Shohei Ohtani Still Clear MVP Favorite Despite Slump

Sep 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) flips his bat after hitting his 50th home run of the season during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani topped MLB.com’s first Most Valuable Player poll of the 2026 season.

40 MLB.com analysts participated in the poll, and 28 of them voted Ohtani as the National League’s MVP thus far. The 31-year-old has won the NL MVP unanimously in both of his seasons with the Dodgers, and could very well be on the way to a third.

Ohtani hasn’t performed up to his usual, 1.000 OPS standard at the plate this season, but that doesn’t seem to matter when he’s been the National League’s best pitcher for the first month or so of the regular season. The right-hander is sporting a .814 OPS to go with his 0.60 ERA—which would lead MLB if he qualified for individual stat leadership.

“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.

“On this day, Ohtani is running away with the prize on the strength of a 0.60 ERA as a pitcher and an .825 OPS as a hitter. Though he doesn’t have enough innings to qualify for the ERA lead, let’s not act like he’s been anything but crazy-impressive on the mound (he’s the  for March/April). And though his offensive numbers don’t lead the league, let’s also not pretend that it’s normal for any pitcher other than him to warrant a lineup spot because he’s such a major offensive threat. Like it or not, fair or not, when you do both things at the level of Ohtani, you’re the easy MVP favorite.”