2020 Kevin Mitchell Award candidates

Is a big hitting CF or SS more valuable than a power-hitting 1B? Does a DH who doesn't usually even play the field warrant as much consideration? It's an age-old question, as is just what "valuable" means. And in a season with home runs flying out of ballparks -- does it matter?

The Kevin Mitchell Award goes to the most valuable batter in the DMBL during the regular season. Ballots have 6 slots, with 10 points for 1st place; 7 for 2nd place; 5 for 3rd; 3 for 4th; 2 for 5th, and 1 for 6th.

This is by no means a comprehensive list but here are some candidates to consider for The Mitchell Award (in reverse alphabetical order to be fair to the folks at the end of the alphabet):

Christian Yelich, OF, Sardine City
.338/.436/.627 --- 1.215
42 HR, 114 RBI, 136 R
201 H, 36 2B, 5 3B
167.5 RC, 10.9 RC/27
83 EBH, 373 TB

Yelich not only won the battling title by almost 20 points over Ketel Marte of Tucson but secured a Triple Crown of sorts, also leading the league in on-base and slugging percentages. Yelich fell short of a batting title in his rookie season of 2014.

One could find Yelich in the top 10 all over the league's batting categories. His 27 intentional walks were the most since Gary Sanchez drew 33 as a Hopatcong rookie in 2017. That could explain his 12 GW RBI, fewer than teammate Bellinger (18). To boot, he swiped 18 of 23 bases for a .783 clip. Of his 160 starts, 43 came in the outfield and 117 at DH, which could be a knock by some on his candidacy.

Mike Trout, CF, Allentown
.267/.403/.620---1.178
48 HR, 114 RBI, 115 R
136 H, 34 2B, 1 3B

139.5 RC, 9.9 RC/27

83 EBH, 316 TB

Trout's gonna Trout. At some point, the award might just have to be renamed for Trout, who has won it three times and seems to be in the mix for it every season. This year is no different.

The dude just keeps raking, finishing 2nd in the league in slugging, OBP, AB per HR, walks, intentional walks, RC/27 and total average. He missed his first game since his rookie year in 2013 -- making 139 starts in CF for the Mules. Oh, and his 22-game hitting streak was the season's longest.

Fernando Tatis, Jr., , SS, El Paso
.306/.364/.595---.987
42 HR, 123 RBI, 94 R
167 H, 20 2B, 6 3B
119.3 RC, 8.2 RC/27
68 EBH, 325 TB

As a rookie, Tatis grabbed a hold of El Paso and dragged them to a 93-loss season. He did have some help from Alex Bregman, who in his second season matched Tatis with 42 HR and put up triple digits in R, RBI, BB and Ks. Tatis ranked 5th in the league in RBI and found his name all over the top 10 in the league in various batting categories while making 132 starts at SS.

George Springer, CF Sardine City
.263/.338/.549---.877
53 HR, 113 RBI, 128 R
169 H, 25 2B
118.6 RC, 6.5 RC/27

Springer, who came over in a trade from Hillsborough in early 2018, led the top team in the regular season with 53 HRs while patrolling CF for 151 games. He could get bonus points from some voters for his defensive position, as compared to teammates Christian Yelich who primarily DH'd and 1B Cody Bellinger, or Hillsborough 1B-DH combination, Pete Alonso and Yordan Alvarez. On the other hand, he literally had a fraction of the GW RBI (6) that Yelich (12) or Bellinger (18) did.

Jorge Soler, OF, Poovey Farms
.252/.326/.608---.926
64 HR, 128 RBI, 115 R
159 H, 32 2B
120.7 RC, 6.6 RC/27
96 EBH, 383 TB

If long balls are your thing, Soler is your guy, hitting them at a clip of 9.8 per AB. The Cuban native followed up his 2019 breakout season with a monster power year, twice homering in 5 straight games. He led the second-best offense in the league, with help from Josh Donaldson (43-96-110), Freddie Freeman (33-102-107), and Xander Bogaerts (33-113-106, .310) and Trea Turner (27-107-73). The 64 dongs by Soler led the league and were the most homers since Giancarlo Stanton slugged 59 in 2018 and 60 in 2016. He also topped the DMBL with 96 extra-base hits.

Ketel Marte, CF/2B, Tucson
.319/.383/.572---.981
188 H, 33 2B, 7 3B
34 HR, 107 RBI, 113 R

74 EBH, 337 TB
130.7 RC, 8.4 RC/27

It might be easy to sleep on Marte; he finished a distance 2nd in the batting race but ranked within the top 10 for on-base and slugging. primarily CF (136 starts) and some 2B (9 starts) but he did miss some time due to injury. Still, he matched Yordan Alvarez for 3rd in the league in RC/29 (8.4) in a lineup that had a historic year in the HR department, behind Nelson Cruz (47 HR, 116 RBI), and Nolan Arenado (38 HR, 83 RBI).

Mitch Garver, C, Livingston/Blue Ridge/Philly
.276/.372/.633--1.281
45 HR, 91 RBI, 88 R
119 H, 17 2B, 1 3B

Anytime a catcher slugs 45 HRs, you sit up and take notice. In Garver's case, it's tricky because he split his time with three teams, only one of which went to the postseason. He hit 30 homers in 77 games with Philly, then was dealt to Blue Ridge where briefly sputtered for essentially three weeks, before being traded to Livingston.

The thing is, Garver was almost exclusively a catcher at all three stops -- all but one of his 130 starts behind the plate -- making the 45 dongs all the more impressive. He led the league in virtually every batting category versus left-handed pitching.

Brett Gardner, CF, Hopatcong
.257/.332/.521--.848
32 HR, 97 RBI, 100 R
150 HI, 36 2B, 11 3B
102.0 RC, 6.1 RC/27
79 EBH, 304 TB

The only place you'll find Gardner among batting leaders is in triples. And yet, he was an all-star, leading or co-leading an 89-win division winner that relied on its pitching in virtually every batting category, including HR, RBI, runs (and missed out on hits by just one), while manning CF for 158 games. Sure, Bryce Harper also slammed 32 HRs and drove in 92 but hit .221. Any hopes of Gardner winning The Mitch likely would be akin to a Kirk Gibson-like candidacy of 1988 with the Dodgers -- not so much the eye-popping numbers as what he did for the lineup and team around him.

Carlos Correa, SS, Livingston
.273/.341/.559---.876
45 HR, 124 RBI, 94 R
164 H, 27 2B, 5 3B
109.2 RC, 6.3 RC/27

77 EBH, 336 TB

45 homers from a shortstop? Oh behave! Correa led the team in RBI and finished 3rd in the league while playing a premium position like SS for the 100-win Lords of Swing. He was backed in the lineup by Mookie Betts, who had 33 HR, 123 runs, and 91 RBI, and rookie Jeff McNeil, with 124 runs.

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Poovey Farms
.313/.391/.556---.970
35 HR, 113 RBI, 121 R
204 H, 51 2B, 1 3B
143.0 RC, 8.3 RC/27
87 EBH, 362 TB

There seems to be no shortage of big-time hitters at the SS position, it's like the days of A-Rod, Jeter and Nomar - but more dongs! Bogaerts finished 4th in the batting race but that's OK, he already has one on his mantel, and yet still powered 35 HRs and 51 doubles out of the 6 spot. With all that offense, Poovey Farms still lost 88 games, which is one of the things that might "bogart" votes from Xander.

Cody Bellinger, 1B, Sardine City

.295/.381/.594---1.027
51 HR, 121 RBI, 132 R
194 H, 38 2B, 3 3B
92 EBH, 391 TB
148.8 RC, 8.1 RC/27

Sardine City had a lethal triumvirate of Cody Bellinger, George Springer and Christian Yelich (BSY), ranking 1-2-3 in runs scored. But who was the straw that stirred the Straphangers' drink? Bellinger led the league's best team in the regular season in RBI, ranking 6th in the DMBL, but topped the league in total bases while making 162 starts at 1B. Another edge for Bellinger might be his 18 GW RBI, tops in the league along with Hillsborough's Kris Bryant. Who knows, maybe BSY splits the ticket, opening the door for another batter to claim The Mitch.

Yordan Alvarez, DH, Hillsborough
.290/.395/.587---1.028
48 HR, 124 RBI, 119 R
181 H, 39 2B, 1 3B

144.3 RC, 8.4 RC/27

Alvarez started the season afire, among the league leaders in batting before tailing off. His 21-game hit streak was 2nd only to Mike Trout's 22-game streak, and while his name was scattered throughout the top 10 of the league's batting categories, he didn't lead all batters in one particular category. The Mitch goes to the league's most valuable batter, so traditionalists might knock his candidacy because he was primarily the Hit Men's DH, manning left field for only 2 innings during the season.

Pete Alonso, 1B, Hillsborough
.270/.340/.610--.964
60 HR, 139 RBI, 114 R
172 H, 33 2B, 2 3B
133.1 RC, 7.4 RC/27
95 EBH, 389 TB

Alonso ended up leading the league in RBI as a rookie, ranked 3rd in slugging thanks to 60 homers -- trailing only Jorge Soler of Poovey Farms -- and was second in extra base hits, again trailing Soler, only by one.

Strikeouts could ding his candidacy, with 212, 5th most in the league, just ahead of Soler. Oh, who are we kidding, no one cares about strikeouts anymore. 6th in RC 133.1, best among rookies not named Alvarez. In total bases, he trailed only Sardine City's Cody Bellinger, by two with 389. He also tied for 2nd (with Allentown's Mike Trout) in AB/HR with 10.6, if you're into that, while making 162 starts at 1B.