Let's pick each team's MVP for next season. Yes, you can bookmark this article and remind me in October that I didn't go 30-for-30.
In winning the MVP award in near unanimous fashion -- he collected 29 of 30 first-place votes -- Bryant improved his isolated power while cutting down on his strikeout rate from 30.6 percent to 22 percent. Can he make another leap? What's interesting is that when Bryant was drafted and coming up through the minors, scouts raved about his power to all fields. But only one of his 39 home runs went to the opposite field and that was just to the right of center. He has developed into a dead pull hitter who doesn't hit the ball on the ground much (third-lowest ground-ball rate among regulars), which is more of an old-player skill set. He's already great, but to get to, say, the Miguel Cabrera level at the plate, he'll have to learn to hit the ball the opposite way more often. I think he does improve, which makes him the favorite to capture another National League MVP trophy.
St. Louis Cardinals: Carlos Martinez
I love Matt Carpenter, but Martinez is coming off a 5.4-WAR season with room for improvement. He's now 25, so I expect the Cards to take the gloves off and let him top 200 innings. With his 95 mph fastball and wipeout slider, he's already death to right-handed batters. He just needs to improve his control -- 3.2 walks per nine innings -- and changeup, and he's a Cy Young contender.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Starling Marte
He builds his value off his speed on defense (two straight Gold Gloves) and in his baserunning (47 steals). A .311 average and 16 HBPs allowed him to post a .362 OBP despite a low walk rate. He might switch positions with Andrew McCutchen but should remain one of the top all-around outfielders in the NL.
Milwaukee Brewers: Jonathan Villar
I'll buy into the breakout season that included 60 extra-base hits and 62 steals. Here's a fun junk stat. Players with at least 60 extra-base hits and 60 steals: Villar, Jose Reyes (twice), Rickey Henderson (twice), Juan Samuel, Joe Morgan (twice), Lou Brock and Ty Cobb (twice).
He led the NL in wRC+, and trailed only Mike Trout and David Ortiz in the majors. One concern: His average exit velocity is trending down, so let's see how the power numbers play out after hitting 29 home runs in 2016.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Corey Seager
Clayton Kershaw made only 21 starts last year and still had a pretty good argument for Cy Young honors (he finished fifth in the voting). His six-year run: 100-37, 2.06 ERA, .199 average allowed and three Cy Youngs. He has missed time in two of the past three seasons, however, so the health concerns are enough of a red flag that I'll go with Seager, coming off a .308/.365/.512 rookie season.
San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey
The Giants were extremely top heavy last year with five players accumulating 4.3 WAR or higher (Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, Posey, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford), with Jeff Samardzija the only player between 2.0 and 4.2. Cueto led the team last year, but I expect Posey to regain the power that abandoned him in the second half and get back to hitting .300.
Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado
Is he an MVP candidate? He's close, although I think an MVP playing in Coors Field has to post a higher OBP than .362. The weird thing about Arenado is that even though he has a pretty good contact rate, he doesn't seem to receive the same BABIP boost at home like other Rockies hitters (he had a .299 BABIP at Coors compared to a team mark of .348).
Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt
This isn't a lock as A.J. Pollock was one of the best players in the league in 2015 before fracturing his elbow last season. Goldschmidt also had a bit of a down year at the plate as his slugging percentage fell nearly 100 points, thanks to a decline in his fly ball rate. The core skills remain, so I'm looking for 30-plus home runs.
Myers had a huge first half, even earning a start in the All-Star Game, but hit only .223/.316/.318 in the second half. Given the inconsistency and injuries in his career, the six-year, $83 million extension he recently signed won't necessarily turn into a steal for the Padres.
Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper
This was a tough call. Daniel Murphy finished second in the MVP voting in 2016. Max Scherzer was merely the Cy Young winner. Trea Turner accumulated 3.5 WAR in half a season; double that and he's an MVP contender. Heck, even Adam Eaton had a 6.2-WAR season. But I'll go with Harper having a bounce-back season after he clearly played through injuries last season after tearing it up in April. Of course, injuries have been a problem throughout his career, so if you think Turner can maintain his insane .388 BABIP, hit 20-plus home runs and steal 60-plus bases while handling the transition back to shortstop, well ... wait, can I change my pick?
New York Mets: Noah Syndergaard
Stay healthy, big guy.
Miami Marlins: Christian Yelich
Look, if Giancarlo Stanton maxes out his potential and stays healthy, sure, he could be an absolute beast, the way he was in 2014. But he hasn't been able to stay on the field, his walk rate has declined and Yelich is the better fielder and moving to center field. He finally showed some over-the-fence power last year, and I like his chances to hit .300 with 25 bombs and a .400 OBP.
Philadelphia Phillies: Odubel Herrera
This is why I think the Phillies are still a long way from contending: Herrera is a nice player, although not a big star. Maikel Franco isn't going to be a star. Tommy Joseph isn't going to be a star. J.P. Crawford is an excellent prospect, but he's not going to be in the Corey Seager/Carlos Correa/Francisco Lindor class of shortstops. They still need a couple of anchor pieces.
Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman
He's the player Royals fans think Eric Hosmer is (but isn't).
Cleveland Indians: Francisco Lindor
He played the entire 2016 season at 22. Corey Kluber is awesome and his breaking ball is a gift from the baseball gods, but Lindor could be Derek Jeter ... with better defense.
Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander
OK, Ian Kinsler versus Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera created about 24 more runs than Kinsler in the same number of plate appearances. Does that make up for Kinsler's edges in the field, on the bases and positional advantage? No. Kinsler was the better player in 2016. So, unless you expect major regression from Kinsler, I think it's Kinsler versus Verlander for team MVP, and I like Verlander's odds to repeat his Cy Young runner-up season.
Kansas City Royals: Mike Moustakas
A lot of question marks for the Royals' core as Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon all battled injuries, and Hosmer and Salvador Perez simply don't get on base enough to be elite players. If Moustakas is healthy after knee surgery, I think he'll consolidate the improvements he made in 2015 and have a big season.
Chicago White Sox: Jose Quintana
Assuming he doesn't get traded, of course.
Defense matters. And he finally started showing some of the potential with the bat down the stretch. He's not going to be the big star he was once projected to become -- too many strikeouts, not enough walks -- but he's going to be a nice player, a guy who is good enough to start on a playoff team.
I feel a monster season coming on while Adrian Beltre finally shows a little age.
Seattle Mariners: Robinson Cano
The most underrated part of Cano's game: He never gets hurt. Scouts talk about a five-tool player, with plate discipline sometimes mentioned as a sixth tool. I like to call durability the seventh tool, and Cano has averaged 159 games the past 10 seasons. He has a chance to not only rank as one of the top five second basemen ever, but maybe even be regarded as an inner circle Hall of Famer if he has a few more big seasons.
Houston Astros: Carlos Correa
Correa was a popular preseason MVP pick last spring. I think everyone was just a little early. The ZiPS projection forecasts .280/.358/.489 with 27 home runs, a slight improvement over last season. I think he'll do even better.
Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout
Duh.
Oakland Athletics: Sean Manaea
I'm not convinced Sonny Gray bounces back, and if he does, he probably gets traded. The more I look at Manaea, the more I love the upside and the impressive rookie season where he threw strikes and pitched with a lot of confidence. He looked like a guy who thinks he's good and you love that in a pitcher.
His 9.6-WAR season was inflated by some insane defensive metrics -- plus-32 defensive runs saved -- that are probably unsustainable. I actually think there's a little more growth potential at the plate, maybe not more power, but more walks and a higher OBP.
Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado
I haven't listed any relievers, but Zach Britton is one to consider. But not on a team with Machado.
Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson
Another no-brainer.
New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez
ZiPS: .255/.313/.490. That feels conservative.
Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Kiermaier
Yes, his defense is that good.