Cody Bellinger Favorite to Win NL MVP
MVP Numbers
Cody Bellinger has had a video game type of year thus far for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has added to his already monster year by tallying his 100th RBI in Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Bellinger is currently slashing .320/.418/.673 for the year with 42 home runs and 100 RBI. These numbers put Bellinger as the front runner for National League Most Valuable Player.
Cody got juuuust enough for No. 42. #MLBTwitterHitter pic.twitter.com/ljAJYQ0mtT
— MLB (@MLB) August 18, 2019
Path to 100 RBI
Bellinger did not waste time reaching the 100 RBI mark against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. He came up with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and cleared the bases. This was a heroic moment in the game that quickly turned into a comical one. Bellinger tried to stretch a double into a triple and lost his pants in the process. During his slide into third, his pants fell off, and he was tagged out. However, the three runs batted in made up for this embarrassing turn of events.
RBI No. ? for @Cody_Bellinger! pic.twitter.com/R1BFdLl29Y
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2019
NL MVP Race
It is hard to talk about the NL MVP race and not mention guys like Christian Yelich, Ronald Acuña Jr, Freddie Freeman, and Anthony Rendon. This year has baseball fans super excited. Not only have there been more home runs, but guys are hitting for average as well. It is hard to remember a time when several players were hitting over .300 with 30 plus home runs. There is no shortage of offense in this year’s MVP race.
Christian Yelich
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has also put up video game like numbers this year. He is currently slashing .333/.424/.693 with 41 home runs and 89 RBI. It is incredibly impressive that he is hitting above .330 with 40 plus home runs. Yelich also has 24 stolen bases to add to his already impressive offensive numbers. At this point in time, he is the biggest competition for Cody Bellinger in the National League MVP race.
.@ChristianYelich is the first player to have a 40+ HR, 20+ SB season since Ryan Braun in 2012.
Yelich is also the fastest player (123 games) in @Brewers history to reach the 40 HR mark. pic.twitter.com/gxYv0Qry4j
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 18, 2019
Ronald Acuña Jr.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is another player that is attracting some MVP attention. He is currently slashing .295/.371/.544 with 35 home runs and 85 RBI. Acuña also has 29 stolen bags on the year. It is impressive that he will most likely join the 30/30 club at the ripe age of 21. It is also crazy to think that he could even join the 40/40 club by the end of the year. Some even feel that Acuña may reach the 50/50 club by years end. Another impressive stat that Acuña has to brag about is the fact that he has scored 105 runs on the year. He is definitely very valuable to the Braves and should be considered as a serious candidate for the MVP.
If Acuna were to maintain his recent pace, he’d flirt with a 50/50 season. Improbable? Yeah, but it’s time to recognize the NL MVP battle is no longer just a two-man race https://t.co/AK4ncW1g11
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 14, 2019
.@ronaldacunajr24 scored his 100th run of the season in the first inning tonight, becoming the first National Leaguer to triple-digit runs this season.#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/p6hBBpHrLx
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 14, 2019
Freddie Freeman
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is another candidate that is attracting some attention. He is currently slashing .307/.399/.576 with 33 home runs and a league-leading 102 RBI. It is remarkable that two Atlanta Braves players are in the mix for NL MVP. Acuña and Freeman are a scary combination when it comes to pitching to the Braves in the postseason. The success of the Braves could play a factor on who comes away with the NL MVP.
Anthony Rendon
Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is another player that has put up great numbers in the 2019 campaign. He is currently slashing .322/.400/.608 with 27 home runs and 98 RBI. Rendon has been a consistent player for the Washington Nationals but has been overshadowed in years past by Bryce Harper. Now that Harper is gone Rendon is getting the credit he deserves.
Moving Forward
It appears that it will be a photo finish to see who takes the crown of NL MVP. Baseball fans of every team can likely agree that this photo finish will be entertaining to watch. It is also worth noting that all of the players mentioned are below the age of 30. The future is very bright for the National League. There are some very talented players that have a lot of baseball left to play.
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