New York Mets Shortstop Francisco Lindor Has Case for National League MVP

By Ray Kuhn

There are still two weeks left in the baseball season. To say that a lot can happen is an understatement. However, that doesn’t mean we will ever stop trying to look ahead and draw conclusions.

If we do draw conclusions, things are abundantly clear. Maybe not crystal clear for some, but from where I sit, there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

Francisco Lindor should be the National League Most Valuable Player.

I understand that Shohei Ohtani is a generational player. There is no other way to explain it or break it down. He is having a great season, but the MVP, he is not.

The key word here, is player. Ohtani is something special. In our lifetimes, we have never seen anything like it. He is an elite hitter as well as an elite pitcher. He can run, field, hit, and hit with power. While we are at it, we should just add Cy Young status to the list.

But this year, that is not the case. It’s no fault of Ohtani as while he is returning from Tommy John surgery this season, the dual threat of Ohtani is on hold for a year. Instead, all he is is a hitter. Granted he is one of the best hitters in the game, so we don’t want to sell him short here. But this year, Ohtani isn’t playing the field. He is merely the Designated Hitter in one of the best lineups in baseball.

Again, this is not to sell Ohtani short. In most other years, he likely would be the MVP. His performance at the plate and on the basepaths this season is truly next-level elite, but not having to worry about playing defense can’t be overstated here.

Ohtani is hitting .290 on the season with 117 runs scored and 106 RBI, but that’s not even the highlight. What we are seeing here is truly a unicorn as Ohtani is sitting at 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases. It’s good enough to best most candidates, but I have a hard time ranking him ahead of Lindor when he’s not playing the field.

Francisco Lindor during a Spring Training time-outPhoto byWikimedia Commons

While Lindor did hit five home runs and score 16 times in April, the shortstop struggled. Lindor hit just .197 as the Mets got off to a lackluster start. Their struggles continued into May, but the shortstop did turn things around.

Once we got to June, things really changed for Lindor and the Mets. Their fortunes changed as they surged into playoff position and played like the team they were meant to be. That was driven by a lineup change.

Lindor was moved to the leadoff spot in the order on May 18, and that kicked New York’s season into high gear. In 104 games at the top of the order for New York, Lindor is hitting .299 with 24 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 66 RBI, and 78 runs scored.

On the season, Lindor has hit 31 home runs and stolen 27 bases. Pending a back injury that seems to be causing Lindor some trouble, a 30/30 season seems reasonable, and we can’t overstate the value in that. While it’s not 50/50 like Ohtani, Lindor’s season is quite impressive.

He turned the Mets season around, is batting leadoff, and also plays defense. Not only that, Lindor plays defense quite well and does so at a critical position - shortstop.

Ohtani is having a great offensive season, and we can’t take that away from him. But Lindor is the complete player who spurred a total team turnaround. That sounds like MVP to me.

Ray Kuhn can be found covering Fantasy Sports on Fantrax and Fantasy Alarm after previously covering the Houston Astros as part of the FanSided network at Climbing Tal’s Hill. Reach him on X/Twitter at @ray_kuhn_28 or raykuhn57@gmail.com as he is always interested in talking or writing about our great game.