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Atlanta Braves clear-cut MVP so far is Nick Markakis

By Dan Horton

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves and the National League walks out of the dugout during the 89th MLB All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard at Nationals Park on July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves and the National League walks out of the dugout during the 89th MLB All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard at Nationals Park on July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 30: Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated after hitting a grand slam against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – JUNE 30: Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated after hitting a grand slam against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Turn Back the Calendar

Nick Markakis – who hails from Young Harris, GA – is having arguably his best offensive season since his 2008 season, his third full season the Major’s. That season, he hit .306 with 20 HR’s and 87 RBI. But let’s dig a little deeper into this.

Markakis is maintaining serve with his BB% at 10.1%, the same from 2017. What’s better is that he is striking out less. For a guy who doesn’t strike out that much to begin with, this is impressive. He has lowered his K% from 16.4% to 11.1%, over a full 5 percentage points.

He has raised his ISO (Isolated power) from .110 to .169 and his BABIP has gone up from .324 to .341. His weighted OBA? .321 to .373, and his wRC+ has shot form 95 to an astounding (for Markakis) to 135.

Nick’s Offensive WAR is the highest it has been since 2008, where he was sitting at a cool 31.8. His oWAR this year is 18.0. He’s posting his highest dWAR since 2014 improving to a -3.4 compared to his -9.7 in 2017.

In retrospect, Kakes is having his best season since 2008. His overall WAR in 2008 was 6.0 and so far in 2018 he is producing a 3.1 Wins Above Replacement. It’s not a huge number, but for a guy who in the last 5 years has never had a WAR over 2.3, it’s saying something.

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