As of May, Paul DeJong’s fWAR of 2.7 ranks third in the league, his defensive rating of 5.0 is third in the league, while his offensive rating of 16.4 ranks fifth among qualified MLB players. His wRC+ of 161 is 11th in the MLB, and his wOBA of .411 is 11th in the MLB. His 15 doubles are good for 4th in the league.

“DeJong has been carrying this offense,” junior Blake Haffer said.

In terms of shortstops, his fWAR is first, his wRC+ is second, his defensive rating is second, his offensive rating is first, while his wOBA is second in the MLB. A change from 2018 to 2019 is the increase in his walk rate. He has walked in 11.7% of his at-bats, up from his 7.3% mark last year. Also, he has already made a mark towards his career high fWAR of 3.3, accumulating 2.7 fWAR thus far in 2019 — just over a month in.

“He can win MVP if he keeps raking,” junior Ethan Seymore said.

Looking at his improvement some more, his strikeout rate has dropped from 25.1% to 16.8%. His three stolen bases in 2019 is more than his career total in previous seasons. Additionally, his 34 runs scored is already halfway to his total from 2018.

“It will be a monstrous career year for DeJong,” junior Sophia Giltner said.

Paul DeJong is off to a career season.