If Braun was up from the start,would he be an MVP candidate?

[adambr2]

Let's take a look at Braun's numbers for 2007.

 

.338 15 HR 42 RBI 8 SB 1.043 OPS

 

Okay, so Braun's played in 50 games. We're 98 games into the season. So I'll assume that if Braun was up the entire season, he would have played in 95 games. Project that out up to the this point and you get:

 

.338 29 HR 80 RBI 15 SB 1.043 OPS

 

Now, let's project those numbers for an entire full season of regular play. We'll assume he plays in 156 games this season, 1 day off a month.

 

.338 47 HR 131 RBI 25 SB 1.043

 

Those are MVP numbers. No question about it. Look, I'm not saying that Braun won't hit a slump at some point. But 50 games and 200+ AB's is a pretty good sample size to say -- "Yeah, he's for real!"

 

That's how good he has been this year. And if his projections had been consistent throughout the year, Pence wouldn't even be in the ROY discussion. We'll never know, but I don't know if I've ever seen a rookie start this well since I've been watching baseball. From ANY team.

 

Has a rookie ever won MVP?

[1992casey]

We have that thread: 2 MVP Candidates on the Brewers?.

 

As always, feel free to copy and paste. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif