With less than 40 games left in the season, talking heads will soon be clamoring about Most Valuable Player candidates. And since I own a head and I like to talk, I’m going to start clamoring about Kevin Youkilis. Without denigrating the accomplishments of other players (since that’s bush league and boring), I’m simply going to state the case for why the Red Sox first baseman should be able to garner loads of top 5 votes from Major League Baseball writers.

Given his production and versatility (both in the lineup and in the field), as well as the team’s position in the standings, Youkilis has to be considered one of the top 10 candidates for American League MVP right now. In no particular order, here are the other candidates, based on a combination of their stats and their team’s success:

Josh Hamilton — .300/.365/.543, with 28 home runs and 114 RBIs. Texas is 15.5 games back of LAA and 10.5 back of the Sox in the Wild Card.

Ian Kinsler — .319/.375/.517, with 102 runs, 71 RBIs and 28 steals. Texas is 15.5 games back of LAA and 10.5 back of the Red Sox in the Wild Card

Milton Bradley — .316/.442/.583, with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs. Texas is 15.5 games back of LAA and 10.5 back of the Red Sox in the Wild Card

Carlos Quentin – .293/.395/.586, with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs. CWS lead Central Division by 1 game over MIN.

Jermaine Dye — .301/.355/.575, with 29 home runs and 79 RBIs. CWS lead Central Division by 1 game over MIN.

Alex Rodriguez — .313/.402/.598, with 28 home runs, 77 RBIs and 16 steals. The Yankees trail the Rays by 10 games and the Red Sox by 5.5 in the Wild Card.

Kevin Youkilis — .317/.386/.572, with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. Red Sox lead Wild Card by 1.5 over Min.

Justin Morneau — .305/.389/.505, with 19 home runs and 96 RBIs. Min trails CWS by 1 game in Central, BOS by 1.5 in WC.

Vladimir Guerrero — .287/.349/.492, with 22 home runs and 74 RBIs. LAA lead AL West by 15.5 games.

Miguel Cabrera — .295/.357/.520, with 25 home runs and 95 RBIs. Det trails CSW by 10.5 games in Central.

Every baseball writer determines their own definition of "most valuable" (which is why it’s stupid to argue about MVP races), but it’s hard to imagine the winner coming from a group outside those 10. (Sorry Pedroia and Mauer). Frankly, there’s no reason why Youkilis couldn’t finish top 3 — or even win it outright. He and A-Rod are the only three hitters in the A.L. who rank in the top 10 in average, on-base percentage and slugging.

Here’s how Youk’s stats rank versus the rest of the A.L.

* Batting average - .317, (AL rank): 4

* Slugging percentage - .572, (AL rank): 5

* On-base percentage -.386, (AL rank): 10

* Home runs - 23, (AL rank): 11

* Triples - 4 (AL rank): 8

* Doubles - 33, (AL rank): 9th

He’s also 6th in total bases, 13^th in runs, and 16^th in hits. He’s 4^th in the league in adjusted OPS and 8^th in runs created. And for a hitter who has tailed off in the second half in the past, Youkilis is hitting .368 this month with a .754 slugging percentage and a 1.192 OPS.

He’s batted in every position in the order from 1-6, and has logged at least 38 plate appearances at every spot between 2 and 6. Moreover, he has hit better than .290 with a slugging percentage above .500 in all five of those slots.

Fielding-wise, he’s been slightly worse than last year, when he committed 0 errors. He’s made four miscues at first, but he’s still fielding above league-average. Moreover, when Mike Lowell has been hurt or in need of rest, Youkilis has appeared in 22 games at third base, where his .971 fielding percentage (two errors) is considerably higher than the .959 league-average.

And when Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers, who took over in the clean-up spot behind Big Papi? That’s right, the Big Chin from Cincinnati.

By any definition of the word "valuable," Youkilis has been that to the Red Sox in 2008. And if he and the team can maintain their pace and reach the playoffs, he might earn the team’s first Most Valuable Player award since Mo Vaughn in 1995.