FanPost

Andrelton Simmons deserves serious MVP consideration

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Pssssst.

Hey, you, watching ESPN. Yes, you. Take a break from listening to the crew talk about what kind of milk Aaron Judge buys and listen to this:

Andrelton Simmons is 2nd in AL bWAR, 3rd overall, and .4 bWAR ahead of Judge.

Simba is putting together an MVP-caliber season right in front of everyone and no one is paying attention. The stud shortstop seemed to be in the news all the time as a member of the Atlanta Braves, but that scrutiny dropped off a cliff after his trade to the Angels.

I'll preface this by saying that if I was member of the BBWA, I would vote for Jose Altuve for AL MVP if the season ended today. What that compact man is doing is nothing short of amazing and he deserves all the attention and awards.

But the fact that, by Baseball Reference's measure, (Fangraphs is another story), Simmons is a top 3 player in the league is something that people should be marveling at more.

The Angels have the greatest baseball player on the planet; that's perhaps the biggest reason Simmons is not getting the attention he deserves. Trout is obviously having perhaps his best season ever (despite missing 6 weeks) and would probably be ahead of Simmons if he hadn't been injured. And of course, there's the large baseball man Aaron Judge who seems to be all the sports networks can talk about after debating the pros and cons of Tom Brady wearing a hat outside while he's doing yardwork today.

But we're looking at arguably the greatest defensive shortstop to ever play the game. Yes, better than Ozzie Smith. And the fact that Simba is now slashing .303/.352/.459 with a 121 wRC+ on top of his league-best defense at the game's toughest position is flat out phenomenal. Oh, and to top it off, he's also tied for the league lead in defensive bWAR, which should (hahahaha) earn him another Gold Glove Award. People need to wake up and give this man his due credit.

When Simmons was traded to the Angels before the 2016 season, it was believed that the Braves were letting him go because they believed he could never become a truly productive offensive threat. They essentially thought he was all defense. But as Simba seems to get better and better with each passing game, it looks more and more like the Angels came out with the better end of this deal. It's clear that Simmons has the makings of a bondafide superstar.

There is still plenty of season left for the landscape to change, but as we approach the last third of the season and analysts begin their awards predictions, it is criminal that Simmons is not being given his share of the spotlight.

This FanPost is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

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