It wouldn't be outrageous to see Allentown's Mike Trout walk away with the hardware for the second consecutive year as his name shows up all over the league's top 10 batting categories. The Mules could very well split the ballot as they had the top three batters by slugging percentage in the league, in Trout, rookie Max Muncy and Manny Machado.
Meanwhile, Livingston topped the league with 107 wins, 12 more than Hoboken, but that was on the strength of pitching as the Lords of Swing had no batters crack 100 RBIs; rookie Juan Soto had a team-high 98. Muncy and Soto aren't the only rookies who could make a case for the Mitch. Miguel Andujar of 105-loss Hopatcong led the league with 89 extra base hits, tied with Vancouver's Anthony Rendon, who's another candidate worthy of attention, along with teammate J.D. Martinez. There's also Trevor Story, who led the league with 114 RBIs, for 82-80 San Francisco.
Voters can vote for up to 5 players on their ballot. The system rewards 10 points for 1st place, 7 for 2nd place, 5 for 3rd place, 3 for 4th place, 2 for 5th place, and 1 for 6th place. Let's have a look at 15 candidates worthy of McDonald consideration on your ballot:
Miguel Andujar, 3B, Hopatcong
.248/.270/.480--->.750
33 HR, 107 RBIs, 87 runs
167 hits, 55 doubles
89 EBH, 323 TB
82.8 RC, 4.2 RC/27
Andujar led all rookies in total bases, RBI and doubles, and those totals were enough to rank within the top 10, including 2nd in doubles.
Jose Altuve, 2B, Tucson
.318/.373/.468--->.841209 hits, 55 doubles
14 HR, 83 RBI, 97 runs
70 EBH, 308 TB
113.1 RC, 6.3 RC/27
Altuve can always be counted on as Tucson's spark plug on offense and usually ends up among getting Mitchell consideration (he finished 12th last year). He fell short of the batting title this year but still tied for the league lead in hits, and tied for 2nd with 55 doubles, as he helped the King Snakes average 4.8 runs a game -- third-best in the league.
Javier Baez, 2B/SS/3B, Hoboken
.247/.261/.455--->.716
161 hits, 39 doubles
29 HR, 95 RBI, 75 runs
73 EBH, 297 TB
73.3 RC, 3.9 RC/27
SABR-metricians are likely not to be found in the Baez camp given his ghastly 215-9 K-BB ratio. Yet he missed only one game and was a constant in the lineup while splitting time between 2B (72 games), SS (58) and 3B (31) for the 95-win Cutters. His only hope for some love might be a league-best 21 game-winning RBI. 1B Jesus Aguilar led the squad with 41 HR - tied with San Francisco's Trevor Story and Tucson's Nolan Arenado for 6th in the league -- and edged Baez with a team--leading 96 RBI.
Alex Bregman, 3B, El Paso
.259/.349/.485--->.833
159 hits, 44 doubles
30 HR, 102 RBI, 100 runs
76 EBH, 297 TB
102.6 RC, 5.7 RC/27
Bregman quickly has become El Paso's veteran leader in just two seasons. He put up a classic 30-100-102 line while starting all 162 games at 3B for the up-and-coming 76-win Chihuahuas. His 16 game-winning RBI ranked 4th among all batters.
Nelson Cruz, DH, Tucson
.254/.312/524--->.836
159 hits, 19 doubles
50 HR, 103 RBI, 99 runs
69 EBH, 328 TB
98.9 RC, 5.5 RC/27
Nelson Cruz made 162 starts but if voters don't mind that they were all out of the DH spot, his 50-homer campaign should garner some votes considering he led the 94-68 King Snakes in the key categories of HR, RBI and runs. Providing support in the Tucson lineup was 3B Nolan Arenado, who put up comparable numbers to Cruz: 41 HR, 96 RBI, 87 runs, while slashing .245/.308/.504.
Mitch Haniger, OF, Marietta
.281/.348/.478--->.838
27 HR, 108 RBI, 83 runs
181 hits, 40 doubles
70 EBH, 308 TB
110.2 RC, 6.2 RC/27
You probably don't know but Haniger made 162 starts, all in CF, for the Mighty Men. Considering the premium position, a 108-RBI campaign and top 10 finish in several categories, including runs created, might make him a dark horse candidate for 88-74 Marietta.
Aaron Judge, OF, Empire City
.239/.345/.493--->.838
38 HR, 109 RBI, 93 runs
141 hits, 36 doubles
74 EBH, 291 TB
107.2 RC, 6.2 RC/27
Judge finished 5th in voting last year as a rookie, when he won the Pat Listach Award as the league's top rookie. He followed that up with another brilliant season, finishing in the top 10 in all major power categories.
Manny Machado, 3B, Allentown
.301/.354/.536--->.891
38 HR, 111 RBI, 105 runs
196 hits, 35 doubles
75 EBH, 349 TB
115.7 RC, 6.4 RC/27
J.D. Martinez, DH/OF, Vancouver
.320/.369/.531--->.900
209 hits, 37 doubles
33 HR, 110 RBI, 108 runs
71 EBH, 347 TB
121.2 RC, 6.9 RC/27
Martinez finished 2nd in voting last year to Trout, and if he falls short again this year, he can take solace in the batting crown on his mantel. He spent most of his season at DH, making 19 starts in Vancouver's outfield.
Max Muncy, 1B, Allentown
.256/.368/.540--->.908
42 HR, 99 RBI, 88 runs
138 hits, 21 doubles
66 EBH, 291 TB
112.7 RC, 7.5 RC/27
As the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, Muncy put up a monster season. He could be the Listach Award winner and may even get votes for the Mitch. The question is, do voters give him the credit for hitting in a lineup with Mike Trout and Manny Machado, or will too many Mules on the ballot split the vote, paving the way for another batter to win?
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Blue Ridge
.221/.311/.470--->.781
39 HR, 100 RBI, 89 runs
136 hits, 32 doubles
73 EBH, 289 TB
94.0 RC, 5.1 RC/27
Don't let that batting average fool you: Ramirez still put up a monster season, with 39 HR and 100 RBIs after coming over from Philly in an early 2019 trade. And teammate Francisco Lindor put up an impressive 35 HR/87 RBI season with 99 runs and 43 doubles -- at SS no less.
Anthony Rendon, 3B, Vancouver
.289/.344/.506--->.850
26 HR, 98 RBI, 109 runs
189 hits, 62 doubles
89 EBH, 331 TB
117.1 RC, 6.7 RC/27
Vancouver sported the second most prolific offense in the league, scoring 799 runs, 4.9 per game, but failed to make the postseason. No one can blame Rendon, who had a league-best 24-game hitting streak and topped all batters in doubles and extra-base hits. He also tied for 5th in the league (along with Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Chapman) with 15 game-winning RBI.
Juan Soto, OF, Livingston
.257/.351/.429--->.780 OPS
26 HR, 98 RBI, 106 runs
162 hits, 30 doubles
56 EBH, 270 TB
101.1 RC, 5.6 RC/27
Livingston's lineup had depth as evidenced by a league-high 808 runs scored (5 per game) yet not one batter with 100 RBIs. Soto led the team with 98 RBI and 106 runs as a rookie in a lineup that added Mookie Betts during the year. The Lords of Swing led the league with a balanced attacked, getting support from Paul Goldschmidt (.234/.310/.414, 29 HR-82 runs-96 RBI) and Matt Chapman (.231/.298/474, 33-86-88).
Trevor Story, SS, San Francisco
.258/.313/.531--->.822
41 HR, 114 RBI, 93 runs
164 hits, 38 doubles
85 EBH, 337 TB
103.0 RC, 5.6 RC/27
It was a big year for shortstops in the DMBL and pretty much none bigger than Story, who led the league in RBI, along with 41 dongs, tying for 4th in SLG, 3rd in extra base hits, and top 5 in total bases for San Francisco, who finished 9th at 82-80. His league-best 114 RBI weren't all in "garbage time" as he ranked second only to Javier Baez of Hoboken with 19 game-winning RBI.
Mike Trout, CF, Allentown
.268/.392/.543--->.936
167 hits, 35 doubles
42 HR, 87 RBI, 129 runs
82 EBH, 338 TB
143.5 RC, 8.3 RC/27
The two-time Mitchell Award winner led the league in at least six categories, including OBP, SLG and OPS. His 129 runs led the league by a wide margin -- 18 to be exact -- and 113 walks were second only to Hopatcong's Bryce Harper.
Justin Turner, 3B, Marietta
.305/.369/.499--->.869
26 HR, 111 RBI, 85 runs
208 hits, 49 doubles
78 EBH, 341 TB
123.3 RC, 6.6 RC/27
The oft-injured Turner started every game at 3B and put up an impressive all-around campaign for the 88-win Mighty Men. He ranked second in the league with 111 runs scored. The 2015 batting champ finished 5th in batting.
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