The MVP race on both sides of Major League Baseball have been exciting. Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh continue to fight for the award in the American League. However, the National League race has seen two players enter the conversation in the second half of the season. Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto are both favorites.

Schwarber won the All-Star Game MVP earlier this summer. The Phillies' slugger used that performance to kick off the hottest second half of the MLB season. He is the face of Philadelphia's offense and a big reason why the team is running away with the NL East. He has his team well-positioned for a deep playoff run and has a chance to lead the lead in total home runs.

Soto, on the other hand, is a more interesting case. The Mets outfielder had some disagreements with Carlos Mendoza about his effort. After putting that behind him, he has been just as good as ever at the plate. New York has not given up on catching the Phillies in their division, riding Soto's bat into the thick of the playoff conversation.

MLB Insider Jon Heyman broke down each candidate's case, and each could bring the MVP award home this season. According to him, Schwarber deserves the nod by just a hair over Soto as of right now.

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“I would say on the MVP vote, it'd have to lean towards Schwarber,” Heyman said. “He's got 119 RBIs…. I still count the fact that the Phillies are in first place and the Mets, they're gonna make the playoffs, but they've been a tad disappointing. I gotta bring that back. So I'm gonna give a slight edge to Schwarber there.”

Heyman is leaning towards Philadelphia's DH, but said that both are deserving. The two NL East rivals have less than 25 games left to decide who is taking the NL MVP trophy home.