adminIt’s a race that could be worth $258 million.
This year, the Major League Baseball stolen base race is definitely “up” from previous years. Pitch clocks, bigger bases, and a ban on excessive defensive shifts have created a more favorable environment for stealing bases. Major League Baseball’s stolen base leader, Esteemed Ruiz (Oakland Athletics), has stolen 31 bases in the first two months of the season.
The National League is dominated by Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves, 28), followed by Bae Ji-Hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks, 19+). The gap has widened considerably, but it’s not at the point where either Bae or Carroll are ready to give up.
It’s interesting to note that Acuna and Carroll, who are in a 1-2 tie for first place with Bae, are also the frontrunners in this year’s National League MVP race. Bae does have a slightly lower hit volume than Acuna and Carroll. However, the fact that he will be competing against them will be a good experience for his development as a major leaguer.
MLB.com released the results of its MVP mock poll on July 13, with 47 experts participating. Like the Cy Young voting, it is conducted once a month. In the American League, Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) is the top vote-getter, while Akuna is the top vote-getter in the National League.
Akuna received a whopping 42 first-place votes. That’s a lot of first-place votes, considering that the American League leader, Otani, has 23 first-place votes. In the American League, Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) has a challenger. He received 12 first-place votes. But in the National League, there’s not even a contender for Akuna. Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) received four first-place votes.
Carroll is third, with zero first-place votes. In fourth place is Luis Ararez (Miami Marlins), who has gotten a lot of attention for his quest for a .400 batting average. He received one first-place vote. In fifth place is Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers). He received no first-place votes. Acuna’s performance is overwhelming.
In 66 games, Acuna has a .328 batting average (3rd), 13 home runs (11th), 40 RBI (12th), 56 runs scored (2nd), 28 doubles (1st), a .560 on-base percentage (4th), and a .399 slugging percentage (5th). These are the top 10 in every major category except home runs and RBIs. “With a 3.3 WAR per Baseball-Reference, it’s not hard to see why he received near-unanimous support from voters,” said MLB.com.
Carroll isn’t far behind. He’s the top Rookie of the Year candidate, but he’s also in the MVP race. He’s “on pace to become the first rookie since Mike Trout to produce 30 homers and 40 steals,” according to MLB.com. In 63 games, he batted .308 with 13 home runs, 33 RBI, 47 runs scored, 19 doubles, a .579 on-base percentage and a .391 slugging percentage.토토사이트
Acuna is signed to an 8+2 year, $124 million max deal with Atlanta, while Carroll is signed to an 8+1 year, $134 million deal with Arizona. Their combined cap hit is a whopping $258 million. They were locked up to big contracts before they were even eligible for free agency, proving their value, and it shows on the field. It’s exciting for him and for baseball fans to see him compete with such explosive athletes.