2015 Rockies MVP: DJ LeMahieu

Aug 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu (9) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

1. He’s consistent.

If you study first- and second-half numbers, you see that most of Arenado’s 4.2 WAR came in the first, and Cargo’s 3 have come in the second. LeMahieu has so far posted about the same in both (1.4 in the first, 0.9 in the second). Chances are good he’ll finish the year with nearly an even amount in both halves. While Arenado and Cargo may have brought more total value to the team, LeMahieu is someone we’ve come to count on over the course of the year. He has had some bad streaks, but they’ve never lasted long. He strikes me as the kind of player who is very comfortable in the grind. Bad days and bad AB’s don’t get to him. He knows what his job is and he does it.

2. He’s versatile.

Because we can count on LeMahieu every day, Walt Weiss has been able to slot him in at every spot in the lineup throughout the course of the year. This is so rare that no one on the Rockies has ever done it. Obviously, LeMahieu has had more success at some lineup spots than others. The clean-up experiment did not go so well, as LeMahieu remained hitless in four at-bats. He does seem better suited for the top or bottom of the lineup, where he’s expected to get on base rather than drive in other runners. Aside from 4th and 5th, though, he’s put up very respectable numbers at every single position. This makes him an extremely valuable player. When Cargo or Arenado go into a slump, they can only ride it out at their usual spot in the order, hoping to improve. A brief time in the lead-off spot back in 2011 really paid off for Cargo, but otherwise the lineup shuffle has not been kind to them. Not only can LeMahieu recover from a slump by trying another spot, he can take over for other players who are struggling by batting in their spot.

3. He works.

I’ve had conversations with several people this year who think that LeMahieu is due for a regression. While that may be true, I really do not believe that it will be significant. The reason is that LeMahieu is not a flashy player. He was an afterthought in the Stewart trade, he’s only rarely made a top prospects list and then just at the team level, he doesn’t put up huge power numbers. But he works. I believe that the majority of the progress he has made this year can be attributed to a fantastic work ethic that causes him to keep fighting, make adjustments, and never give up. He calls it “boring,” but I call it doing your job. We will see much the same out of LeMahieu next season because who he is as a person won’t change.

I hope DJ LeMahieu won’t continue to be our team MVP, because we really need somebody who can provide the same consistency while also either blowing hitters away or terrifying pitchers (a la Troy Tulowitzki). In the meantime, I’ll take LeMahieu over just about anybody else.