The Philadelphia Phillies are two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the National League East divisional title with nine games to play. They have three more games against the Pittsburgh Pirates before heading to Atlanta in what is shaping up to be a showdown for the division. The Phillies, who have been anything but consistent, have relied solely on Bryce Harper to carry them to what would be their playoff appearance in nearly a decade. 

Since the start of August, Harper has put up an incredible .345 batting average with 17 home runs, 42 RBI, and an MLB best 1.245 OPS entering Thursday. Harper has played 63 straight games for the Phillies during that span and at times, has single handedly kept the Fightins in the race for the National League East crown. Harper leads Major League Baseball with a 1.050 OPS on the season. He currently is in sixth in overall batting average, hitting .312 on the season with 33 home runs and 80 RBI. 

The National League MVP award looked like it was going to Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres from the start of the season, pretty much through the end of July. On the year, Tatis has slashed .285/.370/.618 with a .988 OPS. He has 40 home runs and 94 RBI. However, the Padres, since the start of August, have absolutely crumbled and watched their post season hopes slip away.

Since the beginning of August, Tatis has hit just .276 with a .912 OPS and has only nine home runs, and 24 RBI in 32 games since the start of August. He also missed 13 games last month because of a partially dislocated left shoulder, which certainly did not help the Padres or his own chances at winning the NL MVP.

In August, a month in which Bryce Harper slashed .337/.455/.776 with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 25 RBIs with a 1.231 OPS, Harper was listed as a +900 to win the NL MVP Award. Now? He is the clear frontrunner and at -225 to take home the trophy. I honestly don’t see any reason why Bryce Harper hasn’t locked up the National League MVP award. Tatis Jr hasn’t done enough over the past few months to deserve it and the only other contender would be Juan Soto, who is on a terrible Washington Nationals Team.

Your National League MVP is Bryce Harper. Period.

Kyle Gibson will be on the mound for the Phillies tonight, looking to keep playoff hopes alive against Sam Howard and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ring it.