MLB MVP 2022: Predictions For Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani Top Candidates

Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani spent the 2022 Major League Baseball regular season taking turns putting up unbelievable performances.

The astounding seasons from Judge and Ohtani led to a heated debate about who should win the American League Most Valuable Player.

Unfortunately for the voters, they could only choose one of the two superstars to win the award.

Judge's batting stats were as remarkable as Ohtani's two-way numbers, and that is what made it such a difficult decision for the voters.

The AL MVP race was in focus so much that the National League MVP race was barely mentioned at times.

Paul Goldschmidt was the NL MVP favorite for most of the season, but a late struggle opened the door for other candidates to make cases to win the award.

American League MVP

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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on October 05, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The American League MVP race was narrowed down to two players by August.

Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were clearly the two best players in the league in the regular season.

The debate became so heated because of how incredible the accomplishments of both players were.

Judge broke the American League home run record and recorded a 1.111 OPS, .311 batting average and 131 RBI.

Judge's high batting average speaks to how he was not just hitting for power. He was able to benefit the Yankees offense in other ways as well.

The all-around batting season plus the AL home run record make Judge the favorite for the award in the eyes of some voters.

Ohtani's dominant two-way performances make him the favorite in the eyes of some voters because what he achieved has rarely been done.

The Los Angeles Angels player hit 34 home runs at the plate and went 15-9 with 219 strikeouts on the mound.

Ohtani was the only reason people tuned into the Angels this season, and he delivered in almost every appearance.

The case against Ohtani is that he put up amazing totals but they did not affect the Angels' spot in the standings.

Judge's offensive output carried the Yankees into the postseason, and that could be a big enough difference to hand him the MVP.

Prediction: 1. Aaron Judge, 2. Shohei Ohtani.

National League MVP

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ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - OCTOBER 08: Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals at bat against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the National League Wild Card Series at Busch Stadium on October 08, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Paul Goldschmidt appeared to be cruising toward the National League MVP until September.

The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman saw his production dip a bit while others, like Manny Machado, got hot at the plate to get their teams into the postseason.

Goldschmidt had a .735 OPS and .253 batting average in September. The only month worse for him at the plate was April.

Despite the late-season shortcomings, Goldschmidt still finished inside the top five in a handful of offensive categories among NL batters.

Goldschmidt was first in OPS, second in RBI, third in hits and batting average and tied for fifth in home runs.

No one else in the NL had a more complete set of statistics than Goldschmidt, which is why the award voting should favor him.

Machado made a late push to win NL MVP, and he will be a deserving second-place finisher behind Goldschmidt.

The San Diego third baseman finished in the top ten in the NL in home runs, RBI, batting average and OPS. Goldschmidt had the overall edge in terms of placing in those categories.

Prediction: 1. Paul Goldschmidt, 2. Manny Machado