Ketel Marte continues to be overlooked in the MVP voting odds

In most sportsbooks, including DraftKings, Diamondbacks’ second baseman Ketel Marte ranks fourth in the National League MVP odds, trailing Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, and Francisco Lindor.

However, a side-by-side comparison of Marte and the players ahead of him reveals a different story.

Starting with Francisco Lindor, Marte holds the advantage in several key statistics:

• WAR: 5.8 vs. 4.7
• Hits: 125 vs. 115
• Home runs: 27 vs. 22
• RBIs: 77 vs. 64
• Batting average: .300 vs. .256
• OBP: .366 vs. .332
• SLG: .553 vs. .462
• OPS: .919 vs. .794
• OPS+: 156 vs. 127

The only statistical category where Lindor surpasses Marte is stolen bases, despite having played five more games and having 34 more plate appearances.

Next up is Bryce Harper, who was named MVP in 2015 and 2021.

Once again, the results are quite lopsided, with Marte leading in the following statistical categories:

• WAR: 5.8 vs. 3.6
• Hits: 125 vs. 101
• Home runs: 27 vs. 25
• RBIs: 77 vs. 69
• Stolen bases: 6 vs. 5
• Batting average: .300 vs. .276
• SLG: .553 vs. .544
• OPS: .919 vs. .914
• OPS+: 156 vs. 154

Like Lindor, Harper holds the advantage over Marte in just one statistical category: OBP. While the numbers are much closer in most categories, Marte clearly has the edge when comparing the players side-by-side.

Finally, there is Shohei Ohtani, who appears to be the main obstacle in Marte’s path to the MVP award. Now in the National League, even without his pitching stats this season, the two-time MVP has not slowed down at the plate.

Ohtani is the only player in baseball with a higher WAR than Marte, 5.9 vs. 5.8. When comparing the two, the differences are much closer than many fans might realize.

In 26 more plate appearances than Marte, Ohtani has six more hits, six more home runs, two more RBIs, a .06 higher batting average, and 28 points higher OPS+.

Despite the close comparison, the sportsbooks have Ohtani at -1400 odds to win MVP, while Marte sits at +2000.

After Marte hit his eighth home run in the past two weeks, extending his hitting streak to six games on Sunday and bringing his batting average back above .300 for the first time since early May, fans across social media rallied behind the Diamondbacks’ second baseman to become a significant contender in the National League MVP race.