Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
Stat line: 7.0 WAR (1st in NL position players), .321 AVG (1st in NL), .583 SLG pct (1st in NL), .978 OPS (1st in NL), 33 HR, 104 RBI
Jacob deGrom may be taking the league by storm on the mound, but it’s Yelich who is seizing his opportunity of being the best in everything else. After being dealt with by the Marlins to the Brewers in a trade before the start of this year, Yelich has blossomed into a superstar-in-the-making. He has career-highs this year in basically every batting category there is. Maybe it really was a change in scenery that marked to be the catalyst for his sudden outburst. After being selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career (the first being as a Marlin in 2015), Christian racked up 3 NL Player of the Week awards, further cementing his case of being the NL MVP. One more as a plus, he has led the Brewers in returning to the postseason for the first time since 2011, so it’s clear to see that he is a leader by example that has led a franchise back to respectablility.
