Who Will Be the Best Offensive Player in the American League in 2007?

Every year baseball hands out its annual season end awards. This year I'm going to give you a few nominees for who could win each award. The Hank Aaron award is given out to the best offensive player in each league every year in honor of the Braves legend.

The American League is loaded with offense as usual and there a ton of guys who could have great offensive seasons. Last year the White Sox had three sluggers, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye that put up some great offensive numbers. The National League Central is also the home to a couple of other great offensive players Mark Teixeira of the Rangers and Grady Sizemore of the Indians. Out on the West Coast Vladimir Guerrero continues to be one of the best players in Major League Baseball and on the East Coast Manny Ramirez is just as good, but none of them quite made my top five.

5. Justin Morneau - Last season Justin Morneau's number didn't look as impressive as a Guerrero, an A-Rod or a David Ortiz but he won the MVP for being valuable to his team. But as he gets older I think his numbers will only get better and soon we'll see some pretty remarkable numbers.

4. Gary Sheffield - As long as Gary Sheffield is healthy this season he should return to his old hitting ways. Sheffield is getting older but hasn't shown any signs of slowing down so far. The Tigers lineup might not be as stacked as the Yankees lineup but they certainly have plenty of guys who can get on base and now they have Sheffield to drive them all in.

3. Vernon Wells - Vernon Wells doesn't get much attention, especially playing in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox but Wells has been one of the top offensive players in the American League for a couple of seasons. Vernon Wells has an all around ability that not many others have. Wells can score 100 runs or knock in 100 runs, hit 30 home runs, steal 20 bases, and bat .300.

2. David Ortiz - David Ortiz, or Big Papi as he is affectionately known, has become one of the premiere sluggers in baseball. Ortiz has hit more than 130 RBI in each of the past three seasons. In the seven years that Ortiz has been in the big leagues his home run total has gotten better every season, starting with 10 in 2000 and eventually getting as high as 54 last year. Ortiz also hits around .300 sometimes and can score 100 runs in the powerful Red Sox lineup.

1. Alex Rodriguez - I realize people have been giving Alex Rodriguez a hard time lately, especially in the playoffs last year, but he's still the best baseball player in the American League and in the entire Majors only Pujols is as good. Rodriguez is a good all around player, like Vernon Wells, only better. Rodriguez can score 120 runs and knock in 120 runs. Rodriguez can hit 40 or 50 home runs, steal 20 or 30 bases and he can hit over .300. He gets ragged on in New York for some reason, but I'll gladly take Rodriguez on my team.