Ketel Marte Continues to Strengthen His NL MVP Case

If the Diamondbacks All Star second baseman wasn't on the BBWAA voter's radar before, he certainly should be now.

Aug 2, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) circles the bases with his second solo home run of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Arizona won 9-8. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Arizon Diamondbacks All Star second baseman Ketel Marte is building a strong case to be the National League MVP. Night after night he is both the catalyst to get the offense started, and when the team needs him the most, he comes through.

It's the combination of Marte's all around game, his importance to his team, and his performance in high leverage that should make him the favorite. When I first wrote about his case18 days ago Marte already had a strong argument. It's only gotten better since then.

Friday night he homered twice, his 25th and 26th of the year. That included his MLB leading sixth homer in the ninth inning. He's now batting .303/.369/.554, .924 OPS, or 158 OPS+. That's the highest of any POSITION player in the National League who actually plays defense.

Criteria

Reviewing again the criteria given by the BBWAA to it's members when sending out the ballots, it's clear that Marte should have the advantage over Shohei Ohtani.

The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:

1.  Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.

2.  Number of games played.

3.  General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.

4.  Former winners are eligible.

5.  Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

Marte is playing Gold Glove caliber second base to go along with his hitting prowess. He has +11 defensive runs saved at his position. That's a close second to Brice Turang, who has +14.

Ohtani is strictly a DH in 2024. He's not played one inning of defense or thrown a single pitch. He's been terrific at the plate, batting .308/.398/.630, with 33 HR. He should not be given credit by voters however for years past when he both pitched and hit.

WAR As Percent of Team Total

Marte Currently has 5.8 WAR as calculated by Baseball Reference. That is essentially the same as Ohtani, who has 5.9 WAR. When viewed through the lens of "value to his team", it's clear that Marte's performance has been even stronger than Ohtani's

Marte 5.8 / 25.4 D-backs WAR = 23%

Ohtani 5.9 / 30.3 Dodgers WAR = 19%

Clutch

Marte has far outperformed Ohtani when it's mattered most, in "High Leverage" situations.

Marte 64 PA, .385/.438/.692, 1.133 OPS, 4 HR, 23 RBI

Ohtani 85 PA, .278/.388/.444, .833 OPS, 2 HR, 18 RBI

The Diamondbacks now trail the Dodgers by just 4.0 games in the standings and are well within striking distance to capture NL West division title. Marte has already put himself right on par with Ohtani as the League MVP statistically. When put in context of value to his team, he's already surpassed him and should be the favorite.