How will Nationals' fall affect Bryce Harper in the NL MVP race?

The Nationals go into the final days with at best a slim chance to make the postseason by overtaking the Mets in the National League East.

But will the play of the underachieving Nationals be a factor in the NL Most Valuable Player voting and cost right fielder Bryce Harper votes - or even a chance at winning the award?

As a rule, the voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America leans toward the MVP coming from a team that makes the playoffs - or at least contends. The last 16 AL and NL MVPs have come from teams that played in the postseason.

The BBWAA ballots, with two voters in each NL city, take into account only the regular season. Ballots are due before the final out on the final day.

Harper, 22, should win because of his overpowering numbers, but the debate could turn into his numbers versus the value of player to a playoff-bound team. That puts the Mets' Yoenis Cespedes and the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo in play for first-place votes.

Harper and his picture-perfect left-handed swing have carried the Nationals the entire season in a lineup that had to endure a first-half slump by Ian Desmond and injuries to Jayson Werth, Denard Span, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman.

After the surprising Mets, a team fortified at the trade deadline, came to Washington and swept the Nationals to take a big lead, the talk of Cespedes getting votes has picked up.

Cespedes has helped the Mets double their average run production per game since arriving in a trade from Detroit, and he was the biggest reason the Mets swept the Nationals.

In 36 games for the Mets, Cespedes has hit .312 with a .357 on-base percentage. He has 14 home runs and 36 RBIs going into Friday's game at Atlanta.

Cespedes' late-season bid is similar to that of the Twins' Shannon Stewart in 2003. At the All-Star break, the Twins needed a leadoff batter, so they acquired Stewart from the Blue Jays.

Stewart worked better than ever. In 65 games, he hit .322 with a .384 on-base percentage. The Twins won seven of their first nine games after the break with Stewart leading off. The Twins went 18-11 in August and 19-7 in September to win the American League Central.

There are other candidates in the NL MVP conversation as well.

Pitcher Zack Greinke has a 1.69 ERA, leading the first-place Dodgers' thin pitching staff that included a first-half slump by Clayton Kershaw.

Where would the Cubs be without Rizzo (.285 average, 29 homers, 88 RBIs)? The Cubs look to have a wild card spot locked up.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is hitting .299 with a .400 on-base percentage, with 22 home runs and 90 RBIs.

There are other candidates from non-contending teams: The Giants' Buster Posey is hitting .329 with 17 home runs. Nolan Arenado of the Rockies has 38 home runs.

Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt and Cincinnati's Joey Votto are each hitting .317 with 27 home runs. Votto has a .460 on-base percentage, Goldschmidt .431.

Harper's season has been so good - so historic - that it would be difficult to see how he can't win the award. He leads the league in batting average (.336), on-base percentage (.467) and slugging (.657) going into this weekend's games at Miami.

And he's got a chance to be the first player in Nationals history to have at least 100 walks, 100 runs scored and 100 RBIs in a season. Going into Friday, Harper needs 15 RBIs to complete the trifecta.

The award is announced in November.

If Harper wins, he would be younger than every MVP at the end of their award-winning season with the exception of Vida Blue (Oakland, 1971), Johnny Bench (Cincinnati, 1970) and Stan Musial (St. Louis, 1943).