Miles: Position players poised to make NL MVP bids
Pitching was so dominant in the National League last year that a pitcher won the Most Valuable Player Award - and three hurlers placed in the top 12 of voting.
Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw completed a double by winning the MVP and sweeping his way to the Cy Young Award.
That could well happen again this season, but there look to be some position players ready to take the next step toward super stardom and MVP consideration. Perennial candidate Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates has been hobbled this spring by a "lower-body" injury. If he's healthy, he'll challenge again.
Here is a preseason look at the top candidates and others to consider:
Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins:
Stanton put up a line of .288/.395/.555 last year with a league-leading 37 home runs and 105 RBI. His OPS-plus was a crazy 160. (On-base-plus-slugging-plus takes into acount ballpark factors. The average is set at 100. An OPS-plus of 150 is considered excellent.)
Last fall, the Marlins rewarded Stanton with a 13-year contract worth $328 million. He'll be expected to provide leadership in addition to production, and he certainly seems capable of it all. If the Marlins make the playoffs, Stanton could be a shoo-in for MVP.
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs:
Rizzo has done some big talking over the last six months, proclaiming the Cubs ready for contention. Does he know something? Maybe.
Rizzo also seems to know something about his own abilities, as he exudes a confidence about them. Still young at 25, Rizzo is emerging as a vocal leader on an emerging Cubs club.
He made the all-star team last year. Back problems near the end of the season held his numbers down a little, but they were still impressive: .286/.386/.527 with 32 home runs, 78 RBI and an OPS-plus of 151.
There would be no better market than Chicago for Rizzo to continue hitting, playing solid defense and leading in the clubhouse for him to put his name in the MVP conversation year in and year out.
Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks:
It's hard to get a lot of national attention playing on a bad team out west. That may have hurt Goldschmidt in the MVP voting in the past.
He was a serious contender in 2013 and would have been last year had not a broken hand not ended his season Aug. 1.
As it was, Goldschmidt put up a line of .300/.396/.542 with 19 homers and an OPS-plus of 158. In 2013, he hit 36 homers and drove in 125. Don't count this guy out.
Honorable mentions: McCutchen is the straw that stirs the Pirates. If he leads them to the playoffs again this year, he could win the MVP. If Kershaw continues to display Cy Young form, he could put a left-handed stranglehold on two awards again. Matt Carpenter is an under-the-radar guy on an annually successful Cardinals club. He finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2013.