Generational players tend to make the spectacular look mundane. And whether it’s Aaron Judge hitting over .400 as we approach June or Shohei Ohtani being second in MLB in OPS after a quiet start to the year, the two best players in the world again look like they’re destined to finish as the AL and NL MVP Award winners, respectively.
Judge and Ohtani are the easy frontrunners for MVP and in a year when they’re healthy, that will likely always be the case. But what if there was a world where the reigning MVPs weren’t sitting atop every offensive leaderboard?
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Whom would we be watching more closely?
National League
Kyle Schwarber, DH, Philadelphia Phillies
When you think of the Phillies since they put together their star-laden core, you would think Bryce Harper was the engine of that group. And while Harper is still the Phillies’ best player, the heart and soul of this team is undoubtedly Schwarber. After a year of trying to find who he was as a player, Schwarber has become one of the most consistent hitters in baseball. And this season, the former World Series champion is having the best season of his career.
Schwarber enters Friday slashing .256/.396/.572 with 17 homers and 37 RBI. In 49 games, he’s on pace to finish with career highs in hits, homers, runs, RBI and walks. The early-season success by the Phillies’ longtime designated hitter has helped them get back to the top of the NL East and hold the best record in the league.
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He’s playing on the last season of his four-year, $79 million deal and setting himself up tremendously for free agency.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Freeman has been a hit machine since he was a 20-year-old debuting for the Atlanta Braves. And 15 years later, the 2020 NL MVP is still doing what he does best and aging like a fine wine. Standing out on a team with two MVPs is tough, especially when one of them is the best player in the world. Freeman has been just as important to the Dodgers’ success this season, as they have stayed atop a loaded NL West.
The 35-year-old started the year hobbled, recovering from offseason ankle surgery, but he appears to be healthy and locked in. Freeman not only leads the National League in hitting with an eye-popping .368 batting average but is second in MLB behind Judge with a 1.087 OPS.
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It’s not wild to say that Freeman might be MLB’s best pure hitter, and to be doing it at his age, when making it 16 seasons in the big leagues is now a…