Jose Reyes is the Mid-Season NL MVP

I was listening to talk radio about how historic of a season Jose Reyes is having for the Mets. The host said that if the National League MVP vote were held right now, that Reyes would be the runaway winner of the award. The co-host chimed in saying, "He won't win MVP, he won't win MVP." The host asks, "Why not?" and the co-host replies, "Because he just won't. He's having a great year, but he won't be MVP." Great job of making a case guy.

Reyes is having a career year just in time for a big contract.

Clearly, the co-host had no clue what kind of year Reyes is having. "Because he just won't" is not a good enough reason for why he won't win MVP. He's having a beastly year. If he plays the second half like he played the first, Reyes is a sure-fire bet to win the MVP. Maybe it has something to do with this being a contract year, or maybe it's that Reyes is finally completely healthy and showing what he is capable of doing. Whatever the case is, Reyes is winning this MVP the same way Ichiro Suzuki won AL MVP his rookie year -- with hitting, stolen bases, and run scoring.

Now, there is a case to be made that National League middle infielders rarely win MVP's anymore. Sluggers like Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols usually take those kind of awards. In the NL since 1980, there have only been two shortstops named MVP (Jimmy Rollins in 2007 and Barry Larkin in 1995). There has also been one second baseman win NL MVP (Jeff Kent in 2000).

But look at the stats. Heading into tonight, Reyes led the league in batting average at .341, runs with 61, hits with 113, and triples with 14. He is second in stolen bases with 28, tied for seventh with 20 doubles, and is 11th in on-base percentage at .385. What is even more astounding is that despite having hit only three home runs for the season, Reyes is 10th in the league in slugging percentage. What's more astounding is that Reyes has scored 18.1 percent of the Mets' runs, the second-closest in the National League is Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers at 16.6 percent.

Then there are the intangibles: the combination of his ability to run around the diamond when he puts the ball in play and the threat to steal a base at any time, makes Reyes the most entertaining ballplayer in baseball. On top of that, the Mets are playing .500 ball with a decimated lineup that has played without Ike Davis and David Wright for most of the season. Sure, Reyes is getting help from Carlos Beltran who is himself having a great year, but Reyes is the heart and soul of the team.

The strike against Reyes is that his fielding is average at best in comparison to other shortstops, which is true. He ranks in the middle of shortstops in fielding percentage, but he ranks in the top 10 in all of baseball in putouts, assists, and zone rating. So when people suggest he won't win MVP, they better come up with a better reason than to say, "He just won't." If he keeps playing at this pace he will.

And when Mets owner Fred Wilpon said this to the New Yorker: “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.” Well, maybe the Mets won't give Reyes Crawford-type money (7 years, $142 million), but with this season someone will pay to have one of the three best shortstops in all of baseball. Let's just hope the Mets don't see him putting up these kind of numbers in another jersey.

P.S. My list of the top five mid-season NL MVP candidates in order is:
1. Jose Reyes
2. Matt Kemp
3. Ryan Braun
4. Prince Fielder
5. Joey Votto