Shohei Ohtani Favorite to Lead MLB in Homers in July
The greatness of Shohei Ohtani can not be overstated. Even terms like “generational talent” don’t apply to the Japanese phenom. He is a talent that we truly haven’t seen in the sport of baseball since Babe Ruth nearly 100 years ago.
Sure, there are pitchers out there who have had success their bats in the past, but we’ve never seen one player be both one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball while also being an MVP-level designated hitter that’s leading the Majors in home runs.
The second home run of the evening for Shohei Ohtani! pic.twitter.com/MYQ4mjPukL
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 30, 2021
With the month of June wrapping up, WynnBET has released odds on which MLB player will be the home run leader in July. Ohtani is set as the betting favorite at +600, with the usual suspects behind him, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+700), Ronald Acuna Jr. (+900), and Fernando Tatis Jr (+900).
After hitting four home runs in his last three games, Ohtani has taken over the MLB lead for home runs this season with 28. Pair that with his pitching statistics, headlined by a 2.58 ERA, and we have a truly historic talent on our hands.
The latest two week stretch that he’s been on, might be the best two weeks for a baseball player in the history of the sport. This is with all due respect to Kyle Schwarber’s insane month that he’s also having.
Ohtani has hit 11 home runs, and pitched 12 innings of baseball while allowing only two runs and striking out 14 batters since June 15th. I challenge you to find me a more impressive two week stretch for anyone in MLB history.
Shohei Ohtani's last two weeks:
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 30, 2021
June 15 • HR
June 16 • HR
June 17 • 6 IP, 1 ER, 5K, W
June 18 • 2 HR
June 19 • HR
June 20 • HR
June 21 • OFF
June 22 • 0/3
June 23 • 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 K
June 24 • OFF
June 25 • HR
June 26 • 1/3
June 27 • HR
June 28 • HR
June 29 • 2 HR
Ohtani finds himself in a two-man race with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for this season’s American League MVP award. Guerrero is currently the slight favorite at +100, but Ohtani is close behind at +110. If the Japanese-born player can keep hitting and pitching at this pace, there’s no doubt that he’ll take over as the betting favorite sooner rather than later.
Despite having the best athlete in baseball on their roster, the Angels are still below .500 at 38-41 which is good for fourth place in the AL West.
If Ohtani’s teammate, Mike Trout, can return to the lineup at the All-Star break, maybe it will be enough to boost the Angels to a respectable record. I sure hope that will be the case, because it will be a shame if we don’t see Ohtani in the postseason in the near future.