The race for the National League Most Valuable Player award has long been a one-man race for really the majority of the season. I honestly can’t remember when outfielder and leadoff batter Ronald Acuna Jr. wasn’t the favorite to win his first MVP trophy.

I don’t know who would have been brave to say at any point this year that he didn’t deserve it.

Acuna has done nothing to hurt his MVP case this second half of the season. Acuna is top three in batting with a .340 average; top three in hits with 154; league leader in stolen bases with 53; tied for the lead in WAR at 5.9, to go along with 26 homers and 70 RBIs (entering Friday) out of the leadoff position. Acuna is and should still be the favorite for the MVP with less than 50 games left in the season.

But what might have been a cruise to the finish has quickly turned into a two-person race with a teammate of Acuna’s joining the MVP chatter.

I knew Matt Olson had the talent but never imagined his bat heating up as much as it has, especially after the All-Star break.  At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Olson does not possess an overly imposing physical frame, but his power at the plate is unmistakable.

Entering the weekend series at the N.L. East rival New York Mets, Olson led the National League with 40 home runs and 101 RBIs. But it is his batting average that has been most impressive. The average has increased to .267, which is impressive considering the slow start he suffered through. His average was at .254 at the All-Star break and just .246 on June 30.

But monster months of July and August when he batted .325 and .323 respectively has Olson flirting with his best batting average of his career, a .271 clip in 2021.

The strikeout numbers are still too high at 129, but there’s not a power hitter playing today that doesn’t possess an outrageous strikeout total. Olson has a high walk total at 73, fifth in Major League Baseball.

Olson has asserted himself as a threat to Acuna. With a month and a half remaining in the season, a lot can happen. What if Olson gets hotter and challenges 55 or 60 home runs? What if his batting average crept into the respectable .280 or .290 range? How hard it would be not to give him the trophy.

I’m not saying that Acuna Jr. shouldn’t win the MVP at this stage in the season and won’t win the award when the season ends. I believe what has long been a no-doubter has turned into a closer-than-expected finish for the award.