Joe Buck chooses Yankees' Aaron Judge over Angels' Shohei Ohtani for AL MVP

Barring what would be an absolutely shocking development, the winner of the 2022 American League Most Valuable Player Award will likely be either New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge or Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, the latter of whom earned the honor for last season. 

As noted by ESPN stats, Judge began Thursday leading all of MLB with 55 home runs, 118 RBI and a 1.090 OPS. Ohtani, meanwhile, is batting .267 with 33 home runs and 86 RBI to go along with a pitching record of 11-8, a 2.58 ERA, and 1.04 WHIP. 

Announcer Joe Buck, who has a lengthy history calling MLB and NFL action, appeared on ESPN's "Get Up" program on Thursday morning and made his pick for AL MVP between the top two options. 

"Aaron Judge, hands down," Buck explained, per Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun. "Now, Ohtani won last year, and you're right, he's doing something we've never seen. John Smoltz, who I work with and deeply respect, said 'If he just concentrated on pitching, he'd be Jacob deGrom.' And then you add in the power and the way he can run - he's unbelievable. Great guy.

"But Judge - on a first-place team as they're hanging on in the AL East by five games now - without him, they [the Yankees] are not where they are. He's six away from tying the Yankees' franchise record for home runs."