Justin Verlander’s brother argues Shohei Ohtani is immune to Mike Trout-style voter fatigue in MVP bid

Shohei Ohtani's 2025 MLB campaign has been nothing short of exceptional until now. Ohtani has performed so well this year that many believe he might end up bagging his fourth MVP award. One such popular baseball figure who believes Ohtani will end up becoming the MVP is Justin Verlander's brother, Ben Verlander.

On Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander, the show host mentioned that the Japanese baseball star was a frontrunner to become the MVP just based on his hitting. He further added that anything the Los Angeles Dodgers get from Ohtani while he is pitching is a plus.

Verlander said that if all the above-mentioned aspects are added, Shohei Ohtani should be on course to winning his fourth MVP award. He also raised a question about whether this means Ohtani would win the MVP every year. Verlander answered his question by saying, "Yes, he should."

Ben Velander argued Ohtani is immune to Mike Trout-style voter fatigue in his MVP bid, saying:

"Is Shohei Ohtani just going to win the MVP award every year? And that answer is yes. And he should. Voter fatigue does become a thing in my opinion. We have seen it multiple times in many sports. We have seen it in this sport with Mike Trout, I think. But does voter fatigue come into play when it comes to Shohei Ohtani? I don't think so. He's just better than everyone." [17:55 onwards]

Further, Ben Verlander mentioned that Shohei Ohtani is pushing the boundaries by proving himself as an elite hitter and an elite pitcher. Verlander concluded by saying that Ohtani will slowly but surely work hard on his pitching to reach the level he once was at before his elbow surgery.

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Shohei Ohtani was recently called a "special talent" by a key MLB figure

On Saturday, June 28, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Kansas City Royals. While the Dodgers ended up losing the game 9-5, Shohei Ohtani impressed with both his hitting and pitching. When it came to the latter, Ohtani pitched 2 scoreless innings and even threw the fastest pitch of his career at 101.7 mph.

After the game concluded, Ohtani was praised from fans in the arena and on social media. However, it must be noted that the 30-year-old baseball star also received praise from his opponent's camp. Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro called Ohtani a "special talent" on MLB Network Radio.

He said:

"I did not see that pop up there, which I don't look up there because you know the guy's throwing hard," Quatraro said. "I don't need to see the exact deal. I mean, what do you say about this guy, I'm glad we're facing him once in the regular season... He's a massive guy, extremely strong and physical everything you guys see him on a daily basis, but it's impressive what he does. Basically he's pitching his rehab assignment here against major league hitters."

Further, Quatraro also spoke about the impact Shohei Ohtani has while both hitting and pitching. The Kansas City Royals manager mentioned his two-way talent was "unique" and that it's cool to think about what Ohtani means to the game. While Ohtani and the Dodgers lost the game in question, they did win the overall 3-game series against Kansas.