Texas Rangers 2B Marcus Semien, Shohei Ohtani Among MVP Favorites

Two of the early-season candidates for American League MVP – Marcus Semien and Shohei Ohtani – are squaring off this week in Arlington.

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Not only is Marcus Semien the leading All-Star vote-getter at second base in the American League, but the Texas Rangers leadoff hitter has emerged as a series MVP candidate.

The second MLB.com poll of the season, released Monday, has Semien fourth in the AL, according to its panel of 47 voters. Players received vote points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale – five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, etc. Semien received three first-place votes.

Per MLB.com:

The Rangers are one of this year’s most surprising teams, going 41-23 with the highest-scoring offense (6.25 runs per game) in MLB. Semien, who finished third in the AL MVP race with the A’s in 2019 and the Blue Jays in '21, has been a sparkplug for Texas out of the leadoff spot, hitting .296 with nine homers, 51 RBIs, 57 runs scored and an .848 OPS. Also a stellar defender, Semien is tied with Toronto’s Bo Bichette for third in the AL with 3.2 bWAR.

Texas fell to 41-24 with Monday’s 9-6 loss to Los Angeles Angels in 12 innings. Semien went 0-for-7 and came up as the tying run in the bottom of the 12th before striking out to end the game.

Shohei Ohtani proved the difference, smashing two home runs, including the game-winner in extras. The two-way sensation leads the AL with 20 homers.

And, not surprising, Ohtani is the AL’s leading MVP candidate with 23 votes.

After receiving nearly 70% of the first-place votes in our first MVP poll of 2023, Ohtani lost some support this time, likely because he hasn’t been as sharp on the mound recently. Ohtani still has a 3.32 ERA on the year with 102 K’s in 76 innings, but he has posted a 4.88 ERA and a 5.15 FIP in his past eight starts. Of course, pitching is only part of the two-way superstar’s game, and he’s more than made up for any struggles on the mound by producing 10 homers, 20 RBIs and a 1.010 OPS over his past 26 games, helping the Angels stay in the thick of the AL Wild Card race.

The Rangers and Angels (37-31) play the second of four games Tuesday night. Texas manager Bruce Bochy hasn’t announced a starter after scratching Jon Gray (blister) on Monday. The Angels have Jaime Barria (2-2, 1.85) on the mound for the 7:05 p.m. start at Globe Life Field.

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