Could Buster Posey be the NL MVP?

Over the past week, much has been written about Buster Posey‘s chances at being the National League MVP this year. It’s picked up a lot since those two national broadcast games against the Dodgers this past weekend. Buster Olney of ESPN wrote about it. MLB did an article about it. Bleacher Report. AOL. CBS Sports. And of course, our favorite, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle weighed in.

He’s certainly making a case for himself, and the Giants are certainly giving him the opportunity to make the case. Among the talked about contenders, aside from Posey, is Andrew McCutchen, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading the way. In fact, my personal opinion is that if Buster doesn’t win it, McCutchen had better win MVP. Despite being a favorite to make the playoffs all season long, the Pirates are on a fast downward spiral into what Pirates fans have come to expect. McCutchen is still leading the league in batting average, however, just barely ahead of Posey and Mike Trout in that stat column. I should point out that Melky Cabrera is technically leading the MLB, but seeing as how the Giants have not including him in their team batting leaders (see photo, above), I don’t feel the need to either.

McCutchen has the luck of being on a team going no where right now. Posey, has the advantage of being on a team sure to make the playoffs unless something terrible happens in the next 3 weeks.

©Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE 9/9/2012

Then there is the Ryan Braun case. He’s the reigning MVP champion, but he’s also coming off of a steroid scandal in the off-season. Sure, he won his appeal but unfortunately, user or not (and I don’t know that he ever claimed he didn’t use, and most certainly didn’t prove that in his appeal, just that there was a problem in the handling of the specimen), he’s likely to be overshadowed by those who just aren’t sure about him anymore.

There is also Jay Bruce, Chase Headley, Yadier Molina, and David Wright, but unless one of those guys make a bigger splash in the remainder of the season, the shot is a bit longer for them. Although, Headley is doing his darnest to make that happen, even if the Padres are 12.5 games back in the NL West.

Any way you look at it, if Buster and the Giants stay hot, given his playoff potential team, the leadership he displays on that team, and his comeback from such a devastating injury last season, I would say his chances are increasing by the day. I think the only potential spoiler to the chance at an MVP title would be McCutchen. If McCutchen did win, I don’t think anyone could complain, given the season he’s had, but with the momentum Buster has going into the final stretch, you would be hard-pressed to see how he doesn’t win the title.

What do you guys think? Is Buster a shoe-in for MVP or is there someone else out there more deserving?