Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are the favorites to win this year's MVP awards, but if we want to know which players truly have the most value we need to consider more than dominant offensive numbers.
Using Fangraphs' Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for the past two seasons, which measures a player's overall value and puts all players on the same scale, WAR Value, which puts a dollar value on each Win in WAR (~$7.4 million per Win in 2014 and ~$8.0 million per Win in 2015), and 2015 salary, we get a true sense of which players are truly the most valuable to their teams.
Here are the top 25.
#25 Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
Position: Third Baseman
2014-15 WAR: 7.6 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $59.1 million
2015 Salary: $3.5 million
One thing to know: The 2-time All-Star is on OBP machine, drawing 156 walks since the start of the 2014 season and upping his power this season with 17 home runs. The Cardinals have him under contract until 2020.
#24 Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Position: Catcher
2014-15 WAR: 11.2 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $86.7 million
2015 Salary: $16.5 million
One thing to know: One of the best all-around players in baseball, Posey is only this low because he has the highest salary on the list which hurts his overall value. He is in the third year of a 9-year, $167 million contract that seems like a steal at this point.
#23 Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
Position: Starting Pitcher
2014-15 WAR: 7.1 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $55.4 million
2015 Salary: $0.5 million
One thing to know: Gray leads the American League in ERA (2.06) and is making just a touch more than the MLB minimum ($500,000).
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