Dodgers Dugout: The race for MVP, Freddie Freeman vs. Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Mookie Betts

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. We could talk about how the pitching (with a couple of exceptions) looks better, but half those games came against Oakland, so not sure if that counts.

Instead let’s turn our focus to the NL MVP race, which has become very interesting. At the moment, the three leading candidates according to most oddsmakers are Ronald Acuña Jr. of Atlanta and Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ last MVP winner was Cody Bellinger in 2019. The Braves’ last MVP winner? Freeman, in 2020.

Let’s compare Freeman, Betts and Acuña.

Acuña was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2018. Freeman finished second in 2011 to Braves teammate Craig Kimbrel. Which doesn’t mean anything for this year, but I found it interesting.

This year’s numbers, through Sunday:

Plate appearances
Freeman, 505
Acuña, 501
Betts, 487

Batting average
Acuña, .343
Freeman, .339
Betts, .285

On-base %
Acuña, .425
Freeman, .416
Betts, .386

Slugging %
Freeman, .595
Acuña, .589
Betts, .579

Runs
Acuña, 99
Freeman, 97
Betts, 91

Doubles
Freeman, 40
Betts, 29
Acuña, 28

Triples
Freeman, 2
Acuña, 2
Betts, 1

Home runs
Betts, 30
Acuña, 25
Freeman, 23

RBIs
Freeman, 80
Betts, 71
Acuña, 67

Walks
Betts, 66
Acuña, 58
Freeman, 51

Strikeouts
Freeman, 87
Betts, 77
Acuña, 61

Stolen Bases
Acuña, 53
Freeman, 16
Betts, 8

OPS+
Freeman, 169
Acuña, 166
Betts, 156

Betts is clearly third in the MVP race right now, though he closed the gap a little with a big grand slam in Monday’s game.

Acuña seems further ahead offensively than he actually is because he plays half his games in a much better stadium for hitters, which is why Freeman has a higher OPS+. Acuña should also get credit for playing a tougher defensive position, right field.

It will probably come down to who has the best finish to the season. If Freeman continues on his recent tear, he should surpass Acuña by the end of the year. It will be something fun to keep an eye on as the season winds to a conclusion.

The other possibility: There are 30 voters, so if eight voters decide Betts is MVP and eight decide Freeman is MVP, then that splits the Dodger vote and could lead to Acuña winning the award.

So, whenever you will get frustrated with the Dodgers, and believe me they will have a few frustrating losses just like every other team, take a deep breath and check out the MVP race to take your mind off it.

Other candidates for MVP include Atlanta’s Matt Olson and San Diego’s Juan Soto. So it seems likely that the MVP award will go to Atlanta or Los Angeles.

Walker Buehler, back soon?

Walker Buehler, who hasn’t pitched since June of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, is close to beginning a minor league rehabilitation assignment. If he starts that soon, he could return in September.

“The best-case scenario is for him to be a starter, and to use his time through rehab, through [his starts here] as a continued buildup,” Dave Roberts said. “So that’s kind of the thought process.”

That would mean Buehler would be limited to three innings to begin with, hopefully building up enough strength to pitch deeper into games when the postseason begins.

There are a lot of “ifs” there. He hasn’t started rehab yet, and there’s no telling how he will respond when he does. But getting Buehler back, along with the expected return of Clayton Kershaw soon, really improves the rotation, which would suddenly look like this:

Kershaw
Buehler
Julio Urías
Tony Gonsolin
Lance Lynn
Ryan Yarbrough
Bobby Miller

Not all of those listed will be starting in the postseason, so it should be quite the competition over the next few weeks.

The new guys

Many Dodger fans were underwhelmed by the trade deadline haul, but the new players are doing pretty well:

Kiké Hernández, .324/.350/.541, 5 doubles, 1 homer, 7 RBIs

Amed Rosario, .286/.310/.571, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBIs

Lance Lynn, 2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13 IP, 9 hits, 3 walks, 13 K’s

Ryan Yarbrough, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 walks, 3 K’s

Joe Kelly, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 5 K’s

Roster

There have been a lot of roster changes lately, so let’s take a look at the current 26-man roster.

Pitchers (13)
Yency Almonte
Ryan Brasier
*Caleb Ferguson
Tony Gonsolin
Brusdar Graterol
*Bryan Hudson
Joe Kelly
Lance Lynn
Bobby Miller
Evan Phillips
*Julio Urías
*Alex Vesia
*Ryan Yarbrough

*-left-handed

Catchers (2)
Austin Barnes
Will Smith

Infielders (6)
Freddie Freeman
Kiké Hernández
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas
Amed Rosario
Chris Taylor

Outfielders (4)
Mookie Betts
Jason Heyward
James Outman
David Peralta

Designated hitter (1)
J.D. Martinez

Gavin Stone

Gavin Stone, the Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect, had a terrible time in the majors this season, with a 12.75 ERA in four games. The Dodgers sent him back to triple-A Oklahoma City to fine-tune some of his pitchers and perhaps add another pitch to his arsenal. That work appears to have paid off, as he pitched six no-hit innings against Round Rock on Friday night, striking out 10. And, in true Dodger fashion, he was removed from the game after those six innings.

“Everything pretty much was working tonight,” Stone said, “but just the overall aspect of fine-tuning things week-to-week, adding a couple pitches and seeing what really works. I think that progress has really helped, and I think that’s what leads you to 10-strikeout nights like this.”

Up next

Tuesday: Dodgers (*Julio Urías, 8-6, 4.69 ERA at Arizona (Brandon Pfaadt, 0-5, 7.11), 6:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (Bobby Miller, 6-2, 4.26 ERA at Arizona (Merrill Kelly, 9-5, 3.21 ERA), 6:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson’s latest knee injury feels like ‘kind of a sick joke’

Last rookies standing: Why James Outman and Bobby Miller key to Dodgers’ stretch run

MLB trade deadline roundtable: Shohei Ohtani stays, Dodgers can’t upgrade, what now?

Dodgers’ Joe Kelly doesn’t want your sympathy. He just wants to get you out

And finally

Ross Porter remember Vin Scully. Watch and listen here.