Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Named Heavy MVP Favorite By MLB Experts

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a collection of star players on the roster, but none of them shine brighter than two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani has transcended what it means to be a star in sports over his career so far, and the Dodgers are very happy to have him for the better part of the next decade.

Ohtani has a unique ability to both hit and pitch at an elite level, giving Los Angeles a massive advantage each time out on the field. This is the first season with the Dodgers that Ohtani has no restrictions as a pitcher.

Currently, Ohtani has won three straight MVP awards, with one coming from the American League while with the Los Angeles Angels. The other two have been with the Dodgers, and he is again being viewed as the favorite to win the honor this year.

MLB.com did a survey with 40 experts, and Ohtani came in first place with 28 of the 40 votes.

"Who else did you expect to see here? It seems safe to say that as long as Ohtani is elite at either hitting or pitching, he will continue to be the MVP favorite in the NL. One could even argue that if he remains simply league average at both that he'd be a strong MVP candidate, but that's a discussion for another day," Jason Foster of MLB.com wrote.

Ohtani's hitting this season has been a little down from where he has normally been, but that's to be expected with a full pitching workload. On the season, Ohtani is hitting .248 with six home runs, 15 runs batted in and five stolen bases, while posting an OPS of .831.

Even without the consistent hitting, Ohtani has still found ways to impact the game at the plate. His presence in the lineup alone changes the way the rest of the eight hitters are pitched.

On the other side of the ball, Ohtani's start to the year on the mound has been dominant, and he is currently being viewed in the Cy Young conversation. Entering the season, the Cy Young award was a goal of Ohtani's, and to this point, he is very much in the hunt.

Overall, Ohtani has made six starts for the Dodgers, posting an ERA of 0.97 over 37 innings of work. The right-handed pitcher is off to one of the better starts in franchise history, and if he keeps this up, there's no reason he wouldn't be in the Cy Young race.

While Ohtani's offensive numbers are a bit down for his standards, he's still having an above-average season for a normal player. The fact that he's doing that while also being one of the best pitchers in the league makes him a heavy favorite for the MVP.

If Ohtani were to win the award again, it would be his fifth MVP overall, and he only trails Barry Bonds for the MLB record. Bonds won seven total in his career, and with Ohtani still being only 31 years old, there is a chance he could win the most ever.

But for now, the veteran will focus on getting himself right for the remainder of the season and let the cards fall as they may.

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