2014 National League MVP Race: Breaking Down the Candidates

As the MLB regular season wraps up its final week, there are a few players who are making late pushes to solidify their cases for individual awards, and one of the most heated races is the competition for the NL MVP crown.

Did Giancarlo Stanton do enough before his injury? Does a pitcher really deserve to win an MVP? Or are there a few dark horses flying under the radar and ready to steal the show?

These are some of the questions that need to be answered when selecting the winner, so let's examine which player should be crowned the most valuable in the National League. 

Dark Horse: Andrew McCutchen, CF, Pittsburgh Pirates

John Bazemore/Associated Press

The reigning NL MVP has put together yet another impressive campaign. Andrew McCutchen’s .404 on-base percentage is currently tops in the NL, his slugging percentage of .537 is second best and his .310 batting average ranks third among the qualified leaders. 

In the sabermetric stat of “runs created per 27 outs,” McCutchen also leads all players in the league with 8.17 runs, according to ESPN. That isn’t shocking given his production at the plate.

Perhaps what makes all of this that much more extraordinary is the fact that he has battled a rib injury for the past month.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle praised McCutchen’s toughness in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook: "He's the model of a leader that you want on your club. He got through some tough spots early. The good news is he's in a pretty good place right now. He's in a competitive place. Everything he's done has been aggressive."

As a result of McCutchen’s efforts, the Pirates currently have a comfortable five-game lead in the wild-card race.

Dark Horse: Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Just a few months ago, Posey wouldn't even have entered the discussion for this award. But with a second-half surge like no other, the man they call M-V-Posey in San Francisco will surely be getting some votes now.

Posey had a batting average of just .277 at the All-Star break. Since then, he has batted .351 to lead all NL players with at least 150 at-bats in the second half. His 3.4 WAR during that stretch is also the best in the majors, according to FanGraphs.  

More importantly, Posey has stepped up for the Giants when it mattered the most.

During the month of September, Posey is slashing .389/.432/.583 and has led a Giants surge that has them within three and a half games of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and five games up in the wild card.

Favorite: Clayton Kershaw, P, Los Angeles Dodgers

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

To say Clayton Kershaw has had a “nice” season would be an understatement for the ages. The numbers that the 26-year-old southpaw has put up this year are of historic proportions, and they begin with his career-best 1.80 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and .870 win percentage.

Kershaw is slated for one more start later this week, but at the moment, he has given up less hits (132), earned runs (38), home runs (nine) and walks (31) than he ever has in a full season as a starter.

Kershaw also reached the 20-win mark in a remarkably short span, 26 starts to be exact. Since the expansion of the league, there have been only five other pitchers who accomplished such a feat in so few starts, according to Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN.com.

Throw in a no-hitter and a major-league-best six complete games the season, and it becomes that much tougher to argue against Kershaw.

Favorite: Giancarlo Stanton, RF, Miami Marlins

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

Truth be told, Stanton’s chances of capturing the NL MVP crown dwindled the moment he was struck in the face by Mike Fiers’ pitch two weeks ago, but that is not to say he should be out of the running completely.

Despite missing action since his injury on Sept. 11, many of Stanton’s numbers are still among the NL leaders.

The 37 homers he smashed are still a distant No. 1, and so are his .555 slugging percentage and .950 on-base plus slugging percentage. Despite missing the last 10 games, Stanton's 6.0 WAR still ranks fourth in the NL, according to FanGraphs.

Stanton’s 105 RBI still slot him in second place just below the 112 from the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez, and the 115.6 runs he created for the Marlins this season are tied with McCutchen, according to ESPN.

A valid argument against Stanton would be the injury that has cost him the final three weeks of the season, but it should be mentioned that Kershaw missed the first five weeks of his season. Both players should be treated equally in terms of the numbers they put up during the time they were active.

Another argument against Stanton would be Miami’s lack of success, as the team currently stands at 74-81. But without Stanton’s help, just exactly where would the Marlins be this season?

CBSSports’ Jon Heyman put that into perspective:

"

His performance gave the Marlins hope into September, but that dream died the moment Stanton was struck in the kisser.

But Stanton still was the main reason the Marlins overcame a startlingly low $47 million payroll and disheartening injury to ace pitcher Jose Fernandez to remain in the race…No one could have foreseen a .500 season without Fernandez, but the Marlins came close.

"

Prediction: Giancarlo Stanton

The choice is not made based on whether a pitcher deserves to win the MVP award. If a player at any position puts up deserving numbers, he should be a candidate.

The case for Stanton is based on the fact that of all the previous times a pitcher has won the MVP—be it Justin Verlander in 2011 or Bob Gibson and Denny McLain in 1968—those pitchers took home the award when no other position players came close to being worthy of the honor.

This time around, there is one.