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7 top performers unlikely to win a major award

Action Images / theScore

Some of baseball's best players aren't the cover guys.

It's easy to single out Josh Donaldson, Jose Altuve, and Kris Bryant as the faces of Major League Baseball, but some of the league leaders don't get the recognition they deserve.

Let's take a look at seven players who won't win a major award this season:

Mark Trumbo

There isn't a bigger home run threat in the majors today, but Mark Trumbo won't take home more than a Silver Slugger. With 40 home runs, the masher already has more blasts this season than he did in 2014 and 2015 combined, and he's leading the charge offensively for the Orioles.

Tanner Roark

Think of Tanner Roark as the "forgotten one" in Washington's rotation. On a staff dominated by Max Scherzer, Roark is 14-7 with a 2.87 ERA for a team that wouldn't be the same without him. While Roark won't win an award this season, he's eighth in the majors among WAR for pitchers.

David Ortiz

This has to be an obvious one. Despite a going-away season for the ages, David Ortiz said it himself - Mookie Betts deserves the American League MVP. Ortiz will settle for his seventh Silver Slugger because at 40-years-old, he leads the majors with 42 doubles, a .627 slugging percentage and a 1.031 OPS.

Edwin Encarnacion

Toronto Blue Jays bopper Edwin Encarnacion is having his fifth consecutive superstar season, but he's also going through his second straight campaign in Josh Donaldson's shadow. Encarnacion will reach a career-high in RBIs this year, and he currently sits atop the AL with 106. What's interesting here, though, is that Encarnacion many not win an award at all (again). Ortiz looms as the likely Silver Slugger at designated hitter, while Encarnacion hasn't played enough games to qualify at first base.

Kyle Hendricks

It's impossible not to include Kyle Hendricks on this list. The Major League leader in ERA at a sparkling 2.09, the Chicago Cubs' right-hander has done everything to include himself in Cy Young talks. Despite only notching 139 strikeouts so far this season, he's only surrendered 13 homers and opposing batters are hitting a measly .205 off him. This isn't to say Hendricks won't win the Cy Young, but in the event he doesn't, his season can't be brushed aside with all the other pitchers who didn't win.

Masahiro Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka is one of the best pitchers in baseball who isn't getting enough recognition. The AL leader with 4.5 WAR, Tanaka is 11-4 with a 3.12 ERA on a New York Yankees squad that sits 6 1/2 games back of the division lead. Not to mention, Tanaka is holding opposing hitters to a .236 average, while surrendering a minuscule 28 walks this year.

Miguel Cabrera

Every year, Miguel Cabrera gives himself a chance to be the best player in the league, and even when he's not, he's still among them. The last time he held a batting average under .300 was 2008, and that year he still belted 37 home runs. This year, his numbers are average by Miggy standards, but they're still well above league average. He's slashing .309/.383/.540 with 28 homers and 81 RBIs, and is well on his way to another Silver Slugger.

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