The Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday announced the top three finishers for its four awards, with a pair of Dodgers recognized for their excellent 2025 seasons. Shohei Ohtani is in the top three in voting
for the National League MVP award, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is in the top three for the NL Cy Young Award.
All four BBWAA awards will be announced next week on MLB Network, with the Rookie of the Year awards on Monday, November 10, Managers of the Year on November 11, Cy Young Awards on November 12, and MVPs on November 13. Each award show on MLB Network will begin at 4 p.m. PT.
Ohtani is the prohibitive favorite to win his fourth MVP award in five seasons, after winning NL honors in 2024 in his first year with the Dodgers and taking home American League MVP in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels.
Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and Mets outfielder Juan Soto are the other top-three finishers for NL MVP in 2025. In Players Choice Awards announced last week, major league players voted for Schwarber as NL Outstanding Player, which as best I can guess was a wholehearted endorsement of runs batted in.
NL MVP top 3
- Ohtani: .282/.392/.622, 172 wRC+, 179 OPS+, 55 HR, 20 SB, 146 R, 102 RBI, 7.7 bWAR*, 9.4 fWAR*
- Schwarber: .240/.365/.563, 152 wRC+, 150 OPS+, 56 HR, 10 SB, 111 R, 132 RBI, 4.7 bWAR, 4.9 fWAR
- Soto: .263/.396/.525, 156 wRC+, 160 OPS+, 43 HR, 38 SB, 120 R, 105 RBI, 6.2 bWAR, 5.8 fWAR
Bold=led league; *Ohtani’s WAR also includes his pitching
Yamamoto had a postseason run that will be remembered for decades, but this is a good reminder that BBWAA honors are for regular season performance, and the voting was completed before the postseason began.
The regular season for Yamamoto was very strong as well, finishing second in the NL in both ERA (2.49) and xERA (2.94), and third in strikeout rate (29.4 percent) in 173 2/3 innings. The problem for Yamamoto is that Pirates ace Paul Skenes was ahead of him in all three categories and pitched more innings. Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who stymied the Dodgers during the NLDS and finished second in the NL with 202 innings, is the other top-three finisher in the NL for the Cy Young.
NL Cy Young top 3
- Yamamoto: 2.49 ERA, 2.73 xERA, 173 2/3 IP, 59 BB, 201 K, 12-8, 5.0 bWAR, 5.o fWAR
- Skenes: 1.97 ERA, 2.59 xERA, 187 2/3 IP, 42 BB, 216 K, 10-10, 7.6 bWAR, 6.5 fWAR
- Sánchez: 2.50 ERA, 3.00 xERA, 202 IP, 44 BB, 212 K, 13-5, 8.0 bWAR, 6.4 fWAR
Bold=led league
