Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh continues MVP push

Raleigh's numbers, though, go far beyond his home run output. He's hitting .257 and has 86 RBI while drawing 64 walks. He's got an incredible .618 slugging percentage, which is about 140 points above his career .478 mark. The slugger has produced an OBP of .368 in 385 at-bats. He's managed to hit 16 doubles in addition to his 41 homers, making him an extra-base hitting machine, and has even added 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts.

Any talk of AL MVP recognition has to include New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. Judge has won the award twice in his career, including last season.

Judge is hitting .342 with 37 homers and 85 RBI for the Yankees. He's got a .711 slugging percentage and an OBP of .449. However, the Yankees recently put Judge on the injured list with an elbow injury.

This gives Raleigh time to pad his statistics as the 2025 MLB season rolls into August.

After Raleigh hit his 40th homer in a Saturday night win over the Angels, Seattle manager Dan Wilson was effusive in his praise for his All-Star catcher and Home Run Derby winner.

“Cal’s desire to win is what shines through,” Wilson said, per Andres Soto of MLB.com. “All those guys in that clubhouse want to win. As a collective group, they all push each other in that direction. 

"And Cal is right there at the front doing that," Wilson said. "...The season, the numbers he’s put up have been staggering, and this is just another one of those notches on his belt.”

The Mariners find themselves tied for second place in the American League West with the Texas Rangers. Both teams are 56-50 on the season, four games behind the Houston Astros. Seattle opens up a three-game home series against the Athletics, who just wrapped up a four-game sweep of the aforementioned Astros.

Raleigh will look to keep up his torrid pace, and if he does, look for him to wear the AL MVP crown when the season ends.