MLB MVP: Can anyone challenge Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman?

Can anyone challenge Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman for MVP?

ATLANTA, GA - June 01: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves prepares to bat during the game against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on June 1, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia.The Braves won 4-0. (Photo by Cameron Hart/Beam Imagination/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GA – MAY 15: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves bats against the Chicago Cubs at SunTrust Park on May 15, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cubs won 3-2. (Photo by Logan Riely/Beam Imagination/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Freddie Freeman /

2. Freddie Freeman, First Base for the Atlanta Braves

.327 average, .980 OPS, .411 wOBA, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 3.5 WAR

If Freeman was on an A.L. team, he would not be this high on the list. This is not a sign of disrespect to Freeman, who is in the middle of a wonderful season. It’s more of a signal of how many elite players are in the American League. In the National League, Freeman is pretty clearly the number one option with a bullet point. The Braves are ahead of schedule as far as the team perspective. They have been in the process of a rebuild but all that effort is starting to bear fruit. Freeman has been the rock in this lineup while the rest of it has been up and down and had some injury woes to boot.

Atlanta has a lot of youth and inexperience on their squad and that’s why Freeman has been even more important this year. He’s a great offensive player who is just four home runs of the league lead and is another very good on base player at a .415 clip. He even chips in on the base paths with six steals on the year. The number of players who will hit over .300, approach 30 home runs, 100 RBI and steal double digit bases are extremely few. Freeman is a baseball unicorn and he should be the MVP even if the Braves can’t hold the division lead all the way through the season.

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