The NL MVP is on the Miami Marlins

The NL MVP is on the Miami Marlins! So is the NL Cy Young winner! Who are these players? Well, it’s the same player actually: ace Sandy Alcantara. Pitchers don’t usually win MVP’s, but in this case they absolutely have to. There is simply no one else who deserves the award more than an “old school” ace.

Sandy Alcantara deserves the NL MVP award.

Let’s look at Sandy Alcantara’s competition… there’s St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt with his 4.6 WAR and .343/.427/.620 batting line that will surely come down. There’s also his teammate third baseman Nolan Arenado with his .295/.356/.534 batting line and 4.3 WAR. The problem is both technically cancel each other out, as the MVP typically goes to the player who basically “carries” their team the most.

What other competition does Sandy Alcantara have? San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado has 3.9 WAR and a .316/.389/.526 batting line. There’s also Goldschmidt’s and Arenado’s teammate short stop Tommy Edman with a 4.2 WAR and a .262/.331/.383 batting line. Edman of course is hurt by sharing a team with Goldschmidt and Arenado.

Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried is a contender too with his 4.3 WAR and a 9-2 W-L record with a 2.52 ERA/2.50 FIP. Those are serious contenders, but Sandy Alcantara is ahead of all of them and should be the front runner for the NL MVP award fairly easily. Fried is very good this season, but he’s still not as good as Sandy Alcantara.

Sandy Alcantara has an NL leading 4.8 WAR with a 9-3 record and a 1.82 ERA/2.86 FIP. Alcantara also leads all starting pitchers with 123.1 innings pitched. The innings pitched are actually unheard of in this day and age. Sandy Alcantara is so uniquely dominant that he deserves to get recognition for it.

Sandy Alcantara must win the NL MVP award. It’s simple, he’s ahead of every other player in WAR, has an extremely low ERA and is a workhorse not seen in ages. The only reason not to give him the award is his position. I don’t think that punishing him for being a pitcher makes any rational sense. Sandy Alcantara is your NL MVP.