A New MVP Candidate...Matt Chapman. Seriously.

2018 in the American League has been a year of giants. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, and Jose Ramirez all are putting up monster numbers, and none are doing it for the first time. While Trout is the only one in that group to have actually won an MVP award, all the rest would certainly have been on the short list for candidates for 2018.

There is one more on the list of top candidates, though. A man who few had even heard of at the beginning of the year. A man who was not even recognized halfway through the season, as he did not even make the All-Star team. He has gotten no press, no award talks, and no recognition. And yet A's third basemen Matt Chapman has managed to stay right on pace with Trout, Betts, Judge, and Ramirez. 

Offensively, Chapman;s 2018 campaign has been as dominate as it has surprising. Although he hit well in 2017, nobody could have seen this breakthrough coming. Chapman currently has a .278/.365/.505 batting line along with an even 50 extra-base hits. He's got a very balanced approach at the plate and never tries to do too much with the ball. Everything he is doing in the batters box is what you would expect out of an experienced All-Star rather than a second year player with little previous accomplishment.

Despite his success hitting, Chapman has maybe been more successful on the other end of the ball. He makes highlight plays frequently, and his 14 errors are more a product of fantastic range than a lack of ability. Even the peripherals love him, as 3.0 of his 6.7 bWAR comes from his defense(it doesn't add directly and isn't super trustworthy, but thats still an incredible number) If the season ended today, I would absolutely vote for him to win the gold glove.

When you combine exceptional offense with elite defensive ability, the result is always going to be one of the top players in the league, and that's exactly what Matt Chapman has become. Although he is nowhere near the name that Trout and Betts are, that is bound to change, and frankly, after this performance, it is long overdue.