Francisco Lindor's chances of winning the MVP title continue to increase

Shohei Ohtani is the betting favorite for the National League (NL) MVP and rightly so. The Dodgers hitter leads the NL in runs, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, etc. He already has a 40-40 season and could be the first player in the history of the sport to have a 50-50 season. Ohtani is great and will probably be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. That being said, without Francisco LindorThe New York Mets would be far from a playoff spot. Not to mention, he continues to lead the NL in Fangraph's Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) metric.

After a brutal 7-0 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday, the Mets needed an answer. They had their hands full with Michael Kinga right-handed starter at the peak of his career. In the most important scene of the game, Lindor came into action and turned the momentum completely on Saturday. The Mets led 1-0 going into the fourth inning. With two outs in the inning, Starling Marte Francisco Álvarez reached the goal through a mistake and Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch. That put Lindor at bat with the bases loaded, a chance to decide the situation.

King ran a sweeper over the middle of the zone on a 2-0 count and the shortstop hit it for a grand slam into right-center field. The Mets, who have always had all kinds of problems with runners in scoring position, took action at that moment. Lindor's 26th home run of the season gave them a decisive 5-0 lead, a lead that felt secure with David Peterson on the mound. But the Mets weren't done with new additions yet.

Lindor started the seventh inning against Padres reliever Yuki Matsui. He saw a fastball in the middle of the zone and slammed it into left field, adding a home run from the right side. His second at-bat of the night gave the Mets a 6-1 lead that they would hold on to.

“We are experiencing greatness here. He must be in the [MVP] conversation. He's on par with anyone in the league. I know there are some other guys who are having a really good year, but he's on par with them,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

It may not be as glamorous as Ohtani's stats, but Lindor is on pace to play 30-30 seasons in a row. He also plays top-notch defense at a premium position. That should be mentioned in this conversation. Will Lindor be voted MVP? Probably not, no. But just because he's not expected to live up to expectations doesn't mean he should.

Lindor is an elite player, one of the best in the game. To the surprise of many, he was not named an All-Star this season. Since then, in 36 games, he has posted a batting average of .311/370/.581/.952 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs.

Lindor deserves credit for what he has accomplished in the Mets uniform. Year after year, season after season, he delivers. “The bigger goal here is to get to the postseason,” Lindor said. The Mets are 2.5 games away from the third wild card spot as of Sunday.