It looked for awhile like Shohei Ohtani might be out of the National League MVP race. He was in the midst of a weeks-long slump, he wasn't hitting for power, and he was already fighting uphill thanks to playing exclusively as a designated hitter -- a position where nobody has ever primarily played and won an MVP award. Alas, an injury to Mookie Betts and a move up the order has put Ohtani on an MVP-caliber hot streak that has made him the betting favorite to win the award at the midway point of the season.
Perhaps the most incredible part of the odds over at BetMGM is that there's not a player particularly close to him. Here's what the odds look like:
Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani (-140)
Phillies OF Bryce Harper (+180)
Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman (+1800)
Braves OF Marcell Ozuna (+2000)
No other player has odds better than +3000.
For those unfamiliar with odds, the simple way to illustrate Ohtani's lead is like this: A $100 bet on Ohtani would win $71.43, whereas a $100 bet on Harper would win $180.
It's hard to blame books for making the Dodgers' star the favorite. He's the National League leader in WAR, accumulating 4.5 wins above replacement in 79 games. He also leads the NL in isolated slugging (ISO), he leads all of baseball in batting average and his .402 on-base percentage trails only Padres utilityman Jurickson Profar and injured Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts.
Ohtani is also the NL leader in home runs and runs scored, while clocking in at No. 2 in RBIs, just three behind Ozuna.
His impact with Betts out of the lineup can't be ignored in the MVP debate either. LA lost an MVP-favorite at the top of their order and their offense hasn't skipped a beat thanks to Ohtani, who is batting .424 with a 1.606 OPS, three doubles, six home runs, 15 RBIs, 12 runs scored since Betts went down. The Dodgers are 7-2 in that stretch and once again look like the NL's best team.
Perhaps being a DH will ultimately hurt Ohtani enough with voters that he won't win it over a player like Harper, but his production at this point is overwhelming enough to make him the favorite to win the award. If he keeps it up, his position just may not matter.