Coming into the week, Shohei Ohtani was a +225 underdog to win the American League MVP award, but after another ridiculous showing, he's now the favorite.
The stat line that he posted against the Astros on Wednesday is somewhat hard to believe, but it's what Ohtani has been doing on a weekly basis.
Ohtani struck out 12 hitters and allowed one earned run in six innings pitched, all while recording two hits and two RBIs in four at bats. He allowed just double the amount of hits on the mound that he amassed himself.
The Angels superstar is now listed at +105 at DraftKings to win the award, ahead of Aaron Judge, who is +165. Both players are +125 at Caesars.
Judge has 30 home runs and 65 RBIs on the year to go with a .279/.382/.560 slash line.
Ohtani has posted a .258/.347/.494 slash line, but he also has the pitching aspect of his resume.
He has a 2.38 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and a 9-4 record on a team that is 39-50 overall.
As it stands, Ohtani's Wins Above Replacement (WAR) number is approximately 1.2 ahead of Judge with four days until the All Star break.
For all intents and purposes it appears to be a two-horse race in this market, but Yordan Alvarez is the next-closest contender at +1000, and Ohtani's Angels teammate Mike Trout sits at +1200. Alvarez is currently on the Injured List with a hand injury.
Rafael Devers is the only other player shorter than +2800, with a +1500 price.
Ohtani is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since Miguel Cabrera accomplished the feat in the 2012-2013 seasons.
He'd be the first pitcher to do so since Hal Newhouser all the way back in 1945.
