Dustin Pedroia appears to be the favorite for the American MVP award, which will be announced this afternoon.

He's the smallish second baseman who plays with grit. It is easy to admire his game. He also is considered the best fielder (Gold Glove) and hitter (Silver Slugger) at his position.

But there are a lot of candidates for this year's prize.

And it should go to a former Sea Dogs infielder now playing for the Red Sox ... but not Pedroia. Give the hardware to Kevin Youkilis.

There is definitely a case for Pedroia. He batted .326 with 17 home runs, 83 RBI, 20 stolen bases. He had an on-base percentage (OBP) of .376 and a slugging average of .493. He led the league in doubles (54), runs (118) and tied for hits (213).

Youkilis' numbers: .312, 29 HR and 115 RBI (also 43 doubles, 91 runs). He had a .390 OBP and a .569 slugging average. Youkilis picked up the power slack when the Red Sox were down because of an injured David Ortiz and the Manny Ramirez trade. He played stellar first base, but moved to third when Mike Lowell was hurt. He was the Red Sox most valuable player.

The other AL contenders include
Joe Mauer, .328, 9, 85 (.413 OBP/.451 slugging)
Justin Morneau, .300, 23, 129 (.374, .499)
Carlos Quentin, .288, 36, 100 (.394/.571)
Josh Hamilton, .304, 32, 130 (.371/.530)
Miguel Cabrera, .292, 37, 127 (.349/.537)
Francisco Rodriguez, 62 saves

With so many candidates from across the map it will be interesting to see how the vote breaks down. I doubt K-Rod gets the award because few are inclined to vote for a reliever.

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