Soto and Tatis Jr., older pitfalls that Ohtani faces en route to fourth MVP

ByDavid Mitchell
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  • Enrique RojasMar 13, 2025, 20:00

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      • He worked as a baseball analyst for the television program “Super Sports” of Santo Domingo • Correspondent of Associated Press (AP) in the Dominican Republic. • Currently, he is a senior writer of Espandeportes.com

Two Latin stars could wait for the party to Shohei Ohtani in his attempt to be the MVP for the fourth time in the last five years.

Dominican gardeners Juan Sotoof the New York Mets, and Fernando Tatis Jr.of the San Diego Padres, They look like the greatest obstacles that the Japanese Shhehei Ohtani will facefrom Los Angeles Dodgers, In the attempt to catch his fourth most valuable player (MVP) in the last five years in the major leagues (MLB) of the United States.

Ohtani, Libra by Libra the best baseball player in the world today, is the favorite to win the MVP in the National League for the second consecutive season. If he wins, he would make him the second player with more statuettes (4) in the history of the major leagues, only behind the American gardener Barry Bonds, who received it seven times.

In addition, the Japanese of the Dodgers seeks to be the first to win it on multiple occasions in both leagues, since the Association of Baseball Writers of America (BBWAA, for its acronym in English) began awarding the prize in 1931.

Ohtani received it in the American League in 2021 and 2023, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels, and in the National League in his first season with the Dodgers, last year, when an injury in the elbow prevented him from launching, but that did not prevent him from becoming the first player with 50 homes and 50 bases stolen in the same season.

Ohtani, who has won its three MVP awards unanimously, is the first batter designated with the distinction and the only player who has achieved it with the approval of all writers on more than one occasion.

In the AM850 Bet lines for the MVP of the old circuit in 2025, Ohtani (+145) is the favorite, followed by the Quisqueyanos Soto (+550) and Tatis Jr. (+900) and the Americans Mookie Betts (+1200), Ohtani’s partner with the Dodgers; Kyle Tucker (+1600), of the Chicago Cubs, and Bryce Harper (+1800), of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Quequeyano Torpedo Elly de la Cruz (+1800), of the Cincinnati Reds, and the Venezuelan gardener Ronald Acuña (+1800), of the Atlanta Braves, have the same probabilities as Harper, while the Puerto Rican SS Francisco Lindor (+2000), Soto’s partner in New York, appears in the eighth place.

But are the Venezuelan gardener Jackson Chourio (+4000), of the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Dominican infielders Ketel Marte (+4000), of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Manny Machado (+6000), Tatis companion in San Diego.

Ohtani, who will be in the alignment of the Dodgers from the first official game of the year-next week in Japan, against the CUBS-but that will not be ready to open games like pitcher until the second month of the season, when it is projected, it will fulfill the rehabilitation protocol of an operation in the right elbow, it is included among the 10 best options of AM850 BET to conquer the Cy Young award of the National League.

Ohtani (+2500) appears tied with Dylan Cease and Michael King, of the parents; Justin Steele, from the Cubs; Spencer Stider, from Los Braves; Logan Webb, from the San Francisco Giants, and the Dominican Cristopher Sánchez, of the Phillies.

Paul Skenes (+250), from the Pittsburgh Pirates are placed ahead; Zack Wheeler (+700), of the Phillies; Blake Snell (+900), of the Dodgers; Chris Sale (+1000), from Los Braves; Corbin Burnes (+1400), of the Arizona Diamondbacks; the Dominican Sandy Alcántara (+1800), of the Miami Marlins; Tyler Glasnow (+1800) and the Japanese Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+1800), of the Dodgers, and Hunter Greene (+2000), of the Reds.

AGRAPHS plans that now that he will resume his role as a two -way player, Ohtani will suffer a small regression in his offensive numbers in relation to the previous season, but he will have a star batter performance anyway: .280, 43 homers, 34 robberies, 123 scored, 104 driven and 5.6 War.

Any loss in batting due to the effort to launch once a week, Ohtani will compensate for his performance in the box. According to Agugraphs, the right pitcher will accumulate 120 entries effectively 3.49, 10.5 strikeouts per nine entries and 2.5 War.

In the projection model used by Baseball Reference, Ohtani appears with average.

In the case of Soto, who prepares to release his historic contract of $ 765 million for 15 seasons with the METS, AGRAPHS projects that he will hit .286 with an OBP of .421, 35 homers, 114 scored and 6.2 War.

Soto, who is widely considered the most complete batter of the moment, has been second (2021), third (2024) and fifth (2020) in the race for the MVP.

Tatis Jr., who was third in 2021 and fourth in 2020 in the MVP vote of the National League, would have an offensive line of .277 on average batting, .345 ObP, 38 homers, 19 robberies, 106 scored, 101 pushed and 5.7 War, according to AGRAPHS.

In the midst of both, Betts, an eight times all stars that will definitely move from the garden right to campocorto, and that projects to hit .278 with .367 obp, 29 home runs, 15 robberies, 109 scored, 89 pushed and 6.1 War. Betts won the MVP in the American League in 2018 and was second in the National League in 2020 and 2023.

Tucker, who was changed by the Houston Astros to the Cubs in the dead season, enters his last year of contract before being a free agent, which generally serves as motivation for the players. The 28 -year -old gardener ended fifth in the MVP vote of the American League in 2023 and was in the race last year until a small fracture in his right pimple took him out of action for three months.

Harper, twice MVP in the National League (2015 and 2021) hit 30 homers and 42 doubles in 145 games in 2024, its first complete season in three years, after dealing with the consequences of an operation Tommy John in 2022-23. According to Agugraphs, Harper will beat about 30 home runs with 100 scored and 95 pushed.

Both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference are established that the biggest difference between Ohtani and its main opponents (Soto, Tatis Jr. and Betts) will be the contribution that Japanese can get as a pitcher to continue dazzling as the best two -way player in history.

David Mitchell
David Mitchell

As a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience, I strive to uncover the heart and soul behind every game. Supported by a dedicated team of fellow enthusiasts and storytellers, I am committed to delivering insightful and engaging content that connects fans worldwide. Together, we celebrate the victories, challenges, and unifying spirit of sports through every article we craft.