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Picking a MVP from each division series

Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times / Getty

Major League Baseball doesn't hand out MVP awards for the division series. That might be because they're best-of-five series, making it a little harder to evaluate smaller sample sizes, especially if a series ends in a sweep. But it doesn't mean we can't highlight the best performers from this year's slate of showdowns. Although pitchers were considered, position players ultimately won out in all four series.

Here's a look at our choices for division series MVPs:

Braves vs. Marlins: Travis d'Arnaud

Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty
PA 2B HR RBI AVG/OBP/SLG
13 2 2 7 .600/.692/1.400

Lights-out pitching played a huge role in the Braves' sweep of the Marlins - the staff posted a collective 1.67 ERA over the three games - but it was d'Arnaud who powered the team to victory. The catcher was nearly unstoppable: his seven RBIs set an LDS record for catchers as he became just the seventh player to hit .600 or better in a division series. His slugging percentage and OPS both rank third all time in a single LDS, trailing only David Ortiz (2007) and Jorge Soler (2015) in both categories. D'Arnaud reached base in nine of his 13 plate appearances, and struck out just once. He really can't stop hitting.

Astros vs. Athletics: Carlos Correa

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PA R HR RBI AVG/OBP/SLG
18 3 3 11 .500/.611/1.143

No Astros player has fully embraced the villain role more than Correa, and he backed up the bravado with a brilliant performance against the Athletics. Correa reached base at least once and drove in a run in all four games of the series, contributed a two-homer performance in Houston's Game 1 win, and finished one RBI shy of the ALDS record. It seemed like he was at the plate every time the A's pitchers got into some trouble.

Dodgers vs. Padres: Cody Bellinger

Kelly Gavin / Major League Baseball / Getty
PA R HR RBI AVG/OBP/SLG
14 2 1 5 .333/.429/.750

Will Smith made a huge push for this honor with a historic five-hit performance in Game 3, but those were also his only hits during the Dodgers' three-game sweep of San Diego. It was Bellinger who had the best overall series, driving in a series-leading five runs and recording a pair of extra-base hits, one of which was the Dodgers' only homer. His now-iconic robbery of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s go-ahead homer in Game 2 might have altered the outcome of this series.

Rays vs. Yankees: Randy Arozarena

Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images Sport / Getty
PA R H HR RBI AVG/OBP/SLG
19 5 8 3 3 .421/.476/.895

This series was a coming out party for Arozarena, who absolutely torched Yankees' pitching. The 25-year-old hit .421 with a 1.371 OPS, slugged homers in three of the five games, and led all players with eight hits. Although he did most of his damage during the first three games of the series, Arozarena nearly had a fourth homer in Game 5 but Brett Gardner made a leaping catch at the wall.

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