Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Shockingly Not Frontrunner for NL MVP, Per Insider

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been one of the best players in baseball — to no one's surprise — and came into the season as the National League MVP favorite. However, at this point in the year, ESPN's rankings have him as the runner-up.

Ohtani is once again topping the charts in terms of advanced metrics and counting stats, though there have been other players who have gotten off to hot starts that could challenge the Japanese sensation for the award.

ESPN insider Bradford Doolittle did a story about players who are vying for major awards through the month of May, including the MVP.

In his story, he has Pete Crow-Armstrong, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, as the MVP almost a third of the way through the season.

"Crow-Armstrong's emergence has made him one of baseball's best stories this season. Entering the season, we knew that PCA, as he's affectionately called, could post elite defense and baserunning metrics," Doolittle wrote in his story.

"If only he could hit! Would a leap from an 88 to a 145 OPS+ work? How about a pace that could see Crow-Armstrong post a 40/40 season? The strike zone numbers suggest a coming regression -- more than five whiffs for every walk -- but so far, so great."

Doolittle has Ohtani as an extremely close second and Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. as a close third.

Based on his production, Crow-Armstrong is an early-season contender for the award. However, there are still massive doubts on whether he can sustain such a high level throughout a season, especially when he has not done so in the past.

Ohtani, meanwhile, has a ho-hum 20 home runs and 35 RBIs.

His 2.9 WAR ranks fourth in MLB and second in the National League, just behind PCA's 3.1.

Ohtani has an otherworldly 182 wRC+, trailing only Aaron Judge and Freddie Freeman.

The only factor that could swing the MVP race for Crow-Armstrong would be his amazing defense, which cannot be replicated by Ohtani since he is a designated hitter.