As we are approaching the final month of the MLB season, we now have an idea of which players have had productive years and are in the mix to win the MVP. Last year’s NL MVP winner was Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Many believed that McCutchen won that award last season because of the amazing run the Pirates made to reach the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.
It was clear that Paul Goldschmidt had better stats than The Cutch in 2013. Goldy hit for a .302 batting average with 36 home runs, 125 RBI’s, and 15 stolen bases. Meanwhile, McCutchen hit for a .317 batting average with 21 home runs, 84 RBI’s, and 27 stolen bases. Both players also had very similar WAR, McCutchen 7.9 and Goldschmidt 7.3.
So a big factor that helped Andrew McCutchen was the fact that the Pirates made the playoffs. He was the most important player of his team, same as Goldy, but that one reason helped McCutchen surpass him in the MVP voting.
With that being said, who are the candidates to win NL MVP this season and who will run away with the much valued award?
Clayton Kershaw– (14-2, 1.78 ERA, 136.1 IP, 5 CG)
Clayton Kershaw is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now and possibly the best pitcher in the past four seasons. Kershaw has led a very good Dodgers rotation that includes teammate Zack Greinke who also has ace-like stuff, but Kershaw is just that good that he has stood out more than Greinke in the rotation. The only thing that might work against Kershaw is that he is a pitcher and voters will continue to vote against players that only play once every five days, but we could compare Kershaw’s season with the season Justin Verlander had in 2011 when he won both the Cy Young and AL MVP award. Verlander had 24 wins that year, an amount that Kershaw probably won’t reach, but if Clayton can continue his dominance, look for him to get some first place votes.
Jonathan Lucroy– (.304 BA, 12 HR, 53 RBI)
The Milwaukee catcher has always been a very consistent and underrated hitter. Playing for the Brewers did not get him a ton of recognition from the media mostly because the Brewers were having losing seasons. This year is a different story, Lucroy is having a breakout year earning his first all-star selection and the Brewers are surprisingly leading the NL Central. Lucroy’s numbers may not be eye popping, but lets not forget that he has also done a fluent job at handling his pitching staff.
Giancarlo Stanton– (.291 BA, 31 HR, 82 RBI, 73 BB)
Giancarlo Stanton might be the most exciting player in the whole league! His display of power and great defense is certainly entertaining to see day in and day out, plus he has finally been able to stay healthy the whole season (knock on wood). I believe that Stanton’s numbers will have him as a lock for MVP without a doubt, but he has something key still left to accomplish which is making the playoffs. The Marlins are still in striking distance to take one of the two wild card spots, if the Marlins make the playoffs Giancarlo should win the award.
Andrew McCutchen- (.311 BA, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 17 SB)
Does Andrew McCutchen have enough to defend his MVP title? He is still the Pirates’ most important player and he still displays his five tools with the best of em, but his numbers appear to be down from last year’s when he won the NL MVP. Andrew’s WAR has also taken a hit dropping from 7.9 in 2013 to 5.1 in 2014. His recent DL stint will also not work to his favor. There is still a little more than a month left to be played and if McCutchen can get hot and get his team into the playoffs for a second straight year he will have to be in the NL MVP mix. As of right now I don’t think he has done enough to win the award.
Prediction-
When it comes down to pick a winner, I believe that it will be a close race between Clayton Kershaw and Giancarlo Stanton, although I believe that Stanton has a slight edge over Kershaw because of how he has carried the Marlins offense. If you take away Stanton and Kershaw from their teams, the Marlins would suffer more the loss of Stanton than the Dodgers the loss of Kershaw, that is why Giancarlo Stanton will win the NL MVP this year.
Photo Credit: AP Photo, Mike McGinnis/Getty Images, Steve Mitchell/ Getty Images, USATSI
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