AL MVP Power Rankings: All hail Sir Didi

At the end of each month, theScore's MLB editors will break down the leading candidates for the MVP and Cy Young awards in the American and National Leagues. Today, we're ranking the early favorites for the 2018 AL MVP.

5. Aaron Judge, Yankees

Sophomore slump, you say? Judge has no time for that.

The monster of a man who made waves last April, in what was one of the best single-season performances by a rookie, hasn't missed a beat in 2018. His Herculean start is almost a complete duplication of last year's, only this time, Judge has walked an American League-leading 25 times, with 176 wRC+ and .434 wOBA.

4. Manny Machado, Orioles

Machado is due for a huge pay raise when he hits free agency, and he's certainly playing like it. Unlike Judge, Machado's start to the season is in stark contrast to his 2017 campaign, where he finished April hitting .224/.343/.424, coupled with an unlucky .234 BABIP.

This year, though, with trade speculation already heating up, the infielder is hitting .366/.450/.688, with 202 wRC+, 2.0 WAR, and a career-low 12.4 strikeout rate. The free-agent-to-be has never looked better.

3. Mike Trout, Angels

Baseball's best player slotting in at No. 3 speaks less to Trout's efficient April and more to the ability of No. 2 and No. 1 on this list.

This isn't the first time the Los Angeles Angels star has gotten off to a great start; in fact, he was even better one year ago prior to a thumb injury that forced him to miss all of June. What's interesting early on this season, though, is the power. It's the first time in Trout's career that he'll enter May with 10 or more home runs, the result of the highest fly ball (50.6 percent) and best hard contact rate (45.6) of his career.

2. Mookie Betts, Red Sox

While Trout is almost assuredly the better overall player, what Betts has accomplished through April is impossible to ignore.

The Boston Red Sox outfielder is currently tied with Machado for first in baseball with 202 wRC+, is walking just as often as he's striking out, and is in a dead heat with Trout with 1.9 WAR despite playing four fewer games. His stellar play has propelled the Red Sox to a 21-8 record and one of their best starts in team history. That's what an MVP does.

1. Didi Gregorius, Yankees

When Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acquired Gregorius in December 2014, the young shortstop was coming off an underwhelming campaign with the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he hit .226/.290/.363 and was worth 0.3 WAR. This was going to be the player tasked with replacing Derek Jeter in 2015. It's safe to say Cashman picked the right guy for the job.

Gregorius has been baseball's MVP to date. He sits atop the WAR leaderboard (2.4), is currently in a five-way tie for the league lead in home runs (10), and has walked more (14.9 percent) than he's struck out (13.2 percent). This, along with his strong play defensively at short, is why he leads a formidable pack of players.

Honorable mention: Carlos Correa (Astros), Jose Ramirez (Indians), Jed Lowrie (Athletics)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)