Padres' $340 Million Superstar Predicted to Beat Out Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani for MVP

The San Diego Padres are already off to an electric 2-0 start on the regular season, but things are predicted to get much more exciting as the season goes on.

A top MLB insider made a bold prediction that goes against the grain of the rest of the baseball world, but a team like the Padres are used to blazing their own trail when it comes to expectations set by others.

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Bleacher Report's MLB insider Eric Ball recently made his picks for the highest baseball accolades and noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani is a strong favorite.

Becoming the sport's first player to ever hit 50-plus home runs and steal 50 or more bases in a season was historic, but he will also be eyeing a return to the pitcher's mound this season.

The Padres undoubtably have a few players that can match Ohtani's offensive prowess, and with the Dodgers' star presumably spending more time on the mound than in the batters box, this leaves an exciting opportunity for a San Diego slugger to take home the MVP honor.

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Ball's pick for NL MVP is Fernando Tatis Jr.

He hit 21 home runs last year, 49 RBIs, and a slashline of .276/.340/.492 with an OPS of .833. He was also out for 60 games due to a stress fracture in his femur.

When it seemed like the superstar was finally back to full health in October, he was surely playing like an MVP. His four postseason home runs plus a slash line of .423/.500/1.000 with an insane OPS of 1.500 through just seven games were only a small sample of what a healthy Tatis can do for 162 games.

So far this season, with Tatis at leadoff, he is picking up right where he left off in an October that ended way too early. Another benefit to a healthy superstar is that he already has a pair of stolen bases.

This facet of his game potentially won't win or lose the award for him, but after getting 29 swipes in 2023 and only getting eight bags in 2024 before his injury (with three coming after his return), it's promising to see how much more of Tatis' play has been developing so far this season as more stolen bases will never hurt an MVP candidate.

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