Dodgers Dugout: Who should be NL MVP, Shohei Ohtani or Francisco Lindor?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Today we tackle the question, who is the NL MVP?

Before we get to the NL MVP discussion, a brief note on the postseason rotation. Gavin Stone went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. Will he be back in time for the postseason? Unknown. If his inflammation subsides and he comes off the IL as soon as possible, then he could get a couple of starts before the postseason. If not, then it’s unlikely he pitches in the first round, and perhaps beyond that.

Which makes Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s start on Tuesday against the Cubs even more important. And makes the improved pitching of Walker Buehler a key. We’re just in wait-and-see mode. There’s Jack Flaherty, rookie Landon Knack, and then hold your breath. And it will probably be that way until the end of the season and throughout the postseason. If the Dodgers get at least five innings out of any starter other than Flaherty, they’ll take it.

It looks more and more like they will have to slug their way to the title. Build an early lead and let the bullpen take over.

And yes, that’s all I’m writing about the rotation this time. We’ve been talking about it all season, so it feels like beating a dead horse. So, before the pressure of the postseason begins to mount, let’s take a detour into something a little more fun.

Who’s the NL MVP?

There are only two candidates for NL MVP right now: Shohei Ohtani and Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. A segment of Mets fans online are more passionate about Ohtani not winning it than they seem to be about Lindor getting the honor. (Really, social media has become the bane of society.)

Let’s compare the two, through Sunday. They have almost the identical number of plate appearances (651 for Lindor, 642 for Ohtani):

Batting average
Ohtani, .291
Lindor, .270

On-base %
Ohtani, .374
Lindor, .339

Slugging %
Ohtani, .618
Lindor, .492

Runs scored
Ohtani, 113
Lindor, 100

Doubles
Lindor, 38
Ohtani, 30

Triples
Ohtani, 7
Lindor, 1

Home runs
Ohtani, 46
Lindor, 30

RBIs
Ohtani, 101
Lindor, 84

OPS+
Ohtani, 177
Lindor, 135

Stolen bases
Ohtani, 46
Lindor, 26

Batting with runners in scoring position
Lindor, .263/.353/.475
Ohtani, .217/.344/.342

Batting with two out, runners in scoring position
Ohtani, .264/.381/.509
Lindor, .192/.300/.385

Late and close
Ohtani, .282/.358/.624
Lindor, .196/.267/.304

Late and close are plate appearances in the seventh or later with the player’s team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run on base, at the plate or on deck.

Unless you put a high premium on the two categories Lindor leads in, it seems like a pretty cut case for Ohtani.

However, and it’s a big however: Ohtani doesn’t play the field, while Lindor is a shortstop. And he’s a better than average shortstop. Lindor has made only 11 errors but his sabertmetric stats, such as defensive runs saved, are around average. Lindor has started 140 games at short. You can’t just discount that when comparing the two. The question becomes, does Lindor’s defense make up for the gap in offensive production between him and Ohtani?

Right now, I’d vote for Ohtani because I don’t think Lindor’s defense makes up the difference. But it’s close. They are both great players.

Let’s put it to a vote. Realizing, of course, asking Dodger fans which player should be MVP will have an inherent bias to it. But voting is fun. Who would you vote for NL MVP this season, Ohtani or Lindor? Click here to vote.

Why all the pitcher injuries?

Times Dodgers beat writer Jack Harris takes a look at what could be causing all these pitching injuries in a fascinating story you can read here. A couple of interesting stats from the story:

—Since 2021, the Dodgers have had 98 injured-list stints for pitchers — the most in MLB (not including COVID-related IL stints).

—They’ve had seven big-league pitchers undergo some version of Tommy John surgery, according to a database compiled by researcher John Roegele (only the Angels have had more UCL-related procedures, including Shohei Ohtani last season, in the last four years).

—They’ve particularly struggled to keep starters healthy, having had only five pitchers make at least 25 starts over the last four seasons combined (the second-fewest in MLB in that time).

—They’ve lost a litany of top prospects to long-term injuries, with six homegrown players currently on the shelf because of either major elbow or shoulder surgery.

It’s a good story. Read it here

The postseason race

A look at how the teams stack up. The division winner plus the next three teams with the better record advance to the postseason:

Division leaders

1. Dodgers, 86-57
2. Philadelphia, 85-58
3. Milwaukee, 82-61

Wild-card standings

San Diego, 81-64
Arizona, 80-64
NY Mets, 78-65
Atlanta, 78-65, —
Chicago, 73-70, 5 GB
St. Louis, 72-71, 6 GB

The Mets hold the tiebreaker based on best intradivision record. They play each other three more times this season (Sept. 24-26 at Atlanta) and whoever wins that series will end up with the tiebreaker advantage.

If the season ended today, the Dodgers and Phillies would get first-round byes. Milwaukee would host the Mets in one best-of-three wild-card round, with the winner advancing to play Philadelphia in the best-of-five division series. San Diego would host Arizona, with the winner advancing to play the Dodgers.

A couple of random numbers

—Since joining the Dodgers, Jack Flaherty is 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA. In 41.1 innings, he’s given up 38 hits, while walking 10 and striking out 47. Nice trade deadline pickup, and he’s going to get a hefty free agent contract after the season from someone.

—Since joining the Dodgers, Michael Kopech is 3-0 with three saves and a 0.53 ERA. In 17 innings, he’s given up five hits, walked four and struck out 21. Another nice trade deadline pickup. He’s arbitration eligible after the season and should get a nice raise over his current $3-million salary.

Some fans are fond of Andrew Friedman. For his first couple of seasons, this newsletter was critical of him. I was wrong. The guy puts together teams capable of winning the World Series every year, and more times than not makes good trade deadline acquisitions. Yes, you could say, “If I had that budget, I could put together a winning team too.” Well, there are teams out there with big enough budgets that don’t. The Dodgers have the fifth-highest payroll this season. No one putting together a team makes 100% correct decisions, but Friedman deserves some credit.

—Since July 20, Chris Taylor is hitting .270/.342/.351. Since July 20, Jason Heyward is hitting .200/.250/.343.

Who is your favorite current Dodger?

The mention two weeks ago of Justin Turner probably being the most popular recent Dodgers sent many of you to your emails to tell me otherwise. So, let’s try to figure out who is the most popular current Dodger. I have set up a list of everyone on the current roster, plus selected others on the IL or in the minors. You have to pick the seven you consider your most favorite. You may wonder why I include everyone. Well, I believe that every Dodger is someone’s favorite, so they should be able to vote for that player. When I was a kid, my favorite Dodger for a while was Lance Rautzhan. So, a lot of names on this list. You just have to pick your seven favorite. And again, it’s just current Dodgers for now. The results will be announced in the next newsletter and we will start narrowing down those seven to three.

Click here to vote. Thanks!

Up next

Monday: Chicago Cubs (Kyle Hendricks, 3-11, 6.60 ERA) at Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 1-4, 5.67 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Tuesday: Chicago Cubs (*Shota Imanaga, 12-3, 2.99 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 6-2, 2.92 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Wednesday: Chicago Cubs (*Jordan Wicks, 2-3, 4.03 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

With Gavin Stone injured, who’s left to carry Dodgers’ starting rotation?

More Dodgers pitching woes: Gavin Stone placed on injured list

‘Feel like myself.’ How embattled Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is salvaging his season

And finally

Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton are interviewed at spring training in 1989. These are three very informal, and charming, interviews. Watch and listen here.