The races for the AL and NL MVP are heating up as baseball's best begin the stretch run for the playoffs. The Phils' young slugger, Ryan Howard is our NEW #1 ranked player this week, moving ahead of the Cards' Albert Pujols (#2). The Yankees' Derek Jeter (#3) moves ahead of Red Sox' David Ortiz (#4). Congratulations to the White Sox' Jermaine Dye (#8) and the Twins' Johan Santana (#9) for moving into our Top 10 for the first time. Take a moment and check out this week's RealGM.com Top 25. This Week (Last Week) (Statistics through games of September 7) 1.(2.) Ryan Howard: Another huge week for the leading NL MVP candidate (54 HR's, 134 RBI's, .308). When will teams begin to walk this guy? He reminds me of Hall of Famer, Willie McCovery. 2.(1.) Albert Pujols: Pujols continues to lead the way for the play-off bound Cardinals (44 HR's, 116 RBI's, .324). Albert's right there if Ryan slips at all down the stretch. 3.(4.) Derek Jeter: Jeter does not like to talk about the AL MVP, but his .344 average and steady defense speaks volumes for the front-running Yankees. It's his award to win or lose.