Who could have predicted this when he signed with the Chicago Cubs after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers last year? Cody Bellinger (28, Chicago Cubs) is climbing the ranks of hitters.

MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, released its top 10 power rankings for the best hitters of the season on Monday.

At the top of the list is Shohei Ohtani, the de facto favorite to win the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Ohtani leads the league in OPS.

And while Matt Olson, the most prolific home run hitter in the majors, moved up to second place, Bellinger’s jump in the rankings is significant. He jumped from ninth to sixth.

That’s ahead of Corey Seager and Kyle Tucker, who are expected to battle for second place in the American League MVP voting. Seager and Tucker are tied for seventh and eighth.

Through 18 games, Bellinger was batting .327 with 18 home runs, 59 RBI, 69 runs scored, 110 hits, a .379 OPS and a .932 slugging percentage in 89 games this season.

He’s also been on fire with a .404 batting average and 1.122 OPS, and his last week of hitting has been even better, with a .333 batting average and 1.011 OPS.

Bellinger had a great April, posting an OPS of 1.001, before struggling mightily in May and June. So it looks like there was a flare-up in April, but no resurgence.온라인바카

However, Bellinger rebounded last month with a .400 batting average and a 1.122 OPS, and he’s carried that high-sensitivity hitting into this month. The doubts about Bellinger have also diminished.

Bellinger is eligible for free agency after this season. If he can keep this up through the end of the season, he could get a big contract.

Meanwhile, defending National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. has dropped one spot to third, with Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts at fourth and fifth, respectively.

Luis Arajuez, who has been slipping away from a .400 batting average, drops to No. 9, and Bobby Witt, Jr. who is chasing 30 home runs and 30 doubles, comes in at No. 10.