Mauer easily earned the starting nod at catcher, collecting 4,335,739 votes – fourth among all vote-getters in MLB. While much of the media buzz surrounding Mauer recently concerns the possibility of him hitting .400, that’s a narrow view to take of a player who is so much more. As of July 6, Mauer has a .389/.465/.648 line to go with a career-high 14 home runs. His torrid May was tempered by a more human June – Mauer had a Barry Bonds-esque .414/.500/.838 May before slipping to .353/.407/.490 for the month of June. His power stroke all but disappeared as well, as he had 11 homers and 32 RBI in May but just three homers and 11 RBI in June, though some of that slide can be attributed to the Twins lacking Denard Span for much of the month.
Despite that slide and what will likely be a steady decline as the season progresses, Mauer is a solid MVP candidate, combining his insane offensive numbers with Gold Glove-caliber defense. The wear and tear of playing catcher derails any logical chance of him hitting .400, but if the Twins win the AL Central, Mauer could win his first MVP award.
Of course, Mauer could easily find himself the runner up in the MVP race to none other than his good friend Morneau. The Canadian is quietly having a monster year and easily deserves the starting nod in the All Star Game over Kevin Youkilis and actual starter Mark Teixeira. Though the fans voted Teixeira in, Morneau won the most votes by the players themselves, and rightly so.
In his 2006 MVP season, Morneau finished with a .321/.375/.559 line, along with 34 homers and 130 RBI. After the first three months of ’06, he had 21 HR and 20 RBI, similar to the 21 HR and 69 RBI he has so far this year. This year, Morneau’s seems about set to repeat his 2006 stats, entering today with a .323/.399/.601 hitting line. To put that into context with other players this season, consider Morneau’s ranking in the following categories:
| Category | AL Rank | 1B Rank | MLB Rank |
| Batting Avg | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| On-Base % | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| Slugging % | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| OPS | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Home Runs | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Runs Batted In | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Total Bases | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Morneau hasn’t just been good, he’s been the Albert Pujols of the American League – which is even higher praise, considering the year Pujols is having. The only other first basemen that come close to matching Morneau’s all-around greatness have been Pujols and Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder. Considering that he’s also played in 82 of the team’s 83 games and Morneau seems a lock to at least match his 2008 runner up finish in this year’s MVP race.
As dominant as Mauer and Morneau have been offensively, Nathan has been equally as vicious on the mound. He’s second in the league with 22 saves and his 1.35 ERA leads American League closers. His miniscule .75 WHIP and .205 opponent’s batting average are also phenomenal, justifying SI.com’s decision to name him the current best closer in the big leagues. Nathan hasn’t allowed a run since May 15 against the Yankees and has only allowed a run in three of his 35 appearances. If the All Star Game comes down to a save situation for the AL, there’s no doubt in my mind that Nathan should be called on to close the game.
If the Twins’ supporting cast has a strong second half, Minnesota’s trio of All-Stars should carry the team to its fifth AL Central title this decade. Mauer and Morneau could very well find themselves battling each other for the MVP award and Nathan could be on his way to his first Rolaids Relief Man award by season’s end. Of course, there’s a whole lot of baseball left to play and projected finishes often don’t match actual finishes. As of today though, these three Twins seem safe bets to finish career years.
