ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have been good all year. They are still in the lead in the AL West over the reigning World Champion Houston Astros, they got stronger at the trade deadline when they acquired starters Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, and their offense is the second-best in baseball, behind the Atlanta Braves.
One guy helping that offense is Corey Seager, who had two home runs and drove in five runs against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night.
Most of the talk surrounding the American League MVP discussion in 2023 has been about Shohei Ohtani, and with good reason, but could Seager be the one to prevent Ohtani from winning?
Brice Paterik, host of Locked On Rangers, thinks it could happen.
Paterik said, “If this guy were healthy, he’d be on pace for an Aaron Judge-like season or an A-Rod at his peak type of season.”
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Seager missed time with a hamstring injury and hurt his thumb in July, but when he’s healthy, he’s putting up incredible, video-game-type numbers. Seager is batting .351/.410/.666 with 22 home runs and 73 runs batted in, in 77 games.
He is, by far, having his best month in August. Seager’s already hit seven home runs which is his highest total for any month this season, and he is also hitting .354 in 11 games. His worst month, if you want to call it that, was May, when he only hit .291. That’s the only month in which he’s hit below .300.
With his 3-5 performance on Tuesday, Seager has taken over the lead in OPS with a 1.066. Guess who he surpassed? That’s right, Ohtani.
Now, will Seager beat Ohtani for the AL MVP? Probably not. Ohtani is an incredible player as a pitcher and a hitter, and he’s well on his way to at least 50 home runs, maybe even 60 if he gets on a roll, but don’t be surprised if Seager puts up the kind of numbers down the stretch that can take some of Ohtani’s votes away.
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