Who is the most valuable player for the Chicago Cubs this season?

Several Chicago Cubs players have earned the mantle of team MVP at this point through the season, but who should it go to nearly two months into 2019?

The Chicago Cubs, as we all know, have been red hot over the last month after that dreadful 2-7 start to the season. Before Thursday night’s series finale loss to the Reds, the Cubs had not lost a series since the first week of the season in Milwaukee. Chicago has had many people to thank for that great bounce back after that awful start. But who has been the most valuable to this point in the season?

The starting pitching since the first week has been excellent. Let’s start with the big left-hander Jon Lester who has been fantastic all year. Even though he had a bit of a setback after the home opener where he suffered a hamstring injury, ‘Big Jon’ is 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA – the lowest ERA in baseball.

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Kyle Hendricks is another guy who could be in the conversation for the most valuable to the Cubs so far this year. In Hendricks’ last three starts he has gone at least eight innings and only given up one earned run in those three starts. This includes his 81-pitch complete game shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now there are the guys that everyone expects big numbers out of, the Bryzzo team. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant both got off to very slow starts and that seemed to have people very worried. Slow starts are nothing new for Rizzo as it seems to happen every year but then he turns it around and plays the way we all have grown to expect him to play.

Rizzo is now batting .250 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI’s. The Chicago first baseman had been dealing with some back tightness over the last week but returned Friday against the Washington Nationals.

Bryant, whose slow start had Wrigleyville in a panic, has come roaring back of late. After hearing nonstop questions about where his power and ability to drive the ball went, the 2016 National League MVP went off on Friday.

He slugged three home runs and drove in five runs in a win over Washington Friday, boosting his season totals in a big way. A single in the first inning extended his career-best and MLB-leading 26 game on-base streak – and he just kept rolling from there.

In the last seven games, Bryant is slashing .429/.484/.893 – good for a staggering 1.377 OPS. He is tied with last year’s NL MVP runner-up Javier Baez for the team lead with 11 home runs and leads all Cubs hitters with 31 RBI. More impressive? He’s struck out just 34 times to his 29 walks, showcasing his tremendous plate discipline.

Now all these guys that have been talked about so far have been very deserving candidates for the MVP of the Cubs at this point in the season but in my opinion that award should go to none other than El Mago.

Javier Baez has simply picked up where he left off last season. It took an insane second half from Christian Yelich to keep Baez from winning the MVP in 2018 – and some folks still questioned if Baez could carry that success into this year – but they’re growing quieter by the day.

He has just continued to do what he does and as Cubs fans, I feel as if we are spoiled because we get to watch him play every day. Probably the best thing about Baez is that you never know what to expect whether it’s, sliding and avoiding a tag, making a crazy play on defense, or hitting homers, he truly does it all for this team.

Next. Baez is this team's irrefutable starting shortstop. dark

Baez currently leads Chicago with 59 hits, is tied with Bryant for the team lead in long balls and trails only KB for RBI. Baez is currently hitting .330 which is in the top 10 in all of baseball, with 11 home runs and 30 RBI. He also has a 14-game hitting streak, the longest of his career. It will be interesting to see if Baez can keep this pace up and maybe go out and bring home the NL MVP honors this season.

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