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Colorado Rockies: Arenado bids his case as a legit NL MVP candidate

By Griffin Fabits

Jun 18, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk off three run home run to complete the cycle during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 18, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk off three run home run to complete the cycle during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Colorado Rockies are 47-26 and in first place of the NL West, thanks in large part to their MVP-candidate Nolan Arenado.

Nolan Arenado, as of right now, is the National League’s Most Valuable Player. It shouldn’t even be up for debate.

He’s posted typical Arenado-like numbers through the first three months of the 2017 season; a .302/.354/.579 line to complement his 15 home runs and a team-high 57 RBI. And the icing on the cake? His Colorado Rockies are atop the latest power rankings with a 47-26 record, per MLB.com.

But what we’ve seen so far out of the 26-year old is different than in previous years. You’d be hard-pressed to find a player performing at this level, with this much emotion, and with an entire city on his back.

The Rockies have been hot all year, and have never really hit the lull that every team eventually hits over the course of the 162-game season. In fact, they’ve done the opposite. They’ve managed to build off of their hot start and have cruised into an unpredictable second wind.

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They’re 14-4 in June, winners of 13 of their last 17. Arenado has been the engineer behind it all with a .368 average and eight multi-hit games. The Rox’ hot corner man is 12-24 over the span of his five-game hit streak, including hitting for the cycle on Father’s Day and an emphatic go-ahead two-run triple against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 20.

It’s no coincidence the club is off to one of its best starts in franchise history as their perennial All-Star third baseman slugs his way to meaningful baseball in Denver.

But what about other NL MVP candidates, like Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Cody Bellinger, or Washington Nationals slugger Ryan Zimmerman? Sure, they’ll certainly receive plenty of votes if they’re able to maintain this freakish level of play.

The 21-year old Bellinger leads the NL in home runs with 22, after being in the league for just 52 games. He’s destroying balls left and right, and doing it at a pretty historic pace.

Since his April 25 promotion to the bigs, the Boys in Blue have compiled a record of 37-15. MVP worthy stuff, right? Sort of. What Bellinger has been able to do is truly remarkable; surely a big reason as to why the Dodgers have played so well as of late.

But look at what the Los Angeles did last year, a fourth-straight season of both a playoff appearance and more than 90 wins. They were edged in the National League Championship Series by the champs-to-be Chicago Cubs in six games. The Dodgers managed to do all of this without their baby-faced assassin.

Fortunately for the club, they have the luxury of throwing Bellinger into the mix of an already potent lineup, one that was just two wins away from the World Series last year. For that exact reason, it’s tough to see Bellinger as the most valuable guy in the league.

Now refresh back to the Rockies; a team looking to snap their seven-year playoff drought. Arenado’s knocking on that doorstep, and has his team just 28 wins away from their 2016 total when they finished at 75-87 and third in the NL West.

The same argument goes for Zimmerman, the Nationals 32-year old third baseman on the verge of a career year. He leads the league with his .347 average and trails only Arizona Diamondbacks’ sluggers Jake Lamb and Paul Goldschmidt for RBI with 57.

Like Bellinger’s postseason-regular Dodgers, Zimm’s Nats are seeking a fourth playoff appearance in six years. They ended last year tied for the second best record in all of baseball with 95 wins and 67 losses. In 2017, Washington is enjoying a comfortable 10.0 game divisional lead and a 43-29 record.

For a ’16 campaign in which Zimm only managed to bat .218 with a WAR of -1.3, Dusty Baker’s club still found themselves playing for a pennant, but ultimately losing in the divisional series to the Dodgers. Like the argument against Bellinger, it’s proof the club is able to win without him.

Refer to a cluttered NL West, where Arenado leads the Rox in a three-team battle with the Dodgers and D-Backs for first place.

The case for his first career MVP only strengthens considering the Rockies finished 12 games under .500 last season. At 21 games over the mark after 73 games this year, his case for the Most Valuable Player lies in this simple fact: the Rockies need Arenado more than the Dodgers need Bellinger, and the Nationals need Zimmerman.

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To me, that’s what this award means. And nobody demonstrates it more than the uber-talented Arenado, who’s been the ringleader of the Rockies’ turnaround this season.

That right there, is most valuable stuff.

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