Cameron Maybin and Evan Longoria at the top should come as no surprise. Several others make sense as well. One name I didn’t expect to see near the top was Matt LaPorta.

I understand that LaPorta has jaw-dropping power, but weren’t there questions about his defense? And now he’s playing the outfield because Prince Fielder is at first base in Milwaukee? Seriously, if there’s one thing the Brewers need right now, it’s another guy who can’t field his position…

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Jacob’s analysis is solid, but I disagree with the conclusion, mainly because it gives voters too much credit. Specifically, I don’t know that Prince Fielder will be penalized much for his defense if he keeps leading the league in homers, nor do I have confidence in voters’ ability to understand (or care) just how much Matt Holliday has been helped by Coors Field.

I think the race will come down to Fielder, Holliday, and last year’s winner, Ryan Howard. How would I vote? Not sure, but probably Hanley Ramirez (despite his defensive shortcomings) or David Wright.

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American League

• Mariners at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT — How in the world can Horacio Ramirez have a 7-4 record despite a 7.38 ERA? If his performance doesn’t convince you that won-loss record is a terrible way to evaluate starting pitchers, then nothing will. Opponents are batting .341/.407/.518 against the southpaw; that’s roughly what Joe Mauer did last year. Right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 2.05 ERA) starts for Minnesota.
• Yankees at Angels, 7:05 p.m. PT — New York has won 21 of its last 30 and is now just four games back of Boston in the AL East. The Angels are up by two games in the AL West. Two young pitchers, Philip Hughes and Dustin Moseley, face each other in this one. Both have been brilliant at times but, as you might expect, very inconsistent. Both lineups are stacked, too, and the pitchers will have their hands full.

National League

• Brewers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. PT — After leading the NL Central for much of the season, Milwaukee has slipped behind the Cubs into second place. Rookie Yovani Gallardo gets the call for the Brewers. He’s allowed 18 runs over 8 1/3 innings covering his previous two starts. Milwaukee features MVP candidate Prince Fielder and ROY favorite Ryan Braun on offense. Veteran lefty Doug Davis gets the start for Arizona against his old team. Davis is 10-10 this year, after going 11-11 each of the past two seasons, and 12-12 the year before that. Weird.

One game: Yankees at Anaheim. It’s the most compelling pitching matchup and has the most playoff implications. Happy watching…

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Verlander fanned 12 batters on the night. You know how many pitches he threw? 112. That’s sick.

Another thing that’s sick is Verlander’s improvement this season. He was outstanding as a rookie, but check this out:

Talk about nice trends. Verlander’s hits and homers are down, his strikeouts are up, and he’s working deeper into games. Oh, and he hasn’t reached his physical prime. What’s not to like?

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