The team is winning — more consistently than most teams in MLB history — and some huge individual performances have led the way, even as Gabe Kapler relies on depth day-to-day.
He’s tied for second with 5.1 fWAR, and while the defense at shortstop was awful, he deserves credit for coming back as an outfielder after suffering another shoulder injury.
Harper has had a huge second half — thanks, Kris Bryant! — and just finished off an August that included 10 homers and a 1.231 OPS, pushing his fWAR to a league-leading 5.3.
It’s a loaded team, and while Turner has the statistical edge on just about everyone in baseball, it’s hard to be the MVP after a midseason trade.
The two most popular Giants have taken turns inching toward the top of this race, but both are currently slumping at the plate.
His 1.58 FIP is the lowest in the league by over a full run, but he has thrown just 139 innings, so he’ll need a full September.
Wheeler is the dark horse, and while his ERA is up at 3.02, he leads the NL in innings, strikeouts and fWAR.
The Giant: Kevin Gausman’s rough second half has scared Giants fans, but he still ranks fourth in ERA .
This is a strange award, because it’s very rarely given to the manager who actually did the best job for nine innings every night.
Kapler also deserves a ton of credit for putting together a staff that has gotten the most out of newcomers and veterans alike.
Snitker won three years ago and deserves a lot of credit for helping the Braves climb to the top of the NL East pack after losing Ronald Acuña Jr.
He’s tied with deJong and Francisco Lindor with six Defensive Runs Saved, but he leads both players by well over 100 innings on the field.
The eye test says Crawford is about as good as he has ever been defensively, and his reputation — and the big overall season — should help.
Evan Longoria was a rock at third early on, but he has missed most of the summer and plays the same position as Nolan Arenado.