Who gave the media this talking point? Sure, he's probably the favorite to win the Cy Young, but MVP? Does his season seem special?

Lets compare him to the last 2 pitchers who have won the MVP
2014 Clayton Kershaw

• 1.77 ERA
• 1.81 FIP
• 198.1 IP
• 7.9 fWAR
• 24 QS
• 6 CG
• 2 Shutouts
• 239 SO

2011 Justin Verlander

• 2.40 ERA
• 2.99 FIP
• 251.0 IP
• 6.5 WAR
• 28 QS
• 4 CG
• 2 Shutouts
• 250 SO

2026 Cam Schlittler

• 1.95 ERA
• 2.57 FIP
• 184.2 IP
• 5.9 WAR
• 19 QS
• 0 CG
• 0 Shutouts
• 228 SO

I know the game has changed, but the fact that he's near the league leaders in innings pitched yet has zero complete games and has only completed 7+ innings 7 times all season long screams that starting pitchers, in general, are less valuable than they were just 10-15 years ago. If the position is less valuable, then it makes it hard for me to believe he's the most valuable player in the American League.

"But, Farmer, he's not competing against the legends of the past. He's got the 2026 AL field." You would be correct, my point is that it takes a special, special season from a pitcher to win the MVP, and I don't think this is it.

Here is his AL competition.

• Yordan Alvarez - 175 wRC+, 5.8 WAR, 38 HR, 95 R, 96 RBI, .310 BA, .427 OBP, .589 SLG
• Junior Caminero - 145 wRC+, 4.9 WAR, 40 HR, 91 R, 95 RBI, .279 BA, .364 OBP, .532 SLG
• Bobby Witt Jr - 121 wRC+, 6.5 WAR, 18 HR, 84 R, 54 RBI, .280 BA, .360 OBP, .448 SLG
• Randy Arozarena - 148 wRC+, .4.8 WAR, 25 HR, 100 R, 75 RBI, .278 BA, .374 OBP, .478 SLG
• Ben Rice - 146 wRC+, 3.7 WAR, 38 HR, 96 R, 92 RBI, .263 BA, .359 OBP, .529 SLG

It is a pretty weak field overall. Yordan's, the clear leader of this pack, is limping to the finish as he deals with injury. He also has to overcome the DH knock (which is fair IMO). He still leads the American League in BA, OBP (.040 points!), SLG (.057 points!), and OPS (.112 points!). Offensively, no one is really close. The gap between Yordan and Caminero is 30% in wRC+. Caminero and Luke Keaschall.

Does anyone think Cam deserves the MVP over Yordan?

It would be ridiculous for a Triple Crown performance to not get the MVP

He's a Yankee.

And the media needs a story.

Both are evil dreggs of society

Ornithopter said:

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It would be ridiculous for a Triple Crown performance to not get the MVP

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Agreed but he's slipped a little. He still leads in BA, but he's a few behind in RBI and HR now.

Maybe I mislabeled the thread. Now it seems the media thinks it's Junior's MVP.

The Junior Caminero MVP helium is real, particularly with Yordan not living up to his usual power over the last two months

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 16, 2026

Within the span of five days, Junior Caminero has hit two walk-off homers, including one to clinch a playoff berth. He leads the AL with 41 homers and has done his best to mount a late run at stealing the AL MVP award away from the favored Yordan Alvarez. pic.twitter.com/R0lSGm4HnW

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 16, 2026

"Take Caminero off the Rays, and the Yankees win the division. I don't even know if Houston gets in."@JimBowdenGM explains why his AL MVP is Junior Caminero over Yordan Alvarez... 👀 pic.twitter.com/6OL5zyH1Ha

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 14, 2026

Hopefully, facts win out over late season feelings.

Yordan Alvarez vs Junior Caminero -- 2026 season

BA: Yordan
OBP: Yordan
SLG: Yordan
OPS: Yordan
wRC+: Yordan
WPA: Yordan
RISP: Yordan
Men on base: Yordan
High leverage: Yordan
fWAR: Yordan
bWAR: Yordan
Better teammates: Caminero

Can't wait to see who wins the MVP!

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) September 16, 2026

The media still needs a story. They don't sell ads when clicks don't come because both MVP races are sewed up. They have to generate a story.

We don't hate the media enough.

True. PCA pulled away so they had to generate something.

Alvarez provides zero value defensively or on the base paths so I think it is fair to look at alternative candidates.

However, Alvarez has also absolutely carried a very mediocre team.

Junior and the Rays sit a top of the toughest division in baseball...by a lot. He also plays defensive.

Junior is the AL MVP this season.

Give it to Schlittler.

Junior's .277 average would be the lowest for an AL MVP in almost 60 years.

And I have a hard time awarding an MVP to a DH, even though Yordan is clearly the best hitter in the AL this year.

_lefraud_ said:

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Junior and the Rays sit a top of the toughest division in baseball...by a lot. He also plays defensive.

Junior is the AL MVP this season.

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Because Junior has the best teammates, he deserves it?

Take a look for yourself.

• BA: .311 vs .277 (Yodan by .034)
• OBP: .429 vs .363 (Yordan by .066)
• SLG: .598 vs .532 (Yordan by .066)
• OPS: 1.027 vs .895 (Yordan by .132) - The gap between the two is similar to the gap between Junior and Ezequiel Duran. Duran plays way better defense than Junior; should he be in the MVP conversation?

• wOBA: .425 vs .379 (Yordan by .046)
• wRC+: 179 vs 145 (Yordan by 34)
• WPA: 6.41 vs 1.85 (Yordan by 4.56) - If the gap between the two was a player, he'd be ranked 3rd in baseball in Win Probability
• RE24: 69.08 vs 16.95 (Yordan by 52.13) - #2 PCA RE24 is 52.18, about the same as the gap betwen the two.
• fWAR: 6.2 vs 5.1 (Yordan by 1.1) - Yordan on offense alone dwarfs Junior on offense and defense

• Hits: 166 vs 161 (Yordan by 5)
• Doubles: 31 vs 23 (Yordan by 8)
• Home Runs: 40 vs 41 (Junior by 1)
• Runs: 97 vs 94 (Yordan by 3)
• RBI: 99 vs 96 (Yordan by 3)
• Walks: 103 vs 76 (Yordan by 27)
• Strikeouts: 115 vs 122 (Yordan with 7 fewer)
• Stolen Bases: 1 vs 3 (Junior by 2)
• Caught Stealing: 0 vs 3 (Yordan by 3)

• OAA: -3 vs -12 (Yordan by 9) - Somehow Yordan's no defense tops Juniors actual defense.
• FRV: -3 vs -7 (Yordan by 4)
• DRS: -5 vs 1 (Junior by 6)

Yordan is lapping him in traditional stats and advanced stats. He leads in counting stats and somehow even some defensive stats.

Yeah, Caminero wouldn't be the one I'd argue for against Yordan because he's essentially a DH that plays the field and who also adds no value on the base paths. That's basically a DH vs DH discussion and Yordan leads that discussion comfortably.

For me, the only argument that exists is for Bobby Witt. But it's a weak argument because you have to believe that the defense and base running is so valuable (WAR does believe this) that it can help him bridge the gap offensively between him and Yordan. I tend to think of Witt hadn't missed a couple of weeks he'd have a much better shot, but as is his argument is just too flimsy to overcome Yordan's impressive slash line.

If Bobby's offense was like Junior's, Randy's, Rice's, etc. then I could get on board. But as of now, Bobby is sitting at 119 wRC+. No defense and baserunning take a top 20-25 hitter and turn them into the MVP.