5 figures who would be MVP at some point

Once you win the award, you can be called a Most Valuable Player for life. But it probably comes as a surprise to you that several of the best active players today have failed to lift the accolade.

Here, five players who have not won it, but who seems inevitable that they will at some point.

Juan Soto, OF, Nationals

To be fair, Ted Williams didn’t win his first MVP until after he turned 27 – although he missed three years for being in the military. The Dominican recently turned 23 and could be the purest hitter in all of baseball. However, being the last two years on teams that have not competed for the postseason, we have not been able to appreciate how incredible it has been. His statistics are so impressive that it is hard to believe they are real. He ended up close to Harper this year and now the question doesn’t seem to be when will he win the award, but how many will he get.

Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Braves

We will never know if the Braves would have won the World Series if the Venezuelan had not been injured, but no one should think that the team is better without him on the field. He must have won the MVP a couple of times already. Acuña will receive a 2021 champion ring, even though he was injured, but when he is healthy, he can return to being possibly the most exciting player in baseball.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Parents

The Dominican was the favorite of many for most of the season. Had he not wasted the time he wasted, he probably would have won. If he’s healthy, the Padres will still have one of the most electric players in baseball. Tatis is still very young and with a great future ahead of him. It’s incredible that the National League has three players like Soto, Acuña and Tatis, who are young and seem destined for multiple MVP awards.

Manny Machado, 3B, Parents

The contract says it is an MVP. Your production backs it up. However, there are no MVP trophies in his collection. He has finished three times in the top three. He is in the prime of his career and is not yet 30 years old. San Diego is on the verge of taking off. If he does, with Machado as the leader, then perhaps his time will come to raise the trophy.

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals

For this position I was between his current teammate, Nolan Arenado and the Dominican of the Guardians, José Ramírez, who also probably should have won at least one MVP award. But Goldschmidt was chosen for this list, thanks to another excellent season in 2021, when he had another OPS + above 140. The first baseman has the second most points in voting among active players who have not won it, only behind the Dominican Robinson Canó.