Inside The Dodgers

Where Will Mookie Betts Finish in the National League MVP Race?

Betts missed nearly two months with a fractured hand.

Eva Geitheim

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In this story:

Mookie Betts recently lamented a potential MVP showdown between himself and Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani. He acknowledged this unfortunate consequence of his near-two-month absence in an interview with Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:

“Yeah, for sure. That’s always a personal goal. Personal goals don’t really matter. You’d like to get them. But stuff like that, that’s ancillary-type things."

- Betts, via the Orange County Rgister

The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder began the season hot. He hit .500 in March with four home runs and 10 RBIs, and then hit .340 in April with two home runs and 13 RBIs, establishing himself as one of the top players in MLB early in the year.

Betts' stellar start to the 2024 campaign was stunted when he was struck in the hand by a 97.9 mile per hour fastball from Kansas City Royals pitcher Dan Altavilla on June 16. The pitch fractured Betts' hand, causing him to miss nearly two months of the season.

The question now isn't if Betts will win the MVP award. The question is, where will he finish?

Remarkably, Betts ranks fifth in the National League in Baseball Reference's version of Wins Above Replacement, despite not having enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title:

Betts has played only 97 games. No one else in the top 10 on the list has played fewer than 118.

FanGraphs' version of WAR takes a less charitable view of Betts' defensive value this season. He ranks ninth among NL players with 4.4 WAR, but the three players above him on the list — Bryce Harper, Willy Adames and Jackson Merrill — are separated by 0.2 WAR. Betts can move up the list in short order if he continues to perform at his current clip.

Betts was the Dodgers' primary shortstop before the hand injury, struggling at times to master a position he had barely played at the major league level. Since being activated from the injured list in August, Betts has played exclusively in right field, which could boost his value in the eyes of WAR.

Of course, Ohtani is the clear contender to win the NL MVP award, even if he is only playing as a designated hitter this season. Ohtani has simply been prolific this season, slashing .289/.373/.613 with 160 hits, 112 runs, 45 home runs, 46 stolen bases, and 100 RBIs.

Either way, Betts has still put in another All-Star season when healthy, hitting .306 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs this season. He could easily add another top-5 MVP finish to his resume this season, a remarkable feat considering how much time he missed.

Published
Eva Geitheim

EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.

Home/News