The MLB season has entered its final week, with still much up for grabs.
Not only are teams still competing for playoff berths, but some MLB award races are coming down to the wire.
The one award that a lot of people are looking at is National League MVP.
There seem to be two candidates that are ahead of the pack: Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mookie Betts.
Both are having career years and deserve to win MVP.
Unfortunately, only one can win.
One stat that has been a good indicator of the most valuable player is WAR.
Betts has a slight edge in that category.
According to Codify, Betts has a higher WAR than Acuna Jr. according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
WAR via @baseball_ref: Mookie 8.1, Ronald 8.0
WAR via @fangraphs: Mookie 8.2, Ronald 7.9 pic.twitter.com/A8suSKn06N— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 26, 2023
Even though Betts has a small lead in WAR, plenty more stats go into winning MVP.
Acuna has a chance to accomplish the first-ever 40/70 season in MLB history.
He needs just two stolen bases over the final week to achieve the unthinkable.
It is hard to argue with a player having a 40/70 season and not winning MVP.
What Betts has going for him is that he is a much better defensive player.
He can play multiple spots including right field, second base, and shortstop.
When it comes to offensive production, Acuna has been better.
When you factor in defense, Betts makes the vote that much closer.
It will be interesting to see who ends up on top in what should be a close vote.
NEXT: Reds Will Remain Without Key Rookie To Finish Season
