Houston Astros Ace Justin Verlander Makes His AL MVP Pick

The AL MVP race reached a fever pitch ahead of the All-Star game, with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angels pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani reminding everyone why they're the favorites with a couple of spectacular performances in the final days before the midsummer classic.

The debate is so entrenched in everything baseball right now, even Astros ace and AL Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander offered his opinion on who would win. As one would expect, he sided with the guy who stands on the bump every six days.

"If someone goes out and is one of the best hitters, and they are also one of the best pitchers, it’s hard to vote against them,” Verlander said according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post.

Verlander isn't the only one favoring Ohtani to win a second straight AL MVP title. WynnBET also has Ohtani as the outright favorite with -104 odds. Judge is currently at +165 odds after being the favorite just a few weeks ago. Since then, Ohtani has been on a tear.

In his last six starts, Ohtani has pitched 39 2/3 innings, striking out 58 batters against 11 walks and giving up just two earned runs in that time. Insert mind blown emoji here.

As a hitter, he's got 19 homers and 56 RBI with a .258/.348/.486 slash line. Those are right in line if not better than what he did at the plate last year when he won MVP.

Judge is no slouch himself, slugging an MLB-best 33 home runs and 70 RBI, which is tied for third most in MLB. His .284/.364/.618 slash line is better than Ohtani and, like Ohtani, he impressed down the stretch, hitting two homers against the Red Sox in the second-to-last game before the All-Star break.

The AL MVP award is very much up for grabs. BetSided editors Peter Dewey and Reed Wallach had a spirited debate themselves about who could win. A lot will change between now and when the award is handed out, but if you want to tail a player, Verlander thinks Ohtani is the pick right now.