Nearly 70% of the MLB calendar has passed as we’ve moved past the All-Star Game and the trade deadline. The 162-game marathon is now a two-month sprint to October. In that sprint to the postseason, there are storylines that really begin to take shape in August. They often include races for major awards as frontrunners pull away from the pack or dark horses emerge from the shadows.
Historically, August is pivotal in determining those awards. In 2016, Angels superstar Mike Trout hit .349 in August, the highest average of any month that season, leading to his second of three AL MVP awards. During August of his 2017 NL MVP campaign, Giancarlo Stanton carried a 1.332 OPS and mashed 18 home runs, placing him firmly in the driver’s seat on his way to an MVP award.
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Most recently, a strong August put Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill into a legitimate race with Pirates ace Paul Skenes for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. While Skenes ultimately won the award, Merrill’s hot month helped propel him to a runner-up finish in balloting.
This year, there are multiple awards that will come down to the wire. The most compelling might be the race for NL MVP. Shohei Ohtani, the game’s best player, has again been the front-runner for NL MVP all season. The Dodgers’ unicorn has an NL-leading .987 OPS entering Friday with 39 homers. He’s also returned to the mound in dominant fashion with a 2.37 ERA in eight starts, although in short stints as he builds up from elbow surgery.
The Cubs’ electric Pete Crow-Armstrong was once a strong candidate for NL MVP, but he and Chicago’s recent struggles have quieted that talk. But former Cub and current Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has pushed himself into the conversation with Ohtani for NL MVP.
Schwarber has been consistent and productive for Philadelphia throughout this season, ranking second in the NL with a .965 OPS entering Friday and leading the NL with 40 homers. And even during times when the Phillies’ offense struggled, Schwarber carried them, including when superstar Bryce Harper was out of the lineup for three weeks with a wrist injury.
The Phillies’ DH is having his best season of his career and is on pace to set career-highs in nearly every offensive category including hits, home runs, RBI, OPS and stolen bases.
One of the biggest questions about the NL MVP race: In any season when Ohtani is healthy and he’s hitting at an elite level and pitching, is there anything a player can do outside of a historic season that would wrestle MVP awards away from him?
While Ohtani has swung the bat well and is turning into an ace again on the mound, the Dodgers haven’t played their best baseball despite their unicorn’s individual success. But Schwarber and the Phillies have taken off, and after being in the NL wild-card race, they are now firmly entrenched atop the NL East. And with Schwarber’s impact in the middle of their lineup, is that enough to overtake Ohtani?
While the AL MVP race is also compelling with front-runners Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh still leading the pack, the combination of Judge’s recent stint on the IL and Raleigh’s cold stretch since the All-Star break is likely leading to a photo finish in September.
The NL Cy Young Award is starting to look like Skenes’ to lose. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year has pitched to even better levels than he did last season when he had a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts. This season, Skenes has a 1.94 ERA in 24 starts. The Phillies’ duo of Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler could find a way to upend Skenes, but it will be tough with the Pirates’ right-hander dominating at this level. And with Pittsburgh having no plans to shut him down, he’ll have the body of work to go along with the production.
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