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National League MVP Race with One Month Left

By Michael Francis

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 20: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter (13) gets a high five from St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (38) after hitting a solo homer in the ninth inning during the St. Louis Cardinals game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 20, 2018, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 20: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter (13) gets a high five from St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (38) after hitting a solo homer in the ninth inning during the St. Louis Cardinals game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 20, 2018, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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National League MVP
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 09: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves bats against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at Nationals Park on August 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

There are many good award races heating up down the stretch, but maybe none are as wide open as the National League Most Valuable Player. The National League MVP race is full of worthy contenders but only one can take home the hardware.

September is almost here and the playoff races are heating up. With a month left in the season there is still several spots up for grabs and many exciting things that could happen between now and the end of the year. This is also the last month for players to make their cases for off-season awards and virtually every award is still up in the air. There are favorites and front-runners but for the most part each award still has a hand full of players that have a legitimate shot at winning. Let’s take a look at some of the “finalists” for the National League MVP race with a month to go and see who is likely to come out on top.

Freddie Freeman

Atlanta Braves first baseman, Freddie Freeman, has long been the face of the Braves and has been the leader of the young and resurgent Atlanta club. Freeman currently ranks fourth in the National League in fWAR with 4.8 wins above replacement and his 142 wRC+ ranks sixth in the NL among qualified hitters. If voters want to go by the more traditional triple crown stats, Freeman ranks fourth in the NL with a .311 batting average, only 22nd in the league in home runs with 20 and tenth in the league in RBIs with 81. While Freeman is low on the list for home runs, he is not without power as he has slugged .512 this season, good for tenth in the league. Freeman also plays every single day and rarely strikes out. He also leads all National League first basemen in Fangraph’s defensive rating, Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. Regardless of what metrics you are looking at, Freddie Freeman is clearly one of the best players in the National League.

Freddie Freeman was likely the favorite to win the National League MVP for much of the season but has faded over the past month as some other contenders have emerged. Freeman has had somewhat of a power outage over the past month or so that has really seen his numbers fall back to earth. However, Freeman probably still has the best narrative of any of the contenders as he is leading this young, exciting Braves team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. If he can find regain his early season power stroke and have a big September that helps propel the Braves to the playoffs, then Freddie Freeman will have as good a shot as anyone to win the MVP award.

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