Two batters put up historically good seasons but their teams failed to make the playoffs -- including one on a last-place team. Voters could have a difficult time squeezing just 6 candidates on their ballots. Points are awarded on a 10-7-5-3-2-1 basis.
Let's have a closer look at potential candidates for The Mitch (in alphabetical order):
Jose Altuve, 2B, Tucson
His 202 hits were second only to Philly's Jose Ramirez and finished tied for 3rd with 113 runs. Altuve boasted the league's best steal percentage (.900) while his 18 stolen bases ranked 3rd. The 5'6" Venezuelan ranked 9th in batting (.299) and finished 5th in the with 44 doubles. Altuve finished 4th in voting last year.
Tucson sported a solid offense but didn't have a batter eclipse 100 RBI. Marcell Ozuna led the squad with 98 RBI. He ranked for 4th in the DMBL in batting (.311), and finished right behind Altuve with 200 hits, tied for 3rd overall. Ozuna finished 8th in the league with 114.1 runs created.Batting champion Avisail Garcia (.347) found himself in the top 10 in the league in a number of batting categories. Another Venezuelan, Garcia had the 7th-best RC/27 in the league (7.6) and was 4th in OBP (.393). His 19-game hit streak was the 3rd-longest but his candidacy might be curtailed by playing time. He only made 123 starts, including 102 in right field.
Cody Bellinger, OF, Sardine City
The team with the league's best record can always make a case for a Mitchell Award candidate. The Straphangers won the Commissioner's Cup with a 103-59 mark, getting contributions throughout the lineup. 1B Eric Hosmer, the 2012 Listach Award winner, led the team with 111 runs and 190 hits while knocking in 101 RBI and batting .296. George Springer also eclipsed 100 runs (103) while whacking 34 HRs and league-high 765 plate appearances.
But it was Cody Bellinger who led the Straphangers with 39 HR (10th-most in the league) and 116 RBI (5th). The lefty batted .240/.329/.511 overall. He ranked 9th in the league in AB/HR (14.5) while manning right field in 148 games. With those numbers, the Arizona native likely will get support in Listach Award balloting for the league's top rookie.
Bryce Harper, OF, Hopatcong
Harper could easily get lost in the Hopatcong lineup but he ranked within the league's top 10 in several categories. He finished 10th in OPS (.891) and SLG (.530), 8th in RBI (108), and 9th in total bases (312), usually batting 3rd in the Fish lineup behind Votto. He did most of his damage against right-handers in 154 starts in the outfield. The lefty from Las Vegas finished 3rd in voting in 2016, when Stanton won the award.
Another Hopatcong outfielder who could get lost in the mix is Yoenis Cespedes. While he slugged 32 HR, Cespedes finished with only 77 RBI, usually hitting 6th in the lineup. Yet he still ranked 6th in the league in SLG (.555), 9th in BA (.299) and RC/27 (7.4), and 8th in OPS (.903). He also had a 17-game hitting streak amid 135 starts between right and left fields.
Aaron Judge, Empire City
His 10 intentional walks were 6th most in the league. He ranked 4th in RC/27 (7.7) and 5th in both AB/HR (11.8) and OPS (.932). The 6'7" outfielder made 157 starts in right for the Trojans, who finished 12th overall with a 70-92 record. If he doesn't win the Mitch, Judge may have to console himself with a shot at the Listach Award as the DMBL's top rookie.
If you're looking for an under-the-radar candidate, teammate Mike Moustakas had a quiet monster second half, smashing 28 HRs and 66 RBI and slashing .296/.344/.605. He finished 9th overall with 107.5 runs created.
J.D. Martinez, OF/DH, Vancouver
Martinez was 4th in RBI (121) and extra base hits (96), and 10th in OBP (.374). Only Poovey Farm's Freddie Freeman (16) had more than the 15 intentional walks issued to Martinez. He started 162 games for the Iron First, splitting time between outfield (96 games) and DH (66 games). Martinez should improve on his 10th-place finish (1 vote) in last year's voting.
If you're looking for someone other Martinez in Vancouver as a Mitch candidate, one could make a case for Charlie Blackmon, who finished with 100+ RBI and runs, 27 HR, 10 triples, and ranked 9th in the league in runs created (108.6) while not missing a single game in center field.
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Philly
Ramirez ranked 2nd in total bases with 398 to help power Philly to an 87-75 record and an 2nd place finish in the Bonds Division (8th overall). He also ranked high in traditional categories, 3rd in BA (.312), 4th in SLG (.595) and 4th in OPS (.958).
His 136.6 runs created were good for second most but far behind Mike Trout (186.8). He ranked 8th in RC/27 (7.5).
Eddie Rosario, OF, Hillsborough
Rosario burst on the scene with a big postseason but quietly had an impressive regular season for the Hit Men. He was 3rd in the league in RBI (123), way ahead of any other Hit Men (Kris Bryant, 85). The lefty slugger tied for 4th in the DMBL in BA (.311), 3rd in SLG (.620) behind Martinez and Trout, and 9th in HR (40).
The Puerto Rican native ranked 3rd in OPS (.981) and was one four batters over 1.000 in total average (1.006) while finishing second to Trout in RC/27 (8.3), just ahead of teammate Kris Bryant (7.9). He ranked 4th in AB/HR (11.6) while making 117 starts in left.
Stanton's .251 BA didn't bring him close to a Triple Crown but he ranked 5th in SLG (.564), 7th in runs scored (110), and 9th in OPS (.900). His 11.0 AB/HR were second only to J.D. Martinez. He also finished 4th in extra base hits (85) and total bases (366) while ranking 6th in runs created (122.5) in 162 starts (112 at DH and 45 in the OF).
Stanton had an impressive second half, blasting 31 HRs, with 80 RBI and 62 runs, slashing .284/.307/.621, as the Mighty Men put up a league-high 459 runs in 79 second-half games. Stanton had help from the Justins: 1B Bour (.272/.331/.518) smacked 41 HR of his own, teaming with Stanton to reach 100 together, and drove in 107 RBI, while 3B Turner (.278/.379/.378) was the beneficiary, scoring 108 runs.
Mike Trout, CF, Allentown
What hurts his case is that Trout didn't get much help in Allentown as the Mules finished with the worst record in the league (58-104). Yet, he also finished 2nd in a variety of other categories: BA (.313), RBI (135), extra base hits (97), stolen bases (20). Oh, and Trout also ripped 55 HRs, trailing only Stanton and Martinez, and ranked 3rd in AB/HR (11.3) and walks (113).
Only Buster Posey of Arkansas had a longer hitting streak at 28 games -- the longest streak in at least three seasons and within 10 of the all-time record (set by Marietta's Morgan Ensberg in 2006) -- as Trout was second at 20 games.
Trout was one of four batters to have a total average of better than 1.000, but the only one to eclipse 1.200. His second-half numbers were impressive, with a slash line of .322/.414/.691 (1.105), with 29 HR and 70 RBI. He had some protection in the lineup from Didi Gregorious (26-79-86) and Manny Machado (25-69-98), with some help from Mark Reynolds (30-70-85) too.
Another big bat on a losing team was Josh Donaldson, who put up big numbers for Poovey Farms (69-93): 42 HR, 112 RBI, 108 runs and 100 BBs. A batting line of .226/.347/.478 also could be a knock on his candidacy. Donaldson finished 4th when Stanton won The Mitch in 2016.
Joey Votto, 1B, Hopatcong
It's tough to find just one candidate to pick from the league's top offensive lineup. Votto and Bryce Harper were the only Floating Fish to break the 100 RBI mark but three others approached 90 RBI for a balanced attack and three were in the top 10 in BA as well as SLG.
Votto led the squad in HR (41, 8th in DMBL), walks (114, 2nd only to Aaron Judge) and runs (113, 4th in the league). His 107 RBI were one behind Harper, with both finishing in the top 10 in the league while making 162 starts at 1B. He ranked 3rd in OBP (.395), 4th in runs created (127.7) and 10th in RC/27 (7.3), 6th in total average (.949), and 6th in OPS (.917).
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