Vlad for MVP

I just updated THT’s Win Shares through the end of May, and guess who’s leading the majors? None other than the Angels’ Vlad Guerrero. Maybe we all take Vlad for granted but check it out: he’s hitting .357/.459/.626 and batting .379 with runners in scoring position. According to Fangraphs, Vlad is also leading the majors in WPA, with 2.78 Wins Above Average.

The real surprise is that he’s followed closely by teammate Orlando Cabrera. In fact, Cabrera is tied for second place in the majors in Win Shares. Cabrera is having a very good year at the plate (.319/.372/.446), but Win Shares also likes his defense a lot. This is consistent with some more advanced fielding metrics. ESPN has him leading the league’s shortstops in both fielding percentage and zone rating.


Dave Studeman was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Follow his sporadic tweets @dastudes.

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