Baseball has reached the All-Star game break and the unofficial first half is now in the books. We at Belly Up Sports are taking a look back and nominating the player that was the most valuable in fantasy over the season’s first half. There are certainly a lot of worthy players for the honor, but only one will get the call. Join with us as we reveal the player that is the fantasy baseball midseason MVP. Note: all player points totals are taken from ESPN.

The Candidates

Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays

If this award was simply for the offensive player of the year, there would be no question who gets the nod. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been a terror for pitchers the first half of the season. Guerrero enters the All-Star break with out of this world numbers at the plate. He is hitting .332-28-73, with a .430 OBP and a .658 slugging percentage. Guerrero is first in batting, RBIs, OBP and runs created.

Additionally, he is second in home runs, slugging, total bases and fourth in extra base hits. Guerrero’s first half stacks up with anything his famous father ever did. His name is all over at the top of the leaderboard like no other player in baseball. As if that wasn’t enough, Guerrero leads all position players with 337 fantasy points. No question, Vladimir Guerrero is MVP worthy.

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves

By now, everyone is aware of the season ending ACL injury that Ronald Acuna suffered over the weekend. That is truly unfortunate for Acuna, the Braves organization and baseball. However, that does not hide the fact that Acuna was having an outstanding first half. At the time of the injury, Acuna was hitting .283-24-52 with a .394 OBP and a .596 slugging. Further, Acuna was first in baseball with 72 runs scored and tied for fourth in stolen bases with 17. Acuna’s homer total was fifth in baseball.

Fantasy baseball teams are practically starved for stolen bases because of how the game is played today. Steals are truly a dying art. The power and speed Acuna combines is almost impossible to find in baseball. Despite missing a few games, Acuna was third in fantasy with 282 offensive points. Acuna truly deserves consideration for the fantasy baseball midseason MVP.

Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets

There may be some out there who refuse to consider a pitcher as an MVP for anything. The fact that they don’t play every day like position players is the prime reason given for this refusal. Given the performance of Jacob deGrom in the first half, though, it is hard to argue he doesn’t belong in the MVP conversation. That is especially true in head-to-head points leagues. Entering the All-Star break, deGrom is second overall in fantasy with 375 points.

Amazingly, deGrom has scored as many points as he has when he doesn’t pitch as deep into games as in the past. deGrom has dealt with some issues that have limited his pitch counts. However, there is nothing that can hide just how dominant a first half that deGrom had. He is 7-2 with an eye popping 1.08 ERA. That is the lowest ERA at the All-Star break since Bob Gibson in 1968. He has an incredible 146 strikeouts in 92 innings and allowed only 39 hits and 11 walks. With statistics like that, deGrom gets his due attention for fantasy first half MVP.

Other players to consider

Oakland first baseman Matt Olson is having a fabulous first half hitting .283-23-59. He was selected for the All-Star team and home run derby. He scored 279 fantasy points, just three behind Acuna.

There are few players as electric as Padre shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. He enters the break hitting .286-28-60 and has 20 steals. Like Acuna, Tatis has power and speed and uses both frequently. When the season is over, it would not be a shock that Tatis wins the MVP award in both fantasy and real baseball.

The Winner

Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, Los Angeles Angels

It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that Shohei Ohtani was the fantasy baseball midseason MVP. Clearly, no one comes close to the production that Ohtani brings to the mound and at the plate for fantasy managers. Let’s begin with the offensive statistics. Ohtani had a monstrous first half, hitting .279-33-70 with a .364 OBP and a .698 slugging percentage. The homers are the most in baseball and he also leads in extra base hits and total bases.

Further, Ohtani is second in runs created and the RBIs rank third. Unquestionably, those totals would put Ohtani in the running for fantasy MVP all by themselves. Of course, that is not the end of Ohtani’s game, however. His contributions on the mound were almost as good as his plate appearances. For the season, Ohtani is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA and he has 87 strikeouts in just 67 innings pitched. In five of his last six starts, Ohtani has allowed two runs or fewer.

Hitting and Pitching Puts Ohtani Over the Top

Without question, Ohtani is putting together a season that no one has come close to in over a hundred years. He provides his fantasy managers with fantasy offensive production on a near daily basis. On top of that, he takes the mound about once a week and provides pitching stats like few can. In all, Ohtani is far and away the fantasy points leader with 467. Without doubt, Ohtani is the first half fantasy Most Valuable Player.

Thank you for joining me for this fantasy baseball midseason MVP reveal! As always, input and suggestions are welcome from all of my readers. Have other players that are more worthy? Disagree with the selection? Let’s discuss! Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea, and be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks for all the latest MLB and sports news!

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