Under-the-radar MVP candidates for 2024 MLB season: Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte, Bobby Witt Jr. and more

Today is Aug. 15. The last day of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season is Sept. 29. Unfortunately, there are many who believe the MVP races are settled, with Aaron Judge of the Yankees the frontrunner on the AL side and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers leading in the NL. Judge's teammate, Juan Soto , and his recent home run barrage have gotten plenty of attention, too.

In fact, I saw something about how the Yankees are going to have the 1-2 finishers in AL MVP voting the other day and I perked up. Yes, that's entirely possible, but what immediately sprang to mind was, "what about Bobby Witt Jr.?"

This led me down the path to writing this article. I wanted to shine the light on some other players having MVP-caliber seasons beyond Judge, Soto and Ohtani.

All stats are through Aug. 14.

American League

Bobby Witt Jr., Royals - Now, I don't think he's necessarily "under the radar," as I've written multiple times about him and many national writers have done the same, but the fact remains that he's on the Royals and gets overshadowed by the two Yankees stars. Witt leads the majors in hits and average. He has 33 doubles, 11 triples, 24 homers, 89 RBI, 102 runs, 25 steals and 7.9 WAR.

Gunnar Henderson , Orioles - Last year's Rookie of the Year is hitting .288/.373/.552 (163 OPS+) with 7.3 WAR, 30 homers, 71 RBI 95 runs and 14 steals. He's the heart and soul of the lineup for a team competing for the AL East title. He's also been heavily in discussion pretty much all season, so I could see arguments that he's not under the radar here, but, again, the Yankees duo totally overshadow him.

José Ramírez, Guardians - Always the bridesmaid, as the saying goes, he has finished second, third, third, fourth, sixth and 10th in MVP voting before. It looks like another one to add the list this season. The backbone of the best team in the AL Central and arguably in baseball, Ramírez is hitting .281 with a .543 slugging percentage, 27 doubles, 31 homers, 98 RBI, 91 runs, 27 steals and 4.5 WAR. And in watching him play, he's one of those guys where it feels like the numbers just don't do him justice. He remains underrated in non-fantasy circles.

Jarren Duran , Red Sox - It's difficult to tell how much the suspension for using a homophobic slur would affect him in voting, but his on-field work merits inclusion. He's hitting .290/.349/.500 with 36 doubles, 13 triples, 14 homers, 58 RBI, 80 runs, 29 steals and 6.5 WAR.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays - His name isn't under the radar at all and he's finished second before, but he needs to be highlighted here for how absurdly out-of-his-mind hot he's been. He started the season slow, but in his last 44 games, Guerrero is hitting .399/.446/.821 with 20 doubles, 17 homers 49 RBI and 40 runs. Yes, in 44 games. If he keeps up this torrid pace -- even on a bad team -- there's no doubt he'll seep into top-three discussion.

National League

Ketel Marte , Diamondbacks - An ankle injury has kept Marte out of the last two games, but let's hope he gets back in the lineup soon. He deserves to get a lot more national praise than he's been getting. I tried to push him a few weeks ago and I'm trying again here today. The Diamondbacks have been the best team in baseball for the last 40 games, and are now breathing down the neck of the Dodgers ( more on that here ). In a mostly lost season for Corbin Carroll , the D-backs' pitching staff has been ravaged by injury. The constant has been Marte. He's hitting .298/.369/.561 (157 OPS+) with 20 doubles, two triples, 30 homers, 81 RBI, 81 runs, six steals and 6.0 WAR.

Francisco Lindor , Mets - Lindor's fatal flaw in the mainstream is his batting average, even though it's still .263 compared to a league average of .244. He brings it everywhere else and plays every single day, though. He leads the majors in plate appearances while having started 119 of the Mets' 120 games and appeared in all 120. He has a 127 OPS+ with 30 doubles, 23 homers, 69 RBI (as a leadoff man), 79 runs, 24 steals and 4.9 WAR, which loops in his excellent defense at a premium position. The Mets aren't contending without him.

Jurickson Profar , Padres - The Padres are just as hot as the D-backs and are equally pushing the Dodgers in the NL West. The Padres dealt with inconsistency early from Manny Machado and they've had injuries to Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. The constant has been Profar in his breakout season. Profar is slashing .295/.393/.481 with 22 doubles, 19 homers, 72 RBI and 70 runs. Rookie Jackson Merrill deserves a hat-tip as well.

Elly De La Cruz , Reds - The Reds are now in second place in the NL Central and are 4 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot. Should they make a run, De La Cruz has to get a ton of credit. They weathered so many injuries early in the season and while he has his flaws -- he leads the majors in strikeouts -- the dynamic player brings so much good. He has a 130 OPS+ with 28 doubles, seven triples, 21 homers, 52 RBI, 78 runs and 4.3 WAR. He's the most exciting player in baseball. Also, he leads the majors with 59 stolen bases and has a shot to become the first player to reach 80 steals since 1988 (Vince Coleman and Rickey Henderson).

Matt Chapman , Giants - At first glance, Chapman's .246/.337/.443 slash line with 19 homers and 60 RBI wouldn't move the needle a bunch, but remember how much his home park suppresses offense. OPS+ adjusts for that and he sits at 123 there. Plus, he's still one of the best defenders in all of baseball and that helps push his WAR to 5.6. He's also stolen 12 bases. This is a case where the batting average doesn't do justice to everything he brings. If the Giants keep hanging around, Chapman deserves a chance at the top five.