Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers is being predicted to win the NL Cy Young award but could miss out on the NL MVP award, a prediction that seems illogical given his performance.
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani receives Cy Young and MVP prediction that makes no sense originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a bit of a different outlook with Shohei Ohtani this season, as their $700 million investment is finally pitching in full capacity.
He's been an awesome starting pitcher this season, and it would not be a surprise if he's in contention for some end-of-season awards once again.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report is predicting that Ohtani will win the NL Cy Young award, but also somehow miss out on the NL MVP award.
"Shohei Ohtani wins his first Cy Young award... But not his fifth MVP," Miller writes. While this is meant to be a hot take, it's still an odd one.
If Ohtani, who will continue to hit and likely fairly well, were to win the Cy Young award, it would be hard to imagine that he also doesn't win the MVP. That's why this prediction makes zero sense.
Ohtani winning the Cy Young this year is a bold enough of a prediction, as other starting pitchers will pitch more innings than Ohtani this season.
Ohtani is having an outstanding season as a starting pitcher, showcasing his skills that make him a strong candidate for the NL Cy Young award.
Despite his impressive pitching performance, some analysts believe other players may have stronger cases for the NL MVP award, leading to the prediction that he could miss out.
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If he were to win the award, it would coincide with an elite season with an ERA below 2.00, even if his current 0.97 ERA does jump up a bit.
But if Ohtani wins the NL Cy Young award, it would mean he outperformed Paul Skenes, Cristopher Sanchez, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and every other pitcher in the NL.
Typically, the Cy Young winner will receive some MVP votes. And in this scenario, Ohtani would win the Cy Young, but also have all of his offensive production to add to his season totals.
Even if Ohtani continued his production from now until the end of the year, his OPS+ would be an impressive 135, which, combined with a Cy Young award, should be more than enough for an MVP award.
And even if he were to match the worst year of his career offensively, he should still win the MVP award. He hit .286 with an .848 OPS and 121 OP+ back in 2019, which, other than 2020, was the worst year of his career offensively.
If he paired such a season with a Cy Young award, there's zero reason why he shouldn't win the MVP award.
The only way he could miss this award would be if someone else in the NL had a record-breaking season. And even then, Ohtani should still win the MVP award for being the best pitcher and an elite hitter.