(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
As of Friday afternoon, three players have started to separate from the pack when it comes to the NL MVP race.
The Atlanta Braves have Ronald Acuna Jr. and his amazing 30-60 season leading the way when it comes to candidates, but two Los Angeles Dodgers stars are trying to show the world that the award should stay in LA: Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
On Thursday night, we got to enjoy all three on the same field, combining for home runs, runs, and RBI aplenty.
A crucial metric, Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is showing, however, that Betts has started to pull away.
Codify Baseball posted the most recent rankings via Twitter.
With 7.8 WAR (per FanGraphs’ version), Betts comfortably leads the National League.
Most Wins Above Replacement in 2023,
National League players (via FanGraphs):
7.8 Mookie Betts
7.7
7.6
7.5
7.4
7.3
7.2
7.1
7.0
6.9 Freddie Freeman
6.8
6.7 Ronald Acuña Jr.
6.6
6.5
6.4
6.3
6.2
6.1
6.0
5.9
5.8
5.7
5.6
5.5
5.4
5.3
5.2 Francisco Lindor
5.1
5.0
4.9 Corbin…
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 1, 2023
The closest player, at 6.9, is not Acuna.
It’s actually Freeman, his teammate and fellow MVP candidate.
Acuna is third with 6.7.
WAR shouldn’t be the be-all, end-all of methods to evaluate player performance.
It’s a useful one, though, because it includes hitting, fielding, and baserunning contributions.
Betts has an incredible .317/.411/.622 line with 36 doubles and 38 home runs.
He is having the season of his life, and that’s a lot to say given his 2018 performance was absolutely elite.
Acuna might have the stolen bases and Freeman the doubles, but when it comes to overall performance, Betts has been slightly better than both as of Friday.
Things can definitely change in the last month of the regular season, but for now, Betts should be considered the frontrunner of the NL MVP race.
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