NL MVP Rankings: Mighty Andrew McCutchen Just Keeps on Hitting

During the first half of the baseball season, there were two distinct front-runners for National League Most Valuable Player.

The Dodgers' Matt Kemp started the year explosively, looking like a man who had no intention of finishing second in MVP voting again. But then Kemp got injured and missed more than 50 games. That allowed Joey Votto to take over as the top contender.

Barring something incredible happening, the Reds first baseman looked like the favorite to win.

Well, something incredible has happened. Andrew McCutchen has emerged as a complete offensive threat, hitting for average and power. In the process, he's carried the Pittsburgh Pirates to the top of the NL Central and now looks like the new front-runner.

Carlos Ruiz, Carlos Gonzalez and Melky Cabrera each warrant honorable mention status in this week's rankings. But right now, the following five players are performing that much better and look like the leading contenders for NL MVP. 

5. Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

Last week: No. 4

Carlos Beltran once looked like the one true challenger to Joey Votto in the NL MVP race. But he continues to slide down our rankings after a rough week. 

In his past five games, Beltran batted 3-for-17 (.176) with one RBI. That one RBI made a difference, giving Beltran the lead in that category. However, his batting average has dropped to .290, ranking him 24th among NL batters. Beltran's .373 on-base, .522 slugging percentage and .895 OPS each place him 12th in the league.

Two other things aren't helping Beltran's cause right now. First, the St. Louis Cardinals are falling back in the NL Central race. The Cards aren't out of it by any means, but third place and 4.5 games behind the Reds isn't a position of strength. St. Louis is also three games out of a wild card playoff spot.

Secondly, Beltran has a lot of help in that Cardinals' lineup. With Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Allen Craig and David Freese, this is one of the deepest batting orders in baseball. And Lance Berkman just returned from a knee injury to add another bat.

Those players—each of them All-Star caliber—provide many RBI opportunities for Beltran. He's sure not carrying that team by himself. 

4. David Wright, New York Mets

Last week: No. 3

With the New York Mets falling to seven games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East, David Wright's MVP chances continue to dwindle. 

Also hurting Wright's MVP candidacy is his own play. Since the All-Star break, he's batted 4-for-16 (.250) with two doubles. Granted, four games isn't a representative sample size to judge.

But Wright hit 2-for-11 over the weekend as the Mets were swept by the Braves. 

Wright is still ranked among the league leaders in several offensive categories. His .346 batting average is the fourth-best in the NL. He's second in the league with a .437 on-base percentage. And his .991 OPS ranks fifth among NL batters. 

Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference rate Wright as the second-best player in the NL based on wins above replacement. 

3. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Last week: No. 5

Considering the Milwaukee Brewers have a losing record (43-47 going into Tuesday's play) and hold fourth place in the NL Central—eight games behind the division-leading Reds—perhaps this is too high a ranking for Ryan Braun. 

Yet Braun's numbers are too good to be dismissed because his team isn't winning. 

His 26 home runs lead the NL while his 65 RBI are tied for second. With a .309/.394/.608 slash average, Braun also ranks in the league's top 10 in each of those offensive categories. His 1.002 OPS is the third-best figure among his fellow NL batters.

Braun's performance raises the classic argument about MVP voting. Should the award go to the best player in the league? If so, Braun might have a chance at winning if he keeps launching baseballs into the seats.

Or do the words "most valuable" say it all?

Yes, the Brewers' record would surely be worse if Braun wasn't in their lineup. Yet they still have a losing record with him and don't figure to enter the playoff race, barring a collapse by the teams ahead of them in the NL Central.

That is ultimately what will prevent Braun from winning a second consecutive MVP award. But his numbers are good enough to regard him as one of the best hitters in the league. 

2. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Last week: No. 2.

After being dethroned as the NL MVP front-runner last week, Joey Votto might have more of a slide ahead of him. With the news that he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will miss three to four weeks, Votto's MVP chances may have taken a big hit (Cincinnati.com).

Of course, if the Reds go in the tank with him out of the lineup and then rebound when he returns, that might be the best case Votto could possibly make for winning the MVP award.

We don't have to go into hypotheticals about what would happen if he was taken out of the lineup. We're actually going to see this happen. 

Votto's knee injury certainly explains the drop in his production. He suffered a tear in his right meniscus on June 29. Since then, he batted 9-for-35 (.257) with three doubles and two RBI. 

That stretch dropped his batting average to .342, still outstanding and ranked fifth in the NL. But it's 32 percentage points behind Andrew McCutchen's league-leading average. Votto still leads the league with a .465 on-base percentage, however. And his 36 doubles have helped him toward a .604 slugging percentage—the third-highest mark among NL batters. 

Only one other player has a higher OPS than Votto's 1.069. And that's the guy who overtook Votto in these rankings. It's not that he lost the lead. It was taken from him. And with this injury, he'll likely slide further down this list. 

1. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

Last week: No. 1

Now that Andrew McCutchen has taken over as the leading candidate for NL MVP, he doesn't appear interested in giving up that front-runner status.

While some of his fellow MVP contenders struggled over the past week, McCutchen thrived. Since the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder has batted 11-for-20 (.550) with four home runs and five RBI. 

That surge sent his batting average soaring to .374, which leads Mike Trout by 19 percentage points for the major league lead. We're midway through July and McCutchen is actually moving closer to hitting .400 as the competition heats up in the NL Central. 

With 22 home runs, McCutchen trails only Ryan Braun among NL hitters. His 65 RBI are tied for second in the league. His .426 on-base percentage ranks third. But with a .657 slugging percentage, McCutchen leads Braun by 49 points.

Does it need to be mentioned that McCutchen also leads the NL with a 1.083 OPS? OK, there it is.

Just to make sure we have everything covered, both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs have McCutchen rated as the top player in the NL in wins above replacement. 

Does McCutchen have a role in The Dark Knight Rises, which was filmed in Pittsburgh? We know Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is in the film. It's probably a bit late with movie being released on Friday, but Ward should strongly consider giving up his role to McCutchen. Or director Christopher Nolan should splice him in.

We don't know if Batman can beat Bane, but McCutchen almost certainly could. 

Just think what might happen if the Pirates get some help, like Carlos Quentin or Justin Upton. McCutchen already has Pittsburgh near first place. What could he be capable of with someone else helping him in the lineup? 

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