Albert Pujols Is Back in the MVP Groove

Over the St. Louis Cardinals' last four ballgames, one theme has stood out: the hot hitting of slugger Albert Pujols. He has raised his already solid .344 batting average to a whopping .355, aided by a five-for-eight night against the New York Mets, in which he hit the go-ahead blast in the 14th inning.

Pujols, arguably the best hitter in baseball, may not have the gaudy power numbers this year, but his combination of average and power have made him a very reasonable choice for NL MVP honors.

Pujols is in the top three in almost every hitting category in the NL, save for RBI and HRs.

However, his recent four-game tear suggests that there may be more to come in the second half from this quiet monster. He has compiled three HRs in his last four games, not to mention averaging two RBI per contest over the same span.

It is widely known that Pujols can crush the baseball, but for a while, he was stagnant at the plate, going almost a month without hitting a home run.

Now that Pujols has temporarily broken out of his power slump, look for him to put up some gargantuan numbers in the second half.

I may have recently written an article about why Milwaukee Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braun has a good chance at winning the NL MVP, but I think that in a 2008 season that hasn't seen Pujols at his prime, it may be his best chance to capture the elusive MVP crown.

In 2006, Pujols had an offensive season that would make most Hall-of-Famers envious, but he was narrowly eclipsed in the voting by Philadelphia Phillies' home-run bomber Ryan Howard.

The resurgent and surprising Cardinals sit just four games out in the NL's hardest division, and one game out of the NL Wild Card spot, thanks to some upstart players such as Ryan Ludwick, Skip Schumaker, and Kyle Lohse.

The constant all season, however, has been the play of Pujols.

One thing is certain: If the Cardinals end up playing ball in October, it will be because of No. 5.