Top 10 Most Valuable Players in Baseball This Season

With one week left in the 2024 regular season, the MVP discussion has been all but wrapped up. Francisco Lindor made a late push in the NL, but a back injury has held back his case, and then Shohei Ohtani put the race away with one of the greatest games ever played.

Ohtani has already created the 50/50 club, and is trending towards getting to at least 55/55, sitting at 53 home runs and 55 stolen bases with six games left to play. For all we know, he might just get to 60 stolen bases at this stage.

Meanwhile, in the American League, Aaron Judge has eclipsed 55 home runs and 138 runs batted in, leading MLB in both categories, while the Yankees close in on the top record in the American League.

Bobby Witt Jr. has an outside shot at the award, but a seven-game losing streak by the Royals has put Kansas City at risk of missing the playoffs, and certainly dampens Witt’s case.

Instead of trying to analyze a pair of MVP races that seem like a foregone conclusion, our goal today is instead to rank the top 10 players who have been most valuable in MLB this season. Removing leagues from the discussion, which players have been MVPs for their team this year?

All stats taken prior to play on September 23rd

10. William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers

As you can read at the end of the article, when we get to the honorable mentions, there were plenty of candidates to fill this final spot on the list, but ultimately we are leaning into what it means to be the Most Valuable Player to your team.

William Contreras has played 150 games for the Brewers, with 115 of them started behind the dish. He has hit .285/.367/.475, with 23 home runs, 96 runs scored, 92 RBIs, and a 133 wRC+.

Among catchers with a minimum of 400 PAs, Contreras is leading in the wRC+ department by over 10 points, with Yanier Diaz coming in second at 119. He trails only Salvador Perez and Cal Raleigh in RBIs, but has scored 24 more runs than Will Smith, who has the second-most in that category.

This is not even mentioning how Contreras has led a Brewers pitching staff that many have doubted all year, and yet are somehow top-five in ERA.

Look up and down the Brewers roster and you will see a lot of pitchers who have outpitched their expectations this year, and Contreras deserves a lot of credit for that.

Simply put, Contreras has been the best catcher in baseball this year and deserves to receive some MVP votes down the ballot.

9. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

In what has been a very disappointing year for the Cincinnati Reds, Elly De La Cruz has at least shown that there is a franchise player to build around at Great American Ballpark.

De La Cruz has hit .261/.343/.476, with 25 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a 121 wRC+. Elly has certainly faded a bit as the season has worn on, and he still strikes out a ton, but overall his game has been much-improved in his first full season.

The 22-year-old has posted for nearly every game at shortstop, playing in 155 with six left to play, and he has improved greatly with his glove. Outs Above Average particularly appreciated De La Cruz’s defensive prowess, awarding him 14 OAA, which is among the league leaders.

De La Cruz will always be defined by his game-breaking speed, which he used to swipe 65 bases, with a team-best 104 runs scored. The best is yet to come for Elly De La Cruz, but what we got this year was still pretty special.

8. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

If not for a sprained ankle, Ketel Marte might still be in the actual MVP conversation.

Marte has been the unquestioned best player for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, leading them on a push from June through most of August, where he was hitting better than maybe anyone in the game.

Across a 60-game span from June 1st until he went down with the ankle injury on August 18th, Marte hit .333/.422/.652, with 20 home runs, 52 RBIs and a 188 wRC+. He trailed only Lindor in fWAR during that span.

Now looking at his stats for the full season, Marte is still hitting a cool .295/.374/.566, with 35 home runs, 93 RBIs, 90 runs scored, and a 153 wRC+. His 6.1 fWAR is 9th best in MLB this season, but he has played over 20 games less than everyone ahead of him (except Lindor).

7. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians

It might be time to discuss the quietest 40/40 season in MLB history.

Jose Ramirez has been remarkable as the leader of a great Cleveland Guardians team this season. Ramirez is sitting at 40 stolen bases and 37 home runs, with one week left to join that elusive club.

Ramirez has hit .274/.331/.520, with 109 runs scored and 112 RBIs. Among qualified hitters, Ramirez has the fifth-lowest strikeout rate in the game (12.2%). All while playing very solid defense over at the hot corner.

The Guardians have been one of baseball’s biggest surprises this year, as one of five teams that entered the final week of the season at 90 or more wins. Cleveland is heading towards a first-round bye, and that is thanks largely to the play of their team MVP, Jose Ramirez.

6. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

In the first half of the season, Gunnar Henderson was making a legit MVP case of his own, posting 28 home runs from the shortstop position. When it came to fWAR in the American League, it was Henderson that came in second behind Judge at a 5.7 fWAR in 95 games.

Like many on the Orioles though, Henderson has tailed off post-All-Star break, hitting just nine home runs, and with a 2.3 fWAR in 59 games. Now this is still fine production, it is just not as elite as the numbers we saw in the first half.

Collectively, we are still talking about an 8-win season for Henderson, where he has hit 37 home runs and has slashed .283/.367/.536, with 116 runs scored, 89 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, and a 157 wRC+.

Ultimately his ranking falls just behind our next shortstop though, based on valuing the strong finish over Henderson’s hot start.

5. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

In retrospect, Shohei Ohtani’s MVP consideration should have always been a foregone conclusion, as the numbers he has posted have been staggering. Over the past week, Ohtani hit .500 with six home runs, seven stolen bases and 17 RBIs in his last seven games.

In doing so, he has created the 50/50 club and has helped the Dodgers clinch a playoff berth in the process, hitting a late game-tying home run in the clincher, before Mookie Betts went back-to-back to walk the Rockies off.

Still, up until last week, there was at least a conversation about who should win the award in the National League due to the fantastic season Francisco Lindor is having leading the New York Mets.

Since May 30th, the New York Mets have the best record in baseball at 65-36.

During that span, Lindor trails only Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. in fWAR, posting an NL-best mark of 6.3 across 93 games. The Mets shortstop saw his campaign cut a bit short, as he has been dealing with an ailing back injury since September 13th.

At the time of Lindor’s injury, he was pacing Ohtani in fWAR by over two wins since May 30th. In the time that he has been out, Ohtani has gained 1.4 fWAR on him, going from 4.0 to 5.4 fWAR since May 30th. In doing so, Ohtani has boosted his season fWAR to an NL-best 8.3.

Lindor won’t win the MVP, and might not get a first place vote anymore, but he is sure to get a lot of second place votes, whether he returns to the field at full strength or not. The Mets would not be in playoff position without the season Lindor had. Hopefully he gets to finish it.

4. Juan Soto, New York Yankees

Alright this is where we get into the big guns. Juan Soto would be the best hitter on 28 teams in Major League Baseball. The two exceptions are L.A. with Ohtani and the Dodgers, and the other is his current team, the New York Yankees.

Soto is not likely to pull many MVP votes away from Aaron Judge, but that does not take away from the fact that he has had a career-year in the Bronx.

Outside of his slash line, and his RBIs, Soto has set career-highs across the board this season, hitting 40 home runs for the first time, and setting a career-best 7.9 fWAR. This is more than a win better than his next-closest season, a 6.8 fWAR campaign back in 2021.

Hitting in front of Judge, Soto has set a new career-high with 124 runs scored and he is even playing the best defense of his career in right field.

Still just 25 years old for another month, Soto is about to cash in during free agency. First though, he will try to win the second World Series title of his young career.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

Between the introduction and the section on Lindor, Shohei Ohtani’s MVP credentials are pretty clear. Soon-to-be the first DH-only to ever win the MVP, Ohtani is about to make history.

More importantly though, Ohtani is going to get to play in the playoffs for the first time in his career, showcasing his incredible talents on the grandest stage.

Still recovering from an elbow surgery, there has recently been some talks about Ohtani returning to the mound if the Dodgers make a deep enough run.

If this ends up playing out, Ohtani has the chance to put a stamp on this as one of the most memorable seasons in MLB history. Getting to 50/50 and doing it in that fashion was already spectacular. Adding some huge playoff moments would only further add to Ohtani’s legacy.

2. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

There are some who are going to see Bobby Witt Jr. ahead of Shohei Ohtani who will push back on this order when Witt is sitting at “just” 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases, compared to Ohtani’s gaudy numbers.

The difference is that Witt is playing Gold Glove caliber defense as well, giving the Royals a legit five-tool player in the lineup everyday. Witt’s argument to be considered better than Ohtani is the same one that was being made for Lindor a few weeks ago, but Witt’s numbers are better.

The fWAR argument is strong for Witt, who is one of two players to eclipse 10 wins this season.

Witt is zeroing in on a batting title (.334), a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger, but an MVP award is probably out of his grasps this year. The Royals lackluster finish has not helped, but Witt’s numbers just aren’t quite there with the best player in the game.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

When Shohei Ohtani starts pitching again, we are probably having a different conversation. But for right now, this season, Aaron Judge is the best player in baseball.

Judge is hitting .323/.458/.695, with 55 home runs and 138 runs batted in. He is unlikely to eclipse the 62 home runs he hit back in 2022, but he has improved on that slash line across the board and has a higher wRC+ of 217.

With one week left, Judge is very close to passing his 11.1 fWAR from 2022, already sitting at 10.7, so he is only half a win behind with six games to play. There is a chance that this goes down as the best season of Judge’s career, even if the record-breaking season of 2022 is more memorable.

Honorable Mentions

By narrowing this list to just 10, we had to leave a lot of great players on the cutting room floor. When it comes to WAR numbers, Jarren Duran was definitely in consideration to make the back-half of this list.

Duran has been more than a win better than our No. 10 William Contreras, but we gave the nod to the player who plays a more impactful position on a better team. Contreras’ value goes beyond just the stats, helping lift a Brewers pitching staff to exceed expectations this year.

You could also make the case to include Duran over Elly De La Cruz, but with the latter pacing him by 30 bags in the stolen base department, we went with Elly. Still, Duran deserves a ton of credit for his All-Star season, which should have him in the conversation for some hardware for years to come.

Bryce Harper was another snub for us, as you can always make an argument for the best player on what some might feel is the best team. For Harper though, this season has been solid, but not spectacular, as he won’t eclipse 100 runs batted in and trailed everyone one our list in fWAR.

Finally, there are some standout bats that deserve mention. None more than Brent Rooker, who may receive some down-ballot MVP votes for his performance this year. Yordan Alvarez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have both been great with the bat as well.