From left: Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis and Mike Trout are in a three-headed MVP race.
Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis and Mike Trout are in a three-headed MVP race. (USATSI)

More Awards Watch: AL MVP | NL MVP | AL Cy Young | AL Cy Young | NL ROY | AL ROY | NL Manager | AL Manager

We've reached the dog days of summer, folks. August games will bleed together as contenders start to separate themselves from pretenders and the various races heat up. Division races, wild-card races, and, of course, major award races.

Starting here and continuing every other week through the end of the season, we're going to take a snapshot of the various award races to see which players are the favorites, which others are in the mix, and who is slipping out of the running. We start with the AL MVP.

Just for the record: I don't believe a player's MVP credentials should be affected by his team's place in the standings. I'm in the minority, though. That stuff does matter when the votes are cast.

Front-runners

Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: Barring a total collapse in his 30s, Cabrera is going to go down as one of the greatest right-handed hitters in history. He's once again right in the thick of the MVP race (if not the favorite) because he leads the league in runs (78), average (.359), OBP (.454), OPS (1.118), OPS+ (199) and Baseball-Reference's WAR (5.9). Miggy is also top four in hits (139), homers (32), RBI (99), walks (65) and SLG (.664). He's a marvel ... and also the reigning AL MVP and Triple Crown winner.

Chris Davis, Orioles: Davis has snapped out of his little post-All-Star Game slump and gone deep three times in his past six games. He leads all of baseball in home runs (40), RBI (102), slugging (.672) and total bases (271) while placing sixth in the AL in WAR (4.6). Counting stats are the keys to the MVP kingdom, as is playing for a contending team. Davis is well positioned to make a run at the award.

Mike Trout, Angels: I hope you're prepared, because we're totally going to do this Cabrera vs. Trout debate again this year. Trout leads the AL in hits (141), triples (eight) and walks (67) while ranking second in doubles (32), average (.329) and WAR (5.7). He's actually lagging a bit with only 24 stolen bases, seventh most in the circuit, but he'll wind up with close to 40 when it's all said and done. Add in superlative defense at a premium up-the-middle position -- something neither Cabrera nor Davis provide -- and you have another stellar MVP-caliber season.

In the mix

Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: It's looking increasingly unlikely Ellsbury will ever hit for the kind of power he showed in 2011, but that's OK because he still offers his team a ton on the field. He leads all of baseball with 40 stolen bases and is hitting a solid .300/.360/.423 (113 OPS+) with a top-10 WAR (4.4). Other Red Sox players like Dustin Pedroia or David Ortiz may get more mainstream MVP love, but Ellsbury has been the team's most productive all-around player.

Evan Longoria, Rays: Production was never really an issue with Longoria, just health. He has avoided the DL this year and is on pace to play 150-plus games for the first time since 2010, though he's also on pace for his worst offensive season (132 OPS+) since his rookie year. Longoria has the power production (21 HR), the defensive value (4.0 WAR) and the name value to earn votes though, especially if the Rays qualify for the postseason.

Manny Machado, Orioles: Machado no longer has a realistic chance to break the single-season doubles record -- just two doubles since July 1, though he still leads baseball with 40 two-baggers -- but he's hitting a rock solid .296/.326/.456 (111 OPS+) with the third-highest WAR (5.3) in the league. If he has a big finish to the season, he could wind up stealing a bunch of votes from his teammate Davis.

Fading away

Robinson Cano, Yankees: Given all of the team's injuries, Cano had a great shot to finally make the jump from MVP candidate to MVP winner if he managed to carry the Yankees to the postseason. He has played very well overall (136 OPS+ and 4.4 WAR), but he has been slumping in a big way since the All-Star break (.510 OPS) and the club is falling out of the race. Perhaps that Matt Harvey fastball to the knee is to blame.

Dark horse

Jason Kipnis, Indians: Kipnis is the best player on an Indians team that sits just a half-game out of a playoff spot. He has put up a stellar 146 OPS+ and 4.8 WAR -- fourth best in the AL overall and the best by any second baseman in MLB -- for the Indians as he emerges as one of the game's elite. If Cleveland can sneak into the playoffs for the first time since 2007, it'll probably be because Kipnis has a huge stretch drive. That will surely and deservingly land him on plenty of MVP ballots.