LA Angels: 3 MVP candidates competing with Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is the Most Valuable Player in the American League so far.

The three-way player, Shohei Ohtani is tied for second in the AL with 14 home runs, sports a 2.37 ERA in six starts on the mound, has elite speed, and can even play in the field. The LA Angels are blessed to have a player who has both an elite arm and an elite bat.

That being said, Ohtani still has competition for the MVP award. He’s in the top three among AL hitters in slugging percentage (.619), and top nine in runs scored (32), runs batted in (35), and OPS (.938). He’s top seven in AL ERA among starting pitchers with six or more starts. With all that being said, the American League has a few guys who are also playing out of their minds.

The first is the son of an Angels legend.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a freak. Defensively, he’s made a total of one error in 37 games. Offensively, he’s a juggernaut.

He’s tied for third in AL batting average at .333, second in on-base percentage at .443, and leads the league in both slugging percentage (.661) and home runs (15). With 39 RBI, he’s tied for second in the American League.

He walks more than he strikes out, which can be rare for a slugger like Guerrero. His hard-hit percentage is almost at 40%, and he leads the league in fWAR (3.0).

The guy’s OPS+ is 202. He’s truly incredible, and it’s safe to count on him sustaining this success. He didn’t miss a single game last year.

He’ll be competing with Ohtani all year.