Biggest threat to Shohei Ohtani's 4th MVP pursuit named by MLB analyst 

Few players in the NL have already earned a candidacy for Shohei Ohtani's MVP title this year and one MLB analyst singled out his pick of the lot. The San Diego Padres and New York Mets have both started the season strong, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Pete Alonso putting up the best numbers of their careers so far.

While Alonso remains a candidate for the NL MVP, some believe that Tatis' all-round play puts him in a better position to take the title off of Ohtani.

The Mets are currently the best team in the MLB and Alonso is a huge reason for that record. While Juan Soto is still adjusting to his new team, Alonso has been the best hitter in the NL so far, currently hitting 100 points above his career average.

On the other hand, Tatis has led the Padres through several key injuries, putting in huge performances both on offense and defense. Most analysts agree that he is a more complete player than Alonso, which may give him an edge over the Mets star.

Speaking on Thursday's edition of the "Baseball Is Dead" podcast, co-host Jay Hay made his argument for Tatis Jr., saying:

"I find myself taking a long look at Tatis and Corbin Carroll and I think between those two I'm a little bit more compelled by the case of Fernando Tatis... The Padres were the story of the season in the blink of an eye ago, and Fernando Tatis is the best player on that team.

"I'm just much more comfortable with his candidacy moving forward and I think it's mostly a tossup right now anyway... He's providing a much broader base of skill and defensive value.

"I think Fernando Tatis is the biggest threat to the incumbent Shohei Ohtani's actual MVP candidacy. I think moving forward, the NL MVP, I feel pretty confident that the NL MVP is going to come out of the NL West," he added.

(from 24:02 mark onwards)

Meanwhile, Ohtani has been putting up impressive numbers even when he's not in the best form of his life. Moreover, he is expected to return to the mound soon. All in all, the majority of the season is still left to play and the Japanese star may still take the league and the NL MVP race by storm.

Shohei Ohtani on pace for 47 stolen bases after 9th steal of the season vs. Marlins

Shohei Ohtani recorded his ninth stolen base of the campaign during Wednesday's 12-7 win over the Miami Marlins. This puts the reigning NL MVP on course for a 47-steal season, though it remains to be seen if can manage to keep up the same pace later in the year,

As of now, Ohtani is expected to return to the mound for the LA Dodgers this season, which would likely result in a lower base-stealing activity. However, with the majority of the MLB season remaining, it remains to be seen what numbers he will put up this year.