The MVP frontrunners remain clear, but more entrants are knocking on the door of the Cy Young races in both leagues.
American League MVP
1. Shohei Ohtani, Angels
Ohtani threw six shutout innings on the mound and smacked his 25th homer of the year in the same game. The Japanese star does majestic stuff and remains narrowly in the top spot for AL MVP.
2. Aaaron Judge, Yankees
Judge had a hit in every game last week, including three multi-hit games. But after just one homer, we’ll see if he can get a power surge going while hunting for the single-season American League record.
3. Yordan Alvarez, Astros
Alvarez is slumping a bit, but he did homer for the first time this month in his last game. Overall, everyone else in the AL remains well behind Ohtani and Judge.
National League MVP
1. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
Goldschmidt had three hits including a home run yesterday, and his Cardinals are now in the driver’s seat in the NL Central. He remains the clear NL MVP favorite.
2. Austin Riley, Braves
Riley leads the National League in total bases this season (256) and had a massive three-hit, one-homer, five-RBI performance versus Boston a couple of games ago.
3. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
Freeman had a hit or an RBI in every game in the past week, and his average remains in the mid .320s (currently the second-best average of his career).
American League Cy Young
1. Justin Verlander, Astros
For the first time in nearly two months, Verlander allowed more than one run in a start, allowing three to the Rangers. Verlander remains 15-3, with the ERA going up from 1.73 to 1.85.
2. Dylan Cease, White Sox
Cease continued the streak of consecutive games of one run or fewer allowed, and he’s the clear biggest threat to Verlander as things currently stand.
3. Shane McClanahan, Rays
However, McClanahan is an example of how quickly things can turn in a Cy Young race. His ERA has gone from 1.76 to 2.24 over his previous two starts, going from the favorite down to No. 3. There’s still time for McClanahan to get back on track, though.
National League Cy Young
1. Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Another lengthy, workhorse outing came apart a bit late in the game, with the Phillies eventually getting four runs on Alcantara in 7.2 innings. Alcantara’s poorest outings have been against teams that have seen him often within the division.
2. Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers
Gonsolin is back in business after another steady five shutout innings against the Padres last Friday. He hasn’t eaten a ton of innings, but Gonsolin being 12-1 with a 0.89 WHIP and a 2.30 ERA deserves more respect.
3. Edwin Diaz, Mets
Diaz picked up saves No. 24 and No. 25 to help the Mets complete an excellent series versus the Braves last weekend. Corbin Burnes and Zach Wheeler are among the other NL pitchers to keep an eye on moving forward.