Reviewing the MLB MVP Standings Over Halfway Through June
MLB.com has officially released their MVP rankings for both the American and National League. The respective leagues had five candidates each, ranked in order. The American League unsurprisingly consisted of Aaron Judge at one, Juan Soto at two, Gunnar Henderson at three, Bobby Witt Jr. at four, and Jose Ramirez, also known as Barry Bonds, at five. If you didn’t get that joke, look it up. The National League had Shohei Ohtani at one, Bryce Harper at two, Marcell Ozuna at three, William Contreras at four, and Mookie Betts at five. Though I know my take doesn’t matter too much, I personally am satisfied with the American League rankings. The National League rankings aren’t quite as pleasing.
Any world where Judge doesn’t sit at the top of the MVP rankings wouldn’t make the slightest bit of sense. Video game numbers aren’t even the word. He’s slugging .972 in his last 30 games played, and that feels weird to even type. His current numbers are truthfully enough for very good season-ending stats; 26 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a .299 average. It’s not even the last third of June. Soto is definitely deserving of second. He’s hitting .315 with 18 homers and 55 RBIs. Judge's numbers are so insane that they make that look somewhat normal, but it isn’t. As for the three, four, and five spots, I think that those are all deserving. Henderson has been going off since the very beginning of the year, Bobby Witt Jr. is hitting .327, and all jokes aside, what Jose Ramirez is able to do consistently with a Guardians team that isn’t really star-powered is extremely impressive. If Luis Gil continues to pitch the way he’s been pitching, I think he might find himself in the top five.
In terms of the National League, while I do understand that Ohtani is one of the most skilled players of our generation, I don’t think that he’s deserving of the number-one spot. The truth is, a lot of it has to do with the MLB pushing him as the “face of baseball.” I think Ozuna should be there, as he would hold the Triple Crown if the season ended today. Ozuna isn’t a great fielder or person, and though Ohtani has a higher WAR than him, I personally find the Triple Crown to be more important. I certainly don’t think Harper is deserving of being in there over Ozuna, though he is, of course, putting up great numbers. Contreras has had a serious breakout year, and Betts has been pretty good as well. Of course, we still have a while left to go in the season. I’m sure that a lot could and will change over the next few months, and it should be exciting to watch. So far, it’s been one of the most interesting baseball seasons I can remember, certainly the most entertaining over the past few years, and a lot more is definitely in store.
