Donaldson is quietly having another MVP-calibre season
By: Ian Hunter
Canadian Baseball Network
If one had to venture a guess as to which position players are currently leading the American League in Wins Above Replacement, who would you think of? Mike Trout? Manny Machado? Maybe Xander Bogaerts or Jose Altuve?
You might be surprised to learn that Josh Donaldson is currently one of the top three position players in the AL. That’s because the Bringer of Rain is very quietly having himself yet another MVP-calibre season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Amazingly, most of the focus surrounding the Blue Jays has been centred on their solid starting pitching or their fledgling bullpen. Very little attention has been paid to the starting lineup, and even less so to someone like Donaldson, who picked up where he left off last season.
Perhaps it’s because Donaldson isn’t exactly leading any of the triple crown or traditional “back of the bubble gum card” categories, but he is at the top of the Wins Above Replacement leaderboard, which should be just as good. Donaldson remains one of the best overall players in baseball this season.
Everyone knows Donaldson can hit and hit for power. His defense at the hot corner has been fawned over as well. But one aspect of his game where he’s very underrated is his base running. Donaldson has demonstrated that he’s a very astute baserunner and does his best to maximize his opportunities on the base paths.
Another reason why Donaldson has flown under the radar is because he’s been far less vocal. He’s still that same boisterous, confident personality, but it seems like Donaldson has scaled it back a little but this season.
Last year, Donaldson famously declared “this isn’t the try league, this is the get it done league”. It was meant as a rallying cry, but Donaldson hasn’t needed to light a fire under his teammates … at least, not yet.
In the offensive department, Edwin Encarnacion has garnered most of the attention, as he’s performed otherworldly at the plate the past six weeks. But Donaldson himself has been consistent most of the season and has presence in the lineup has been just as crucial as Encarnacion’s.
Typically, losing a hitter the calibre of Jose Bautista would create a huge hole in a team’s lineup. But Donaldson and Encarnacion’s production has more than made up for the absence of Joey Bats. It’s truly a testament to how good Donaldson is right now; because Bautista isn’t exactly sorely missed at the moment.
Miraculously, Donaldson’s low-water mark slash line was back on May 26th when he was slashing .242/.343/.495. In the span of just over a month, Donaldson has raised his slash line to .293/.401/.571. Not only is he reaching base at a better clip, Donaldson is slugging among the best of them in the American League this season.
When you crunch some of the numbers, Donaldson might actually be having a slightly better first half this year than he did last year, in which he took home the hardware for the American League’s Most Valuable Player.
Donaldson continues to reap the benefits of hitting in a home run friendly ballpark like the Rogers Centre. While at the same time, not having to hit in cavernous stadiums on a regular basis like Oakland Coliseum and Safeco Field have done wonders for his offensive numbers.
No matter where he’s played, regardless of the team or ballpark, Donaldson continues to churn out elite numbers. The interesting thing is Donaldson has posted MVP-calibre numbers the past three years running. And if Donaldson keeps up this pace, you can probably make it four straight MVP-worthy campaigns.
Follow Ian’s work on the Blue Jays at Blue Jay Hunter and follow him on Twitter, @BlueJayHunter.