Buster Posey - MVP candidate

The race for the Most Valuable Player is a lot like a singing contest. It doesn't really matter much how the song starts, but how it finishes. And while most agree that if the season were to end right now, a certain Mr. McCutchen of the Pirates would probably get the nod. The season is not over yet. With a little more than a month and a half to go, Buster Posey has more than enough time to give that center fielder a run for his money. And judging what Posey is doing since the second half started, it is going to be close.

Of course, Posey is not the only MVP candidate on his own team. The Melkman has had a great season too and practically carried the Giants on his back the first half. Posey has overtaken Melky and now and leads him in wOBA, .402 to .389. Posey's current wOBA is sixth in the NL behind Votto, McCutchen, Braun, Ruis and Holliday. Votto will lose some steam because of his extended absence down the stretch, Ruis is also out and Holliday and Braun will lose out to Posey because of the positions they play.

And make no mistake about it, a team's place in the standings does have consideration in the voting and always have. Braun will suffer from the Brewers down season. Buster Posey is in good shape there too as the Dodgers and Posey's Giants look to battle for the division the remainder of the season. And again, a catcher always seems to bear extra weight. Whether it is true or not, catching is considered one of the most important positions on the field.

Buster Posey has a triple slash line in the second half of: .433/.509/.794. Holy smokes! And that encompasses 26 games. In those 26 games, Posey has hit nine homers and has driven in 32 runs. That is about as hot as a player can play. In his ten games so far in August, Posey has an OPS of 1.490. Again, with his team struggling to take home the division, such a strong finish to his season can only strengthen his MVP case.

The Pirates, though a great story, are not a lock to hold on to make the playoffs. If they fade in the next month, it can only hurt McCutchen's case. If McCutchen comes back to the pack a little in his statistics and he and Posey end up in a similar place offensively, then Posey has an excellent chance to win the award.

Whether he does or not, after last season's horrific injury, what Buster Posey is doing this season is a real treat. If he can carry this unbelievable hot streak another week or two, he is going to be hard to pick against when that post season hardware rolls around.