Who is the Front Runner For NL MVP?
To start with, there have been many NL MVP favorite from the beginning of the season, to the mid point, and now at the end.
IN THE BEGINNING…
In the beginning it sure looked like a race between Acuña and DeGROM. Acuña put up crazy numbers before getting hurt. In 82 games he was slashing .283/.394/.596 with 24 homers and 52 RBIS. His WAR was already up to 3.7. Not to mention his defense is also a pretty valuable part to his play. As he only made a couple of errors(2) in the OF. He was making a great case for himself, before having a season ending injury.
This paved way for the greatest pitcher in the game right now, Jacob DeGROM. He pitched 92.0 innings, started 15 games, and his WAR was up to 5.1. He was 7-2 in his starts. He had 146 SO and a WHOP of .554. For most of his year he was sub 1 ERA, ending his year most likely, with a 1.08 ERA which is by FAR, the lowest ERA in baseball. In 15 starts he only gave up 6 homers, 1 HBP, 3.9 H/9, and 14.3 SO/9. These are crazy numbers to be putting up, and for a while before injuries started to affect his playing time, he looked to be the clear CY young, if not adding in the MVP award in there as well.
ALL STAR BREAK…
At the all star break, in my opinion it was all but one man to take the MVP in the NL. That man was Fernando Tatis Jr. This kid is crazy good offensively. His offense makes people overlook, his not so good defense. This year he is slashing .284/.369/.622. Mind you he has 39 homers, a fWAR of 5.8, 91 RBIS, and an OPS of .995. By the point of the all star break with all the injuries, this man was hot. He was one of the best hitters in the game, and the best in the NL. He was the front runner with ease.
END OF SEASON…
As we approach the end of the season, in my opinion, it has been all Bryce Harper. He is SLASHING .315/.429/.627(leading in SLG) and he also is league leading in OPS with a 1.056. He also has 33 Homers and 79 RBIs(76% of his homers have been solo shots). Bryce also leads in TB and OPS+. Bryce also has a fWAR of 6.3. Bryce is only second in the league in OBP to Soto. Bryce Harper was snubbed out of the All Star game, some would say, but he is making a great case for himself not only in the first half, but the CRAZIEST second half of his life. Mind you he is also doing everything he can to make the playoffs for the first time with his new team. This has been his best year since his historic MVP year in 2015 with the Nationals.
Who Will Win?
“Bryce Harper should be the NL MVP.”
-MLB Analyst, Ben Verlander.
In my opinion as well, Bryce Harper was outstanding in the first half and went unnoticed, but his performance in the second half has been the best by far and outperforms the lesser second half and first half of Tatis Jr. leading Bryce Harper to win his second NL MVP.