The Will to Witt: Sock’s MVP Rankings

Not much has changed in the NL, but the AL has changed significantly. Who will make the cut?

NL MVP Rankings

On the Bubble: Bryce Harper, Jurickson Profar, Alec Bohm, Freddie Freeman, Cody Bellinger

5. Will Smith – LAD: Last Week’s Ranking: On the Bubble
I could have chosen a lot of guys for number five, but Will Smith gets the spot. Over the past 7 days, Smith is hitting .278/.278/.833 with 3 home runs. He has been hitting .296/.360/.516 with 9 home runs during the season. The catchers and designated hitters are dominating the NL.

4. William Contreras – MIL: Last Week’s Ranking: #5
The last week for the following 4 players was brutal, so I will focus on their overall performance on the season. Contreras still has a batting average above .317, and his OPS is just shy of .900, sitting at .887. He has 8 home runs and ranks number four.

3. Marcell Ozuna – ATL: Last Week’s Ranking: #3
Ozuna had one home run over the last week, increasing his NL-leading total to 16. On the season, he is batting .312/.390/.608 with an NL-leading 49 RBIs. The rest of the Braves may be slumping, but he is playing very well.

2. Shohei Ohtani – LAD: Last Week’s Ranking: #2
Ohtani leads the NL in OPS with 1.010 and is second in home runs with 14. He’s not far behind Luis Arraez for the batting title, as Ohtani is batting a .330. He remains at number two.

1. Mookie Betts – LAD: Last Week’s Ranking: #1
Betts is tied with Arraez for the batting title with a .332 average. Betts has 8 home runs and is third in the NL in OPS with a .953. Pretty simple list for the NL this week.

AL MVP Rankings

On the Bubble: Salvador Perez, Brent Rooker, Rafael Devers, Issac Paredes, Jose Ramirez

5. Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR: Last Week’s Ranking: Outside the Bubble
Admittedly, I should have had Bobby Witt on the bubble last week. This week, I have him in the top 5. Bobby is hitting .309/.363/.548 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs. He also has 16 stolen bases, and with his speed, he can hit 40 by the end of the year. He should be a regular in this rankings moving forward.

4. Gunnar Henderson – BAL: Last Week’s Ranking: #5
Henderson is tied with Judge and Tucker for the AL lead in home runs with 18, and he’s done it in fewer games. He is hitting .258/.354/.584 on the season despite only having a .606 OPS this past week. He’s become more than just a core piece in Baltimore.

3. Kyle Tucker – HOU: Last Week’s Ranking: #1
Tucker had a rough week, and there was no other way around it. There were only 2 hits in 21 at-bats, but one was a home run. He lost the OPS lead and the home run crown in the AL. Tucker drops to three on my list.

2. Juan Soto – NYY: Last Week’s Ranking: #3
Soto has been going crazy over the past two weeks. Over the last 15 days, Soto is hitting .347/.458/.816 with 6 home runs. He is batting .312/.415/.584 on the season with 13 home runs. Classic Juan Soto.

1. Aaron Judge – NYY: Last Week’s Ranking: #2
Aaron Judge is the only player in the AL with an OPS above 1.000. Over the past week, he had an OPS of .918 with 2 home runs that raised his total to 18 on the year. The top three are close, but I give Aaron Judge the nod at number one.