Could Any Texas Rangers Overcome Shohei Ohtani to Win MVP?

Snapping a six-year postseason drought and making some series noise in October is front and center for the Texas Rangers.

This season has a chance to be something really special for a club that’s languished in the baseball abyss for far too long. And while team goals remain the focus, the Rangers wouldn’t be leading the American League West with less than two months left in the season without several outstanding individual performances.

The Rangers list of standouts is long, starting with the six All-Stars that represented the franchise in Seattle. MLB.com recently compiled a list of the top five MVP candidates in each league and Rangers had not just one recognized, but a pair of teammates.

Of course, the likelihood of one of them winning the coveted award is slim and none. Shohei Ohtani, in the midst of a historic campaign for the Los Angeles Angels, is destined to run away with the vote.

But that doesn’t diminish the contributions of the other MVP contenders and their value this season. Using stats going into Monday, MLB.com placed outfielder Adolis García third behind leader Ohtani and Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.

Per MLB.com:

García continues his climb up the rankings, moving from No. 5 in the last MVP poll to No. 3 in this one. That’s MVP finalist status. The All-Star outfielder is up to 29 home runs and an American League-leading 89 RBIs on the season for the first-place Rangers.

A familiar face sits right behind García in second baseman Marcus Semien at No. 4.

Texas’ next man up is Semien. An AL MVP finalist two years ago with Toronto, Semien is back at it again with a .281 average, 18 homers, 10 steals, 71 RBIs and a league-leading 92 runs scored. With García third, Semien fourth and Corey Seager sixth in the MLB.com expert voting, the Rangers have the most candidates in the AL MVP mix.

Thanks to García, Semien and Co., the Rangers (67-46) went into Tuesday on a season-high seven-game winning streak and season-best 21 games over .500 and after Monday’s 5-3 win at the Oakland Athletics.

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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