There was a prospect that Shohei Ohtani (29) of the Los Angeles Angels could win the second MVP.
On the 26th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official major league media, selected the players expected to perform best for each of the 30 major league clubs based on the results of the performance prediction program of the fan graph, a baseball statistics site. With the Angels, Ohtani was named after Mike Trout.
Ohtani won the 2021 American League MVP unanimously and emerged as the best star in the major leagues. Last season, as a hitter, he had a batting average of 207.3 in 157 games (160 hits in 586 at-bats), 34 home runs and 95 RBIs, OPS of .875, and a pitcher of 28 games (166 innings) with a 15-9 record with an ERA of 2.33. He stayed in second place in the MVP vote, being pushed by Aaron Judge (Yankees), who replaced (62).
Fangraph predicted that Ohtani would record an outstanding figure of 7.5 WAR (War Contribution to Substitutes) again this year. It was calculated that Ohtani, who doubles as a pitcher, would record a WAR of 3.1 as a hitter and 4.4 as a pitcher. Judge’s projected WAR this season is 6.9. 안전놀이터
MLB.com said, “If the pitching double-up star lives up to the predictions in 2023, he will likely win the second MVP in three years. Steamer (a fan graph performance prediction program) evaluates Ohtani as the best baseball player when adding the value of batter and pitcher. As predicted, he will record 35 homers, 16 stolen bases and 96 runs batted in as a hitter and 12 wins as a pitcher with a 3.16 ERA and 217 strikeouts.”
In San Diego, where Kim Ha-seong is playing, Juan Soto, not Fernando Tatis Jr., who is about to return this season, was expected to record the highest WAR (7.1). MLB.com said, “San Diego has Soto, who will be the best hitter in the world. Soto will have the highest WAR of any fielder and the highest wRC+ (172, 100 are league averages) of any hitter. At this point, he is the most likely candidate for National League MVP