Los Angeles Dodgers: Bold predictions for Mookie Betts in 2020
By Jason Reed
2. Mookie Betts wins the National League MVP
Okay, yeah, this is being pretty optimistic. Betts finished in eighth in MVP voting last season and the move to the National League, where he will face different pitchers and is playing in a pitcher-friendly park, might hurt his numbers.
However, someone does not just score 150 runs in a season and not win the MVP. Betts is going to be the best player on the best team in baseball and as long as he does what we know he is capable of doing, then an MVP is not far-fetched at all.
Plus, he kind of got lost in the shuffle in the American League and probably did not get as much love as he should have. Betts finished with a 6.8 WAR last season, which was fourth in the American League and would have been fourth in the National League.
And that was in a down year. On a new team with a stacked lineup behind him, Betts is going to remind everyone why he beat out Mike Trout for the MVP award two years ago.
As for the Dodgers’ other MVP candidate, Cody Bellinger, I actually do not think he finishes as a finalist. That does not mean he has a bad season whatsoever, but I see him finishing fourth-fifth in voting.
His MVP season was fueled by a historic hot start and while he was good the rest of the year, that hot start definitely helped his overall numbers. I see Bellinger hitting around .285 with 40 home runs and 110 RBIs, with an OPS in the .900s.
That is still a tremendous season, but with Betts’ great year, another great year by Christian Yelich and a 40-40 season by Ronald Acuna (yes, I am predicting that), Bellinger will finish right outside the top three.