When the season started in the NL West, it was four teams all directing their daggers at the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
We’re one month into the season, and though the San Diego Padres are neck-and-neck with their Southern California rival, they’re all still staring up at the reigning kings of the sport.
Although the Dodgers haven’t been perfect and have shown weaknesses that other teams can exploit, it’s still going to be difficult to take down the franchise that has won 12 of the past 13 NL West crowns.
Here’s what’s gone down in the NL West through the first month of the season.
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Biggest Story: Shohei Ohtani the Pitcher Has Surpassed Shohei Ohtani the Hitter
Shohei Ohtani won a league MVP two years ago while injured, when he could only designate hit throughout the entire campaign, making history by smashing 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases.
In 2026, that same player seems to have slightly regressed as a hitter but is now also the best pitcher in baseball. Through five starts, he’s only allowed two earned runs and has displayed the nastiest arsenal of pitches on the planet, mowing down opponents with a 101 MPH fastball before making them fall to the ground with a 69 MPH curveball.
It’ll be interesting to see how much Ohtani and the Dodgers put focus on his pitching this year, as the four-time MVP has been adamant about wanting to add a Cy Young to his trophy collection.
The NL West MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
It’s not exciting, but it’s the reality every other team in the NL West has to live with in this division. If Ohtani is healthy and still in this type of form, no one in the NL West or National League as a whole has any chance of winning MVP over him.
He has a 0.60 ERA as a starting pitcher and nearly an OPS of .900 as an everyday batter. That shouldn’t be possible.
The Winner of the NL West Will Be: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are leading the division even after a month of Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez, and Freddie Freeman all being nowhere near their best in the box. Mookie Betts has also missed most of the year with an oblique strain that he will soon return from.
Oh, and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell hasn’t pitched yet this season and will be on the mound in the coming weeks for the Dodgers.
It’s unfair, but sometimes life isn’t fair, especially if you’re trapped in the NL West.
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