From the moment Cardinals Nation learned of the acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt, they all had high hopes for the former Arizona Diamondback. He has been a great player since sporting the Cardinal red, but in 2022, he has been a completely different animal.
Let’s face it, St. Louis Cardinals fans probably did not expect an MVP season out of Goldy, but he has been making his case since the first pitch of the season. Anything can happen in a 162-game season, but the case for a Paul Goldschmidt MVP is still very much in the equation.
Thankfully for Cardinals fans and Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge plays in the AL. The door is wide open, and he looks to walk right through it. Let’s look at the season from Goldy thus far and determine who should win the award.
Paul Goldschmidt’s 2022 Stats
A good chunk of the credit for St. Louis’ success in 2022 comes from the veteran leadership of Paul Goldschmidt. Without the silver slugging, gold glove first baseman, who knows if the Cardinals would be sitting atop the NL Central.
The 34-year-old is exactly what the award embodies; he is the most valuable player in the league if we are looking at the word valuable. In 408 at-bats, Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .328 with a .412 on-base percentage and .618 slugging percentage. I will do the math for you; he has a phenomenal OPS of 1.030.
To no surprise, he has a 6.1 WAR this season. Paul Goldschmidt has also added 92 RBIs and 29 home runs. He has the best batting average and OPS in the league and is not slowing down. Against lefties, his batting average goes up to .429 and OPS to 1.358. These numbers are unheard of from an everyday guy like him.
Every Cardinals fan is dreaming of sending our veterans Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and likely, Adam Wainwright off into the sunset with some hardware. If that were to happen, Paul Goldschmidt will be the biggest reason why.
NL MVP Race
If Paul Goldschmidt does not win the NL MVP, who will? I am obviously biased as a Cardinals fan, but Goldschmidt is the betting favorite as we sit in the middle of August. Let’s look at some of the other stars in the race.
Aside from Goldy, the man trailing his tail is Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves. The third baseman is hitting .289 with a .925 OPS. He has also added 74 RBIs and 30 home runs. If he stays hot, he has a great shot at winning it.
You may have heard of him, but Nolan Arenado is quickly climbing up the MVP ladder. He very well might have the third-best odds to walk away with the award. With a .296 BA, .917 OPS, 74 RBIs, and 25 home runs, the defensive stud has been arguably the best player in baseball since the middle of June.
As of now, the NL MVP award is a five-man race. Paul Goldschmidt, Riley and Arenado are the frontrunners, with Freddie Freeman and Pete Alonso closely following them. There is still a lot of baseball left in the season, but the award is Paul Goldschmidt’s to win.
