It's that time of year when media members of all stripes make their preseason predictions for both individual and team honors. It's pretty safe to say that Mike Trout is the presumptive favorite to take home the 2015 AL MVP trophy because, well, he's Mike Trout. But since it's no fun to pick the favorite -- and also because there are some red (or at least orange) flags in Trout's portfolio entering the season -- I'm picking a different horse. That would be the Toronto Blue Jays' prized offseason acquisition, third baseman Josh Donaldson.
Normally, when one makes a relatively unorthodox MVP pick, a fairly significant boost in performance is assumed. With Donaldson, that really isn't the case. In fact, I'd submit that all he really needs to do is bring nearly the same exact form he showed in Oakland last season north and east to Toronto and let his new environs and some fairly predictable statistical regression do the rest.