP of .357 and is one of the best hitters in the game.  There’s no reason to expect anything less from him in 2011.

9. Jayson Werth – Philadelphia Phillies – .352

We have to expect a regression, but we can’t get a full grasp on his potential value in the average department until we know where he is going to play. 

If he leaves Philadelphia, the power potential may fall, which will certainly help contribute to a lower average.  We’ll revisit him once he signs via free agency.

10. Joe Mauer – Minnesota Twins – .348

Catchers just aren’t supposed to do this, but year after year, Mauer delivers.  With a career BABIP of .344, there’s little reason to think that he’s going to fall off in any way, shape or form. 

While we learned in 2010 that his power surge in 2009 was likely an aberration (28 HR), he once again proved that he’s among the elite average hitters in the game (.327 in ‘10).

What are your thoughts on these players?  Who is going to maintain their big 2010 seasons?  Who may regress in 2011?

Make sure to check out our early 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

While you worry about the outcomes of the ALCS and NLCS, Christian Skelly has you covered on the awards races.

Joey Votto, undeniably, had a career-year. He announced very loudly that he not only belongs in the same sentence as the other great NL first basemen but, with all due respect to the machine that is Albert Pujols, he very well could be the best.

When it comes to MVP voting, players are judged largely by their offensive statistics and specifically their Triple Crown numbers. Albert Pujols led the league in RBI (118) and homeruns (42). Carlos Gonzalez also had a breakout year, leading the league in average (.336) and he also hit for power with 37 Home Runs and 117 RBI.

Both Pujols and Gonzales had great years, but when the MVP is announced on November 24^th you won’t hear the name of either of those men. Instead it will be the young Canadian, Joey Votto.

Votto’s numbers are consistent across the board and he was the driver of the most powerful offense in the National League.  He led the league in slugging percentage (.600) and on-base percentage (.424) while batting .324 with 37 HR’s and 113 RBI. What really sets Votto apart from Pujols, Gonzalez and the rest of the league is the fact that he led the Reds to the playoffs while proving he was one of the league’s most clutch hitters. From the seventh inning on, Votto led the NL in average (.356), homeruns (14), and RBI (41).

Votto is a member of perhaps the most talented group in all of baseball: National League First Basemen.  When he wins the 2010 MVP award next month, the argument can be made he is the best of that bunch.

Here are the rest of my picks:

AL MVP:  Josh Hamilton

NL MVP:  Joey Votto

AL Cy Young:  Felix Hernandez

NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

AL Manager of the Year:  Ron Washington

NL Manager of the Year:  Dusty Baker

AL Rookie of the Year:  Danny Valencia

NL Rookie of the Year:  Jason Heyward

These are my picks … who is your NL MVP?

You can read more from Christian Skelly and others at www.sittingandwatching.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2010 MLB season had plenty of tremendous individual stories.

People were still talking about a potential Triple Crown bid by three different players in the National League in mid August.

As it turned out, Albert Pujols ran away with the home run crown with 42 and killed the intrigue.

But Joey Votto and Carlos Gonzalez put together some of the most impressive individual numbers of any player in recent memory.

Pujols didn’t sport the batting average of the other two, the Cardinals were a big disappointment as a team, and Pujols is always in the mix for MVP. Pujols is out.

So let’s take a look at the two leading candidates for the most valuable player in the National League; Joey Votto and Carlos Gonzalez.

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Rocktober has never felt so far away.

The Rockies fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 3-1 on Monday night, losing their second straight and their seventh in their past eight games. 

The Rockies won ten in a row earlier this month, but never were able to eclipse or tie the teams that were in their playoff path.  Now, with just six games remaining, the Rockies sit four games out of the Wild Card, and five out of the top spot in the National League West.

“If we were ugly before this game, now we’re bleeding,” Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez told ESPN.com after Monday night’s game.

There’s most likely not enough time remaining to stop the bleeding for Colorado.  They play two more games against the Dodgers at Coors Field, then finish up the regular season with four at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals.  

“It’s painful,” Gonzalez continued.  “Because we all thought we were going to be battling until the end.”

He’s right, because we all did.  The Rockies have had a knack over the past four seasons for having a “never-say-die” attitude, where you could never, at any point in a ballgame or a season, count them out.  Seriously, count all the times you saw the Rockies down 6-0, or saw where they were in the standings, and said to yourself, “Damn, they’re finished.”  Now count how many times you were wrong.  The two numbers are probably pretty close.

But it isn’t all in the Rockies’ control this time.  If they want any chance at winning the Wild Card, even if the Braves and Padres lose the remainder of their games (the Padres have six, while the Braves only have five), the Rockies would have to go 5-1 just to force a three-way tie for the Wild Card. 

The NL West is virtually impossible at this point, considering the Padres and Giants face off on the last weekend of the season, and well, someone has to win those games.  It’s not yet mathematically impossible, however. 

If the Padres win just two of their next six (both would need to be against the Giants), the Giants lose at least five of their final six games, and the Rockies win their final six games, the Rockies would finish in some type of tie for the National League West crown, whether it be a two-way or a three-way tie. 

They can no longer win the division without a one-game playoff, because one of either the Padres or Giants will win two games this weekend. 

Was that enough of a math lesson for today?  Good, it was for me too.

It’s a disappointing story, honestly.  The Rockies had become one of those teams that fans who didn’t have a favorite team trying to beat them out for a playoff spot rooted for. During that early September run, it appeared as if the only thing that could stop the Rockies, was the Rockies themselves. 

That seems to be what happened.  The turning point of their season might wind up being when they got swept in Arizona last week.  Being swept by the Diamondbacks didn’t seem possible for Colorado about two weeks before that.

They have players easy to root for, too.  Carlos Gonzalez might be on his way to challenging Albert Pujols as the best player in the game.  Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had a September that will be compared to that of Babe Ruth’s. Rotation ace Ubaldo Jimenez will at least be involved in the National League Cy Young discussion.

In the end, they might not be enough.  And it probably won’t be. 

But they’ll be back.  If you don’t believe that, you haven’t paid attention the past three years.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After dropping two of three from the Giants in Colorado, the Rockies are likely out of playoff contention.

Frankly, after the season the Rockies had, they are lucky to still be in playoff conversation. At the All-Star Break, they were 49-39. Just 15 days later, on July 28, they were 51-50.

From then until late August and early September, they were simply a mediocre team. They then went on a conveniently placed 10-game winning streak which put them right back into playoff contention.

Then they went right back to their mediocre ways. They got swept in Arizona by the D-Backs and then dropped two of three at home to the Giants AT HOME.

That shows the average baseball fan that the Rockies are not a 2010 playoff team. A team that is one of the most dominant home teams in baseball with a record of 51-24 going into the Giants series must win basically every home game in late September.

Apparently CarGo and Tulo and the entire Rockies offense (save for Game 2 when they scored 10 runs in 10 innings) didn’t read the memo:

Every game is a must win situation for the rest of the season.

Weird. It seemed like the fans got it though. 125,067 of them really took it to heart and came out to support the Rockies.

What did they get to see?

Game 1: Tim Lincecum dominates the Rockies while giving up two hits and one run.

Game 2: The Rockies come from behind to win 10-9 in 10 innings in a game they probably shouldn’t have won.

Game 3: Matt Cain nearly no-hits the Rockies faltering offense until they break through in the eighth with an infield single and a pinch-hit homer from Melvin Mora.

The Rockies are not a playoff team. Yet.

That begs the question of “WHEN?”

Many fans are thinking next year may be the year the Rockies break through and take their rightful place atop the NL West.

Those who are not acquainted with the Rockies (which is basically everyone in the media to include ESPN, MLB.com, and basically every other sports news station on the East Coast) are probably asking “Who the hell do these fans think they are?”

These are the fans of a fairly new team compared to the 100-year-old franchises that are stationed east of the Mississippi River.

These are also the fans who happen to know a thing or two about a very young and talented team.

The Rockies are an extremely young team.

Only Todd Helton and Melvin Mora are present starters over 35. The average age of the rest of the starters (not including pitchers) is 26.3.

Yes, age is just a number, but the Rockies are more than just a young team. They are a young, TALENTED team.

Troy Tulowitzki has been in the news lately because he has had the most productive September of any Rockie.

He is 3 RBI’s short of Babe Ruth’s 1927 record of 43 RBI’s in one month. He also has 15 home runs his month, giving him 27 on the year.

It seems as though he has finally found an effective way to produce for the Rockies.

Carlos Gonzalez, a.k.a CarGo, was the key to the Rockies’ push back into the playoff picture.

During the Rockies’ 10-game winning streak, he hit over .500 and seemed to keep creating offense. He was always up when the Rockies badly needed a run or two and he’d produce.

At the beginning of the year, he was one of baseball’s biggest free swingers. In 2009, he had 70 K’s in 89 games. This year he has 131 in 141 games. That makes it seem like he became even more of a free swinger.

The truth is that total would likely be around 200 without his incredible maturation over this season.

If he had this same type of plate discipline at the beginning of the season, his batting average would likely be in the neighborhood of a nearly impossibly .380 instead of a very impressive .341.

He has finally realized that a walk is usually just as effective as a hit, especially when you have Troy Tulowitzki hitting behind you.

Rockies fans are looking for an even better season from CarGo in 2011.

Ubaldo who?

Ubaldo Jimenez seemed like a lock for the NL Cy Young Award in the first half of the season. Now he’s looking like an average ace with a record of 19-7 and a 3.00 ERA.

Going into the All-Star Break he was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA.

There are two possible explanations for his lack of success: Hitters started to figure him out and started to hit him hard, and he simply lost effectiveness. He began to hang pitches and failed to execute pitches the way he had in the first half.

He was the primary reason the Rockies were still in contention after the All-Star Break. If he didn’t get the win, he’d put the Rockies in a position to get a win, which they often did when he was on the hill in the first half.

If the Rockies want to go deep into the playoffs next year, they need Jimenez to retain his first-half form from this year for all of next year. They need him to win between 25 and 30 games and lose less than five.

Yes, it sounds like a nearly impossible task, but Jimenez has the stuff to do it.

Consistency is key. For the past three years, the Rockies have been one of baseball’s most hot-and-cold teams. They went on winning streaks as long as 11 games and losing streaks as long as eight games.

It is easy to tell the Rockies what they need to do. The question is whether they will be able to execute what is needed.

The Rockies went through an amazing maturing process this year.

Next year will be the year that the Rockies win the NL West for the first time ever, and the pennant for the second time in five years.

Next year will be the beginning of something great for Colorado.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There are now less than 10 games left in the marathon that is the Major League Baseball season. There were many lessons taught this year: One of which is that 2010 was the year of the pitcher, with so many pitchers throwing absolute gems.

We learned that even though its been three years, somebody can reach the 50 home run mark again (even though Jose Bautista only had 59 total HR for his career. Suspicious? Kind of. I like to give him the benefit of the doubt though).

I personally learned that every year I keep telling myself that this fantasy baseball year will be more fun, and every year its just as boring/frustrating as ever.

What we didn’t learn however is who will be this years National League MVP? It’s been a while since an MVP race has been so close. Usually, it’s only between two, or at the max three people who have a legitimate shot at wining the title. This year it seems that nobody wanted to take control and pull away, so five players can now win it. The real question now is: Who wants it more? Let’s take a look at the five trying to take home the MVP award.

Albert Pujols:

Why he will win: Always an MVP contender, this year is no different. He leads the NL in home runs with 41 and is second in RBI with 112, not to mention he is hitting .310. If he ends up leading in two of the three NL triple crown statistics, won’t it be hard NOT to give him the award?

Why he won’t win: Well, as good as his .310 batting average is, his career is mark is .331, so he isn’t living up to his machine-like expectations. Also, the Cardinals faded big time down the stretch even though they are gifted with Pujols, Holiday, Wainwright, and Carpenter. With the Cards struggling and Pujols always winning the award, the voters might take into consideration and hold it against him.

Carlos Gonzalez:

Why he will win: A few weeks ago, I would have said CarGo was a lock for the MVP award. Then, his teammate, TULO, started going ballistic with the bat. However, CarGo has the best numbers in the NL hands down. He is hitting .342 which is first, has 34 HR’s, and leads the NL with 113 RBI. So, as of right now he leads in two of the three triple crown numbers. Did I also mention that he has 25 stolen bases and is two triples shy of completing the quadruple double? (Quadruple double: 10+ HR, 10+2B, 10+3B and 10+SB; only Shane Victorino has that in the NL right now.)

Why he won’t win: The four game losing streak the Rockies just experienced, making their run to the playoffs that much more unlikely, certainly did not help. Also not helping CarGo’s cause is Tulo. Tulowitzki is getting so much attention for his September hot streak that it is taking away from CarGo’s amazing year. The last negative you can see is that CarGo’s home stats are so much more gaudy than his away stats, also known as the benefits of playing at Coors Field.

Troy Tulowitzki:

Why he will win: TULOOO is on a Ruthian like tear in September, hitting home run after home run. He and Carlos carried their team to a long win streak in September, which put the Rockies right back in the race for the Wild Card and pennant. While his numbers don’t equal the others, because of his injuries, it really is his late surge that has everyone talking. If he can bash another five home runs in these last nine games and help Colorado make the playoffs, you could be looking at the new MVP.

Why he won’t win: Just like with CarGo and Pujols, his team not making the playoffs is really going to hurt. Also, like I mentioned, he does not have the yearly numbers the other candidates have because of his injuries. Two other questions to think about: how much will CarGo and Tulo steal each others votes, thus hurting the others cause, and how much does playing at Coors Field inflate their numbers?

Joey Votto:

Why he will win: At one time he was the runaway favorite to win this award, especially when everyone thought he could win the triple crown. While he doesn’t lead in any, he is in the top three in all the categories. The other aspect really helping Votto out, is that he led his team into winning the division, even though they might not have the most talent. Votto is hitting .323 with 35 HR’s and 106 RBI. That with the remaining nine games to add on, equals an MVP-like year for me and has my vote.

Why he won’t win: His numbers aren’t as good as Pujols and CarGo, and he has had a relatively bland September unlike Tulo. Either Pujols or CarGo, will win two of the three triple crown stats, with RBI being up for grabs. There should be an asterisk here because Howard would have easily won the RBI race if he didn’t get hurt for those 2 1/2 weeks. Can Votto win the award if CarGo or Pujols have two of the three triple crown requirements under their belt?

Roy Halladay

Why he will win: He is in the dark horse in this race. With the Cardinals fading, the Rockies looking like non-playoff contenders, and Votto having a weak September, Roy has stepped into the picture. He, most likely will win the Cy Young. He is the leader of the Phillies, who are the best team in the NL, and while all the Phillies have been hurt this year or struggled from time to time, Roy has been the rock who has held steady. He’s the leader in the NL in Wins, CG, SO, IP, K’s, and is third in ERA. Not to mention his K’s to BB ratio is by far the best. Oh yeah, he also threw a perfect game this year. Roy only has two maybe three starts left, so he has to be outstanding in those starts to prove it.

Why he won’t win: It’s rare for a pitcher to win an MVP. I’m a big proponent to pitchers only winning Cy Young’s because that is basically their MVP award and leave the MVP for the everyday players. Can a pitcher who only plays 38 games total really win the Most Valuable Player award over players who played 150+?

If the players can’t decide who wants the MVP more, then it is up to you (Actually it’s up to the sports writers).

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Starting in Feburary, when spring training begins, MLB experts and fans begin their preseason predictions by selecting Division, MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year winners.

But there are many twists and turns during an MLB season.

Most of the time these predictions go sour (unless you’re me who correctly predicted all four AL playoff teams and at least two NL playoff teams—once in a while a person gets lucky with these things). 

With just over a week remaining in the season, here are five storylines MLB experts and fans didn’t see coming.

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