Justin Upton Has Been San Diego Padres’ MVP So Far In 2015

Regardless of the San Diego Padres‘ season being disappointing, some of their players have been the opposite. For example, James Shields has been an excellent addition to the starting rotation. He currently leads the team in strikeouts with 167 and leads all starters with a strikeout rate of 9.84. Additionally, he leads the team with 16 quality starts and is tied for first in wins with Tyson Ross. Speaking of Ross, he has been solid on the mound as well and leads the team in ERA with a 3.40. Craig Kimbrel has also been as good as advertised. He has been the saves leader in the NL for the past four seasons and is currently in second place with 34 saves. Due to Kimbrel’s dominance as a closer, one would assume that he would be the Padres’ MVP for this season. However, that assumption would be wrong since their MVP this season has not been a pitcher. In fact, he was the sole representative for the Padres in this year’s All-Star Game. Let’s take a look at what makes Justin Upton the MVP for San Diego so far in 2015.

Upton leads or is near the top for every major hitting category for the Padres. He leads the team in HRs, BBs, OBP, runs scored, SLG, OPS and SBs. Additionally, he is ranked second on the team for RBIs, hits, triples and XBHs behind Matt Kemp. His OWAR, for those that appreciate this sabermetric, is 3.0 compared to Kemp’s 1.7. This would indicate that Upton’s offensive worth is near twice as much as Kemp. Upton’s 18 SBs so far have him tied for 10th in the NL. It’s the most SBs that he’s had since 2012, and he should be able to steal two more to make himself a member of this year’s 20/20 club. Based on all of this, it should come as no surprise that Upton was selected for his third All-Star game this season.

Even though a convincing argument can be made for Kimbrel and his elite abilities as a closer, his impact has been a tad smaller than Upton’s. If more than one MVP could be picked, then this would be a great opportunity to do so. However, since that is not the case, the Padres’ MVP so far in 2015 has been Justin Upton.

Rojé Smith is a Featured Fantasy Sports Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoKnowsDFS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.