Shohei Ohtani finishes top 3 in NL MVP voting for sixth straight year

Shohei Ohtani won't take home the National League MVP this year, but the Dodgers two-way star will finish among the top three for the sixth season in a row. He was the only Dodger announced Monday among the top three finalists for any of the five Baseball Writers Association of America awards.

The award will go to Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is expected to run away with the vote when the winner is revealed on Thursday, November 12. Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang rounds out the top three alongside Ohtani.

It's a familiar spot for Ohtani, who won NL MVP in each of his first two seasons in Los Angeles after taking the AL award in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels. Crow-Armstrong's 10.6 fWAR easily outpaced the field, while Ohtani's combined 6.6 fWAR tied Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski for the second-highest mark in the NL.

A home run drought, then a big October swing

Ohtani's campaign had an unusual wrinkle. After August 18, he went a career-worst 155 plate appearances without a home run, a stretch that stretched into the postseason before he finally broke through with a long ball in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Left knee inflammation and a right biceps strain hampered him down the stretch.

Still, the numbers held up. He finished with 30 home runs, a .275/.377/.512 slash line, and a 1.79 ERA across 14 pitching starts. His 139 wRC+ ranked tied for fifth in the NL among qualified batters, and his 2.73 xERA ranked third among NL pitchers with at least 80 innings.

Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, won't climb higher than fourth in Cy Young voting despite a strong season, with Misiorowski, Chris Sale, and Cristopher Sanchez claiming the top three NL spots.