The last baseball player to win an MVP award for three consecutive seasons in the same league was Barry Bonds when he won four from 2001-04. With the way that Shohei Ohtani has been playing over the first two months of the season, his chances of winning a third consecutive NL MVP are very much alive.
But what about the NL Cy Young award?
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So far, among all pitchers with at least 55 innings this season, Ohtani continues to possess the best ERA at 0.82, giving him a ridiculous 493 ERA+. Ohtani hasn’t given up more than two runs in a start this year, while tossing a quality start in all but one of his outings.
What does Ohtani have to achieve for him to earn the Cy Young award? There is already heavy competition that features Cristopher Sánchez, Jacob Misiorowski and the reigning NL Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes. Manny Randhawa of MLB.com suggests that Ohtani will have to post an ERA under 2.00, average 10 strikeouts per nine innings and tally at least 170 innings on the season.
Well, he might need some help from the hitters facing Sánchez, Misiorowski and Skenes. But if there’s one thing we know about Ohtani, it’s to never doubt him. He’s too good, and he’s proven time and again that when we think we’ve seen him do it all, we’re wrong.
Ohtani will try to keep up his elite pace on the mound on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Both Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone were among some of the Dodgers working their way back from injury joining the team in Phoenix on Tuesday.
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Since his first start of the 2024 season, it has been a nightmare for Miller. Once heralded as a can’t miss prospect in the Dodgers system, Miller only made two appearances last year and has yet to touch the field this season. Miller has struggled with shoulder and back issues since spring training, but the 27-year-old is expected to begin throwing off a mound soon, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“It was shoulder at first. I had some injections right before spring training,” Miller said. “It was pretty good. Then I had a setback with a back injury. But it’s all great right now. I haven’t had any setbacks since that. I’ve been getting stronger and stronger.”
As for Stone, he made just one start in spring training before he was placed back on the injured list. Jack Harris of the California Post notes that there is not timetable for Stone’s return.
“He’s one that I’m really bummed out about,” Roberts said. “I think his makeup is off the charts, good, compete. Right now, his body’s just letting him down a little bit. There’s nothing else he can do. When he … ramps it up, it sort of shows itself again. So right now, I’m not sure exactly where he’s at in this progression. But I’m looking forward to seeing him, though.”
