An underrated superstar

Joey Votto hit .289 with a .939 OPS in April. Then he hit .355 with a 1.160 OPS in May. And now he?s hitting .491 with a 1.392 OPS in June.

Overall the former MVP leads the National League in batting average (.366), on-base percentage (.489), slugging percentage (.652), OPS (1.141), doubles (28), extra-base hits (40), walks (54), and times on base (131). He also leads the league in Runs Created (74) and Wins Above Replacement (4.3).

It might seem weird to suggest that someone who won the MVP as recently as 2010 is actually underrated, but I really think we?ve reached that point with Votto. Obviously anyone paying any kind of attention knows he?s a great player, but the fact that he?s been arguably the best hitter in all of baseball for the past four seasons seems to get lost in the shuffle somewhat.

Votto had a really good rookie season in 2008 and then took things to another level in 2009. From then until now he?s hit .324 with a .477 on-base percentage and .575 slugging percentage in 507 games. During that four-year span Votto is the only hitter in baseball with an OPS above 1.000. He leads all MLB hitters in on-base percentage, is .002 points away from tying Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols for the lead in slugging percentage, and trails only Joe Mauer and Cabrera in batting average. And he?s done all that while hitting slightly better on the road than at home in Cincinnati?s hitter-friendly ballpark.

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