Each NL West team's MVP in 2019
It’s not quite awards season in baseball yet -- that doesn’t really start for another few weeks. But it most definitely is awards-talking season. As discussions begin regarding the major season-ending awards, MLB.com takes a look at some hypothetical hardware.
Here is the most valuable player (note the lowercase) for each team in the National League West in 2019.
D-backs: Ketel Marte
Whether you like cold, hard numbers or good old-fashioned narrative, Marte is your guy. On the statistical side, it’s quite simple: Marte was one of the four or so best players in the NL before his season ended due to injury. He posted a .329/.389/.592 line that could place him among the finalists for the BBWAA NL MVP Award, combining that with quality defense for about 7 WAR based on either measurement. On the warm and fuzzy side, he did it while splitting time between three positions, one of which he’d barely played before, helping out the team with his willingness to move around the diamond.
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger
Sometimes there is no reason to get cute. The favorite for the NL MVP Award is also pretty clearly the most valuable Dodger. Bellinger turned his prodigious tools into elite production this season, doing absolutely everything -- power, average, walks, defense, on-base ability and baserunning. He was as complete a player as there was in the NL, and one of the biggest reasons that the Dodgers were an absolute freight train throughout the regular season.
Giants: Madison Bumgarner
In his first full season since 2016, Bumgarner didn’t return to the heights of his peak, but he was durable, reliable and effective, a bulwark for a team that needed it. He led the NL in innings through Wednesday, topped 200 strikeouts for the fourth time in his career, and was one of the few constants for a team that had only two pitchers make more than 21 starts. Bumgarner was bitten by the long ball too often, but still gave quality bulk innings -- and sometimes more than that.
Padres: Chris Paddack
There’s absolutely a case to be made here for Fernando Tatis Jr., who was the easy leader in both flavors of WAR. He’ll likely be the clear choice next season. But for now, Paddack’s 26 starts win out over Tatis’ 372 plate appearances. Paddack also didn’t quite play a full year, but he was a presence for the Padres for just about the entire season and was huge in the Friars' early run to the fringes of contention. In addition to his performance, Paddack brought an edge and a spark, making an already entertaining team even more fun every fifth day.
Rockies: Nolan Arenado
When your best hitter, best defensive player, and most durable player are all the same guy, it should be a pretty easy choice. But this one is not quite such a straightforward call. Trevor Story had a great year as well, combining a strong bat, exemplary defense at shortstop and 21 steals through Tuesday. But Arenado is the total package -- power, average, and strike-zone control at the plate, and elite defense. Plus he's played 10 more games than anybody else on the team, all while shouldering the burden of a massive new contract. He’s the face of the franchise, and with good reason.