Could Miguel Cabrera Win The Triple Crown?

It's a question that's being asked at a surprisingly small rate this season, given what Cabrera's been doing in Motown. Maybe it's a testament to the fact that people are becoming less focused on the big three stats they used to put on baseball cards, but I'm still surprised that a guy is getting so little pub with such a legitimate shot at a pretty rare feat. 

Currently, Miguel Cabrera is second in the AL in home runs with 24, first in the AL in RBI with 82, and third in the AL in batting average with a .342 mark.

Right now, I think it's entirely in the realm of possibility that we'll be seeing the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat with Boston in 1967. In the years preceding that season, the majors saw a total of 13 Triple Crowns, but we're in the midst of a 43-year drought.

Let's take a look at how ZiPS projects each AL leaderboard to look when the season concludes in October.

Home runs

1. Miguel Cabrera - 40

2. Jose Bautista - 36

3. Carlos Pena - 35

4. Josh Hamilton - 33

5. Paul Konerko - 33

Seems like Cabrera is a solid bet to end up with the most home runs in the AL.

RBI

1. Miguel Cabrera - 134

2. Vladimir Guerrero - 120

3. Alex Rodriguez - 118

4. Mark Teixeira - 110

5. Evan Longoria - 108

Looks like another solid bet in Cabrera's favor. That shouldn't be too surprising though, as Guerrero is currently the only AL player within 8 RBI of Cabrera's league-leading mark.

Batting average

1. Josh Hamilton - .341

2. Miguel Cabrera - .330

3. Justin Morneau - .326

4. Robinson Cano - .322

5. Adrian Beltre - .320

First off, where the hell is Ichiro Suzuki? (He's sixth, tied with almighty All-Star Omar Infante with a .319 BA)

Secondly, it becomes abundantly clear that batting average will be the statistic where Cabrera finds the most competition. He's already behind Hamilton by 15 points and Morneau by 3, while Beltre and Cano have outside shots at each is hitting .333 or better.

But while Cabrera is certainly going to get a fight from Hamilton and Morneau, among others, I think there's a very realistic chance that we're witnessing the first Triple Crown in 43 years.

Take that, Year of the Pitcher.