Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani running away with 2023 AL MVP, huge shift in odds

Updated Aug. 7, 2023 11:50 a.m. ET

Now that the MLB trade deadline has come and gone, the American League MVP race looks all but over.

The contest was expected to be a showdown between New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. But a look at the odds reveals that Shotime Ohtani is running away with the award.

Ohtani's AL MVP odds have moved out to -20000 from -1450.

Unfortunately, Judge — the reigning AL MVP — was sidelined for a while after he suffered a torn toe ligament on June 3.

Can Ohtani pull off the MVP/Cy Young double this season? He's coming off a monster in July, where he was named AL Player of the Month for the second straight month.

The MVP seems like a foregone conclusion. Now, if he keeps this up, can he also double-dip and win the Cy Young?

Let's look at the current odds for both awards.

AMERICAN LEAGUE MVP ODDS*

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AMERICAN LEAGUE CY YOUNG ODDS*

* odds as of 8/4/2023

Shohei leads the majors in home runs as a hitter, is fourth in strikeouts as a pitcher and is a strong betting choice for the AL MVP and Cy Young Awards.

The last player to win the Cy Young and league MVP in the same season was Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in 2014. Kershaw was the ninth player to achieve the feat.

But Ohtani is trying to achieve a much more difficult feat than Kershaw's 2014 accomplishment. And truthfully, it's comparing apples and oranges because although Kershaw hit .175 that season, Clayton wasn't an everyday player like the Angels superstar.

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Will Ohtani, who passed Babe Ruth this season for most pitching strikeouts for a player with 100 home runs, win his first Cy Young Award?

Will Shohei win the AL MVP award two years after he was voted the best player in the league?

The Angels star is hitting .310 with 40 home runs, 82 RBIs and a .685 slugging percentage.

He is 9-5 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 160 strikeouts and 51 walks in 124.2 innings. And he's second in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings pitched (12.0) with Toronto's Kevin Gausman.

Are you ready to put some money down on Ohtani's futures wagers? Keep reading FOX Sports for the latest MLB news.

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