Tony DeMarco

One look at Chase Utley's hot start this season tells you there is a good chance for a National League Most Valuable Player Award three-peat in Philadelphia.

Entering May, Utley leads the majors in home runs, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases. He was the first second baseman to hit 11 home runs in April, and only the second Phillies player to hit a home run in five consecutive games.

Only two other players had more April hits than Utley's total of 40, and only two scored more runs than Utley's 25. Needless to say, he also led the Phillies in virtually every important category other than RBI.

Throw in a batting average over .360 and an on-base percentage near .430, and it's no wonder that Joe Morgan — who would know — said Utley could become the best offensive second baseman not just in 2008, but ever.

It's a good thing an ESPN national audience got to hear that statement, because you won't get anything along those lines out of Utley. In fact, you won't get much of anything from him.

Jimmy Rollins backed up his bold 'we're the team to beat in the NL East' prediction on his way to the 2007 MVP, and you can see Ryan Howard in a handful of television commercials since his 2006 MVP season. But Utley just plays the game with immense skill and intensity, leading by example more than with words, while choosing to deflect attention from himself.

Utley doesn't make himself available all that often to local media, but is cordial when he does. But come away from a conversation with him, and the phrase 'intentionally boring' crosses your mind.

Take the spring incident where the Mets' Carlos Beltran — in answer Rollins' 2007 spring pronouncement — said the Mets were this year's team to beat. Rollins hadn't arrived in Phillies camp when Beltran spoke, so writers turned to Utley for a rebuttal that wasn't going to happen.

“I got nothing for you,'' Utley said. “I'm boring today. I try to stay out of trouble.''

Luckily for the Phillies, who otherwise are experiencing more than their share of negative developments, there's nothing quiet about Utley's bat. Shane Victorino has just come off the disabled list. Rollins can be reactivated on Monday, but that is in question as he continues to have trouble running on a slow-to-heal sprained left ankle. Howard's average continues to hover far below the Mendoza Line. Three starting pitchers have 5-plus ERAs and Brett Myers has lost too much velocity off his fastball.

INTERACTIVE MLB's Best ... So Far NBCSports.com looks at MVP and Cy Young possibilities after one month of the year.

At least the bullpen has been very effective, and then there is Utley — the main reason why the Phils posted their first winning April (15-13) since 2003. Geoff Jenkins has seen Utley's act for only a month after coming over to Philadelphia following a decade in Milwaukee. He calls Utley, “the best hitter I've played with."

But arguably the most important number Utley has put up this season is 28 — as in all 28 games played by the Phillies. Utley, 29, hasn't missed one — unlike last season, when a hit-by-pitch cost him 30 games due to a broken bone in his hand.

That didn't keep the Phillies out of the playoffs, but it did hold down Utley's numbers to a still-impressive .332-22-103 — and also added a level of unexpectedness to what is unfolding so far this season — the upturn in an excellent career to potential Hall of Fame level.

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