- CLUTCH SUMMARY: With August winding down, the statistical leaders across the American and National Leagues are both household names and unforeseen youngsters trying to etch their names in baseball history.
- While not leading any category, Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich is listed towards the top of all of these categories, once again cementing his chances to become a repeat NL MVP award winner.
- Mike Trout pretty much has the AL MVP award already wrapped up, as his offensive statistics have blown most of his competition out of the water.
With a little over one month left in the regular season, the MLB has seen some surprising and some not so surprising players lead the league in offensive statistics. With players like Christian Yelich trying to be the first National League repeat MVP since Albert Pujols in 2008 and 2009, as well as Mike Trout making his big-money extension look like a clearance-rack item, the 2019 season has seen its fair share of impressive statistical outcomes.
The NL has knocked 2,616 balls out of the park so far this year, while the AL has blown their league counterparts out of the water, having hit 2,875 home runs as of August 29. While the AL seems to always boast the slugging-heavy squads year in and year out, this year has seemed to result in much higher power numbers than expected, especially for a few teams.
Besides power numbers, the amount of players hitting above .300 this season seems to have increased too, and in the era of the juiced ball, contact hitting looks to be coming in second place to long balls.
Batting Average
AL – D.J. LeMahieu, .335
NL – Jeff McNeil, .333
After signing with the New York Yankees this past offseason, D.J. LeMahieu became a bit of an afterthought as the free-agent market ebbed and flowed through its desire to not give players what they financially deserved. As the end of August rolls on by, the investment that the Yankees made in signing LeMahieu has paid off two-fold, at least.
Playing for the Colorado Rockies, inflated offensive statistics are a given, due to the air and how much farther the ball seems to fly. However, LeMahieu has always been a solid contact hitter regardless of where he plays, and his performance in pinstripes only solidifies that notion.
In the NL, the Flying Squirrel has teamed up with the Polar Bear to lead their New York Mets to an incredible path back into playoff contention; the thing about Jeff McNeil is that he went from not being very well known to leading the NL in hitting basically overnight.
Being closely trailed by Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Bryan Reynolds and Yelich, McNeil has hit work cut out for him this last month-plus of the season, if he wants to win his first career batting title.
In terms of any competition for LeMahieu, Michael Brantley of the Houston Astros looks to be the only close competitor for him, so it looks to be a solid two-horse race down the stretch.
Home runs
AL – Mike Trout, 43
NL – Pete Alonso & Cody Bellinger, 42
While Trout leading the AL just seems to be another notch in his career bedpost, having the Mets rookie first baseman be tied with the first baseman and right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers does seem to be quite the tied matchup.
For Pete Alonso, his NL Rookie of the Year award campaign does not need any more funding, as he truly has to just wait and see how much he wins the award by, not if he wins. His performance for the surging Mets has been an absolute cherry on top of what has been a truly exhilarating ride aboard the S.S. Mets.
Bellinger, who was the closest form of competition to Yelich in his MVP campaign in 2018, is leading the league in long balls along with Alonso, as his Dodgers absolutely are running away with the NL West division yet again. As Bellinger is a multi-positional defender who excels both at the plate and in the field, his sweet left-handed power swing is dominating the NL offensive ranks.
Yelich slots in one long ball behind both Alonso and Belli at 41, and his repeat MVP campaign looks to be very strong yet again, albeit facing tougher competition with Bellinger on his heels. While people seem to make this race more of a decision that September will help decide, Yelich has got to hope that his Milwaukee Brewers go on a run during this upcoming month and help his chances at the MVP award, even though the award is ‘technically’ a personal achievement award.
Surprising entrants close to the top include Jorge Soler for the Kansas City Royals, who is second in the AL with 37 dingers on a team that has absolutely nothing to play for in 2019 or 2020, as well as the Cincinnati Reds’ starting third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who has hit 38 home runs and has the most balls to leave the park after the All-Star Break in the entire sport of baseball.
Runs Driven In
AL – Rafael Devers, 104
NL – Freddie Freeman, 107
Two household names dominate the top of their respective league’s list of RBI leaders, as both Rafael Devers and Freddie Freeman are already over 100 runs driven in on the season.
For Devers, his offensive onslaught looks to have come too little, too late for the Boston Red Sox, as the early-season gigantic hole that they dug for themselves seems to be a bit too large to overcome to reach the playoffs yet again. Freeman has helped keep the Atlanta Braves in the hunt for the NL East division title, and as of late their performance has gifted them a sizable distance between them and the Washington Nationals, their second-place competition.
Devers has taken over the role of offensive leader for the BoSox, as Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts have receded a bit. While both players still have put up solid numbers in 2019 so far, Devers has been the guy for the team when they needed him the most.
Freeman is thankfully not the only offensive catalyst at SunTrust Park, as his offensive efforts have been combined with Ronald Acuna Jr., Josh Donaldson, and Ozzie Albies. One of the longest-tenured members of the Braves in the team’s history, Freeman still is playing at an All-Star caliber, which is remarkable for the long-time Brave and first baseman.
Other threats to Devers in the AL are Jose Abreu from the Chicago White Sox (104 RBIs), Devers’ teammate Bogaerts and Trout both are tied with 100 driven in. For the NL, Yelich finds himself on this list yet again, but a bit lower, as his 89 RBIs puts him in 10th.
Stolen Bases
AL – Mallex Smith, 36
NL – Ronald Acuna Jr., 31
The Seattle Mariners, similar to the Royals, have absolutely nothing left to play for in 2019, so seeing Mallex Smith lead the entire sport of baseball in stolen bases is somewhat comforting for the Jerry Dipoto-led franchise. For Acuna Jr., his multi-tool offensive approach has really shone through in 2019, as his contact approach has led to more chances for steals, thus him leading the NL in successful attempts.
Both Smith and Acuna Jr. have always been speedsters, but the likes of Billy Hamilton and Dee Gordon seemed to always be at or near the top of their respective leagues in steals. Having both young members of their respective teams lead the leagues is another statistic that helps show how players can help their teams without needing to drive in runs or hit for contact or power.
Adalberto Mondesi and Jonathan Villar are the two closest members of competition in the AL to Smith, and Trea Turner and Jarrod Dyson round out the top three in the NL. Yelich is mentioned yet again towards the top of this list, as his 25 swiped bags put him fourth in the NL and only six behind the leader Acuna Jr.
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