2019 NL MVP Prediction
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With only three weeks left in the 2019 season, I would suggest that the NL MVP is Bellinger’s award to lose. He’s dominating the league in multiple facets of the game and has been consistently excellent all season. The outfielder also benefits from being a star player in one of the sport’s largest markets, playing for one of its best teams.
Each other candidate has a valid case, but the overall narrative surrounding them isn’t as compelling as Bellinger’s. Yelich won the award last year, which combined with the Brewers slipping in the NL Central, may sway voters to cast their ballots elsewhere. Acuna has the excitement and storyline but doesn’t have the value-based statistics of the other candidates. Marte, as discussed earlier, plays for a team that hasn’t been able to grab much attention this season.
If anyone’s going to unseat Bellinger, I’d bet on Rendon. He’s been scorching hot since the beginning of August and has shown no signs of slowing down. If the Nationals continue to win games on the heels of Rendon’s overall dominance, their star third baseman could really make this race interesting.
As of now, I’d take Bellinger as the NL MVP. But, as we’ve seen, things can change quite a bit in three weeks. It’ll be fun to watch how this race shakes out!
Statistics via Fangraphs and Baseball Savant