You don't have to look any further than the Washington Nationals' clubhouse to find one of Daniel Murphy's biggest fans.
Not only is Bryce Harper blown away by Murphy in his first season with the club, but he thinks he's deserving of the highest honor in the National League.
"Having Murph, he is a wizard for us," Harper told reporters at Monday's All-Star interview session. "To watch him every single day, his routine, the mentality that he has in every at-bat. He's unbelievable.
"I look forward to what he has in store for us for the second half and if he can do anything that he did in the first half. He's the MVP in my mind."
Murphy, 31, has been in the majors since 2008, but it wasn't until last year's postseason with the New York Mets that he put himself on the map.
In 14 games he belted seven home runs, drove in 11 runs and batted .328/.391/.724. At season's end, he left the Mets to sign with the Nationals, and so far this year he has a .348/.387/.598 slash line and a career-high 17 home runs already.
To hear comments about being the early MVP from someone like Harper means a lot to the slugger.
"Coming from a guy who put up a season that looked like Ted Williams last year, that's humbling to say the least and I had to watch him do it 19 times last year (as a Met)," Murphy said. "MVP talk means your ballclub is playing well. We've put ourselves in a good position.’’
At the midway mark of the season, the Nationals lead the NL East by six games, and are third in the majors with a .600 win percentage.