With the season approaching its halfway point, it's time to take a look at the front-runners for the National League MVP Award. And unlike in the nERD metric, used to measure of runs a player contributes, or in the case of a pitcher, prevents, above or below the league average, along with a few other Sabermetrics to determine the leading candidates for the NL MVP award.

1. Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals

nERD: 6.30 | fWAR: 5.7 | wOBA: .490

Bryce Harper leads not only the National League but also the entire MLB in almost every major hitting category. His fWAR is a full run higher than his next leading competitor in the NL, as well as his nERD, meaning per 27 plate appearances, Harper averages 6.30 more runs than an average ball player. For the season, Harper is hitting a monstrous .343/.471/.709 with a .490 wOBA and a 220 wRC+, topping the National League in every one of those categories. Harper has just been incredible this season and per ZiPS projections, he's on pace for an 8-WAR season. Harper's wRC+ is higher than Babe Ruth's during his 60 home run season! And while he may regress a little with a .377 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), Harper's still going to put up incredible numbers in the second half. The guy is just incredible right now, and if Harper keeps it up, everybody else is competing for second place.

2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks

nERD: 5.34 | fWAR: 4.7 | wOBA: .452

While everyone behind Harper may be competing for second, it's not like they're not performing well. break the Reds' single season extra base hits record, Frazier's been an All-Star this season and could get even better in the second half.

5. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates

nERD: 3.03 | fWAR: 3.4 | wOBA: .386

While Andrew McCutchen started the season off slowly, hitting .194 in March and April, the Pirates' outfielder has come on in recent months, hitting .330 in May and .337 in June. For the season McCutchen is hitting .302/.398/.498 with a .386 wOBA and 151 wRC+, which is incredible considering how bad he was early on. McCutchen's also been his usual self on the basepaths with a 1.5 BsR. With ZiPS projecting him to almost double his fWAR in the second half, McCutchen should firmly place himself in the discussions for NL MVP, as he always has, and with a spectacular second half leading the Pirates, he could vault himself into the top few in discussions.

Honorable Mention

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Marlins

nERD: 2.96 | fWAR: 3.8 | wOBA: .398

Had Giancarlo Stanton not been sidelined with a hand injury, he'd be right up there with Goldschmidt and Rizzo, competing for the NL MVP. For the season Stanton is hitting .265/.346/.606 with a .398 wOBA before injury. He had been excellent at the plate, with a 2.96 nERD and 3.8 fWAR and in the field with a 7.9 UZR in right field. But going down with an injury for the second straight year really hurts Stanton's MVP chances.