With a 69-53 record, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a commanding five game lead in the National League West. While the San Francisco Giants got off to a red-hot start, the Dodgers have surpassed them and now have a 92 percent chance of winning the division. The performances of two stars, Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig, have been key in propelling the Dodgers to the best record in the National League.
Despite missing six weeks with a back injury, Kershaw leads all NL pitchers in fWAR with 5.0. The 26 year-old left-hander was dominant last year, posting a 1.83 ERA. This season he’s improved his strikeout rate by six percentage points, dropped his walk rate by two percentage points and increased his ground ball rate by nine percentage points.
Overall, he has the best strikeout rate in the major leagues at 31.8 percent, and the best K-BB% at 28.1 percent. His slider has a swinging strike rate of 31 percent, which is a nine point increase from the previous year.
After a sensational debut season in which he batted .319/.391/.534, in 104 games, Puig has showed no signs of dropping off. He currently owns a .306/.391/.517 batting line that is eerily similar to what he posted last year. His plate discipline and propensity to swing and miss were criticized last year. However, he’s shored up those areas of his game.
The 23 year-old has boosted his walk rate from 8.3 percent to 10.8 percent and cut his strikeout rate from 22.5 percent to 19.2 percent. Meanwhile, he’s dropped his chase rate from 37 percent to 27 percent. His base running scores have improved as well.
Puig is maturing as a player, and with his immense physical talents, he’s become one of the most fearsome hitters in baseball. Going back to last year, only Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera and Andrew McCutchen have a higher wRC+ than Puig’s 159 mark.
Puig’s 4.4 fWAR ranks 11th among all position players and fourth in the NL. With McCutchen going on the DL with a rib injury, Puig could overtake him in the voters’ minds. It’s been a sensational year for Puig, who’s had a meteoric rise to stardom after the Dodgers signed him as an international free agent in June of 2012.
With Puig and Kershaw leading the way, the Dodgers are rolling towards a division title and a possible No. 1 seed in the NL. McCutchen is the reigning MVP, and he deserves a lot of credit for the Pittsburgh Pirates surge. Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy are having excellent seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers who are surprising the rest of baseball atop the NL Central. But, Kershaw and Puig are the frontrunners for the NL MVP.
