Yankees 2017 MVP and the rest of their regular season awards

The MVP: Runners-Up

Starlin Castro

WAR: 1.4

Okay, Castro cannot really win this. But we all know who is going to win it and Starlin still deserves notice. His slash of .295/.331/.444 might not make him tops among second basemen, but it’s better than Didi’s.

Add in his fourteen home runs, eighteen doubles, 123 hits, 63 runs, and 57 RBIs in 104 games played, and you have the profile of a player who helps drive every bit of the Yankees offensive engine.

What makes him less valuable than Didi, beyond the home runs, is how he stacks up to his peers; teaser alert. Still, Starlin is in the top half of most AL second basemen offensive categories. And his first half made him an All-Star.

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Starlin has lost the contest with Didi to see who stays a Yankee in 2018, but he has still had a season worthy of appreciation.

Didi Gregorius

WAR: 3.5

Didi has gone from an Arizona afterthought to one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball. His line of .289/.322/.491 with 25 home runs and 27 doubles might not seem as good as a few others on the team, but his ranking reveals his real value.

Among AL shortstops, Didi is second in home runs (Lindor 32) and SLG (Lindor .514). And he’s third in average and RBIs (84). Plus, he’s the Yankees’ all-time, single-season SS home run king.

But to even be on this list, you have to do more than just hit. Didi is a great clubhouse guy and one of the two or three real leaders on this Yankees club. He seems to coordinate the dugout celebrations and his emoji-filled tweets speak for the team. But they never speak about Didi.

Didi is not the most valuable player on this team, but he’s close.