How impressive was Shohei Ohtani's first half? Enough to make him the betting favorite to win the National League MVP, and enough to make him a near unanimous MVP selection in a poll of MLB.com's experts.
MLB experts were asked to list their top five MVP candidates in each league. Only three players in the NL received first-place selections.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz got one first-place vote. Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper snagged five of them. Ohtani got the rest of the 35 remaining votes.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out down the stretch. Ohtani's teammate Mookie Betts was the favorite in the first two versions of this MLB.com poll, but since Betts has been out with a broken hand Ohtani has thrived and launched himself back atop the MVP conversation.
While he was in the midst of a swoon during the month of May it looked like Ohtani might fall into a hole that was impossible to dig out of. Now he's not only dug himself out of that hole, but he's done so emphatically enough to potentially become the first ever designated hitter to win the award.
If Ohtani replicates his first half in the second half, it's hard to imagine him missing out on the award regardless of whether he plays any defense. That's typically the knock against DH MVP candidates, but Ohtani has been so much better offensively than every other player that it's tough to argue anyone else is deserving. And that's reflected in the MLB.com poll.
