MLB

6 Darkhorse MVP Candidates After the First Half

Matt Musico  —  @mmusico8 Jul 13th, 2017
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Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Current Odds: 25-1

Well, this just doesn't seem right.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout hardly qualifies as your traditional darkhorse since he was the favorite heading into the season. Plus, winning two AL MVPs and finishing in the top two for five consecutive seasons has him on everyone's radar. But it's a little different this year because a trip to the disabled list has limited him to just 206 plate appearances (47 games played) so far in 2017.

When he went down on May 28th, the perennial MVP candidate was just beginning what seemed like his best campaign yet -- he led the league with a 3.4 fWAR off the strength of a ridiculous 1.203 OPS along with an equally-ridiculous .405 ISO and 208 wRC+.

He was the clear favorite at the time of his injury, but Judge has decidedly lapped the field in this particular race while Trout was forced to the sideline.

The odds appear to be stacked against him because of the amount of time he's missed, but if there's one guy we should never count out to make a run, it's Mike Trout.

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