Last week we took a look at the status of some of the teams to watch-out for in major league baseball mid-way through the season, and now we want to take a look at some of the players that you’ll want to be watching out for (for better or worse).

The MVP Candidates:

Andrew McCutchen: The major league batting average leader (.360) has been an instrumental piece of the success that has led the Pirates this year; and this leadership trait could be one of his biggest assets. While he isn’t an out-of-the-park-hitter like some players in the league, he is consistent and does still wield a respectable slugging percentage (.610).

Josh Hamilton: Hamilton currently leads the majors in RBIs (74), and is tight in the race for the home run crown (26). However, what makes Hamilton such a great player to watch is that he is not just a power hitter. With a batting average of .314 he is also consistent. He is in the top ten in almost every category that a hitter could hope to be in, and if the decision was today, I think he would lock-up the AL MVP title.

Mike Trout: This could be one of the first players since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 to win both the MVP and the Rookie of the Year award. Holding onto the top bating average in the American league (.347), Trout is also a threat on the bases with 26 stolen bases this season. Trout has managed to shine through Angels organization that is stacked top-to-bottom with some of the top batting talent in the majors. Any fan would be remiss not to have Trout in the MVP talks.

Melky Cabrera: Cabrera probably falls off a lot of people’s lists because he doesn’t have the RBI or HR’s that are seen from some other top-talent in the league. That being said, Melky has one of the top averages in the majors thus far at .358, and has been hitting over .400 for the last two months – and he’s poised to just get hotter. He’s also topping the hits tally in the majors this year with 118. Consistency goes a long way in the eyes of voters.

David Wright: Probably the underdog in this list so far, I don’t think he can be overlooked as one of the top talents in the league right now. One of the batting averages in the league (.358) is complemented by a solid hit total (104) and strong RBI count (59). He’s had some struggles in his last few games, but he’s the type of player that can turn it around at any time.

The Players to Watch-Out For:

Jose Bautista: Bautista had a bit of a slow start to the season, and is still only hitting .244 for the season. That said, Bautista has a funny way of finding is groove and settling into it. Over the last month he’s been hitting over .300, and his home run production has gone through the roof (a category he now leads in the majors), and his RBI total is in line with the top players in the MLB.

Yu Darvish: the player that was all the talk in the off-season has cooled off a little as of late – but, is still one of the top pitchers in the league. With a 10-5 record he is still tallying up an impressive win record, and while is ERA is sitting at 3.59, his WHIP is an impressive 1.36 – and let’s not forget the 117 strike-outs that he has to-date.

David Ortiz: I’ve always thought Ortiz was somewhat overrated. However, this year he has been putting up some very respectable numbers. He’s hitting a solid .308 for the season with 22 HRs and 56 RBIs; this puts him well in the mix of the top hitters in the league.

Players Who Have Been Disappointments:

Albert Pujols: Pujols has definitely not been living up to the massive contract that he recently signed with the Angels. Typically a perennial MVP candidate, Pujols is only hitting .270 for the season so far with only 13 home runs to his credit. Everything said, he is still driving the occasional run or two, with a tally of 49 RBIs for the season thus far.

Justin Morneau: The Canadian-born Twins first baseman has had some trouble rebounding from injury. Only hitting .243 for the season so far he’s not really putting up the hit numbers this year that we have seen in more recent MVP-like seasons. All things aside, Morneau has been turning it around as of late, hitting .320 over the last seven games.

J.P. Arencibia: This one makes the list purely on behalf of all the Blue Jays fans out there. J.P. had a great start to the season, achieving league honours at one point and carrying a paltry Blue Jays offence on his shoulders. However, since then he has started to deflate, and has only been hitting .238 as of late. Get your game back J.P.!!!

These are just some observational picks, and things could very well change at any point in the season. There are a lot of players not on this list that probably could be – but, these are just the shining stars (in their respective categories)Expect updates to come soon!

… and that is the last word.

@LastWordMark

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment below