Crow-Armstrong vs. Ohtani: Who has the edge in NL MVP race? - ESPN

After years of dominating the MVP race — first in the American League and then for back-to-back seasons after moving to the National League — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani finally has some competition in the form of Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

DraftKings has them neck-and-neck as the favorites to win the award. Ohtani gave way to Crow-Armstrong recently only to gain back the odds lead days later — with the two exchanging favorite status by the big moment.

The stretch run of the regular season could very well determine the winner, especially if Ohtani returns to the mound at any point. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 because of knee soreness, but he has started a throwing progression that could lead to a return before the end of the regular season.

To take home the hardware come November, Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong each have a case to make to the 30 BBWAA voters (2 from each NL city), but what do their peers have to say about the NL's premier performers right now?

ESPN spoke with more than 20 players across nine different teams to get their opinion on the MVP race. The Dodgers and Cubs were not part of the polling, which had Crow-Armstrong as the choice among our player panel.

«How cool for the sport,» Cleveland Guardians first baseman Rhys Hoskins said, «that somebody is playing out of their mind so we get to have this conversation. The reality is we get to watch maybe the best player to ever play this game in Shohei. So to have somebody that is stepping up to him this year, making a race out of it, is pretty frickin' cool.»

Crow-Armstrong: 15
Ohtani: 4
Split MVP: 2

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong rank first and second in the National League in OPS, OPS+ and WRC+