The first step for assembling a baseball MVP ballot is nearly universal now: Pull up the WAR leaderboard and pull the list of candidates off the top. It is an individual award, after all, and WAR (wins above replacement) is the most efficient way of getting an overview of a player’s contributions.
The shortened 2020 season boosted Freddie Freeman's and Jose Abreu’s outlier offensive performances and strong narratives in a way that is unlikely to repeat in 2021. But the short season also narrowed our depth of field when it comes to true contenders for this year — blurring breakouts and hot streaks, slumps and declines.