MLB Network analyst identifies Giants star Chapman’s MVP-level stat

MLB Network analyst identifies Giants star Chapman’s MVP-level stat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Star Giants third baseman Matt Chapman earned MVP-caliber praise on Wednesday.

Because of one of Chapman’s many impressive stats, MLB Network’s Brian Kenny acknowledged the five-time Gold Glove winner for the dynamic player he is.

“This is an excellent player,” Kenny told co-host and retired four-time MLB All-Star Mike Lowell. “I’m big on Matt Chapman. … when he was a free agent, I was like, ‘There’s so much to like about this player. But when I see a seven WAR, I am thinking, ‘Wow, that’s MVP-level.’

“I wasn’t thinking of Matt Chapman at an MVP level.”

Kenny highlighted Chapman’s impressive 7.1 WAR for the 2024 MLB season during a segment that recognized the star as MLB’s sixth-best third baseman, ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado — who is a fellow El Toro High School (Lake Forest, Calif.) alumnus — and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy.

Although Chapman only has finished as high as sixth in MVP voting — back when he reached his lone MLB All-Star Game in 2019 with the then-Oakland Athletics after slashing .249/.342/.506 with 36 home runs and 91 RBI — Kenny admired the two-way slugger with MVP-esque praise for his electric first season back in the Bay.

San Francisco missed the playoffs with an 80-82 record, but Chapman, according to stats and eye tests, gave the Giants a chance to win more games. He slashed .247/.328/.463 with 142 hits, 27 home runs, 78 RBI and took off during the second half of the season, carrying a .348 on-base percentage over San Francisco’s last 81 games.

Kenny, like most, enjoys Chapman’s game. However, the analyst clarified his comments about Chapman, explaining that he admires the Giant a ton, but not as much as he might have prefaced.

“You see with Chapman, a plus-17 [defensive runs saved]; That’s an outrageous number, it’s outstanding, it’s No. 1 in baseball, and he’s great,” Kenny told Lowell. “To me, my feel is Matt Chapman is a five-and-a-half-win player, which is beyond an All-Star — it’s better than an All-Star — but it’s not quite MVP.

“And I believe the Statcast metric more than I believe the DRS, in this case. It changes case to case, Mike, but that’s the way it is.”

Simply put, Kenny acknowledges Chapman’s general 7.1 WAR, but chooses to put more stock into the third baseman’s FanGraphs WAR of 5.5, which rules out MVP consideration from the analyst.

Nevertheless, Kenny initially labeled Chapman as one of baseball’s “excellent” players while admiring his two-way stardom.

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