Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt lead MVP poll

Our latest MVP poll features two star sluggers maintaining their top spot in their respective leagues, but also a pair of newcomers crashing the top-five party.

MLB.com voters were asked to rank their top five MVP candidates in each league based on what has happened so far and what they expect will happen in the months to come. 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 and so on, with 38 voters participating. Here are the results. (All stats are through Wednesday. All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.)

1. Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees (19 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 1.65-1

Judge continues to pace the Majors in several offensive categories as New York continues to run away with the AL East. The superstar slugger leads MLB in home runs (30), runs scored (67) and total bases (195), fueling the Yankees’ offensive juggernaut alongside Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo.

2. Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels (12 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 1-1

Ohtani wasn’t even in the top five of our last poll, but thanks to an absolutely incredible four-start stretch since that time, over which he’s thrown 26 2/3 innings while giving up one earned run, he’s all the way up to the second spot this time around. In that utterly dominant period, the two-way superstar has yielded just 13 hits while walking seven and striking out 46.

3. Yordan Alvarez, LF/DH, Astros (4 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 10-1

Though he’s on the injured list with right hand inflammation, Alvarez has belted 26 homers and leads the Majors with a .653 slugging percentage and 196 OPS+. He’s been the best hitter in an Astros lineup filled with great hitters, and he’s been a huge reason why Houston is cruising atop the AL West as it tries to reach the World Series for the fourth time in the last six years.

4. Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox (1 first-place vote)
DraftKings MVP odds: 28-1

For the third straight week, Devers cracks the top five of our MVP survey, and for good reason. Despite dealing with back and hamstring issues, he continues to lead the AL in hits with 108, and he has the highest WAR (FanGraphs) in the AL, at 4.3. His .968 OPS and 19 homers lead a Boston club trying to overcome a slow start in order to reach the postseason after falling to the Astros in last year’s AL Championship Series.

5. José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians (2 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 15-1

Ramírez dropped three spots from our last MVP poll, but despite a recent slump at the plate, he remains in the top five thanks to an overall outstanding season. As he seeks his first career MVP Award after three top-three finishes, including a runner-up finish in 2020, Ramírez leads the AL with 30 doubles and 68 RBIs.

Others receiving votes: Mike Trout, Luis Arraez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Byron Buxton, Xander Bogaerts

1. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals (29 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 1.05-1

It’s hard to believe a player of Goldschmidt’s caliber hasn’t won an MVP Award yet — he’s finished runner-up twice — but this might just be the year he finally does it. He remains at the top of our NL poll for the second straight time as he leads the league in runs (62, tied with Mookie Betts), hits (109, tied with Freddie Freeman and also most in the Majors) and OPS (1.006).

2. Manny Machado, 3B, Padres (9 first-place votes)
DraftKings MVP odds: 5-1

For the third consecutive MVP survey, Machado places second, after leading in the first poll of the season. Despite an ankle injury that looked far worse than it ended up being, he is tied with fellow NL third baseman Nolan Arenado with an MLB-leading 4.5 WAR (FanGraphs). Despite slumping so far in July, Machado has made his hits count when he’s gotten them, with three homers over his past seven games.

Alonso jumps up a spot over our last poll, maintaining his MLB lead with 72 RBIs on the season to go along with a .268/.343/.521 slash line and 23 homers. He’s been slumping at the plate recently and has only homered once so far in July, but this is Alonso’s favorite time of year: Home Run Derby time. So look for him to defend his Derby title and start hitting after the All-Star break, much like he did last year, when his second-half OPS was 119 points higher than the first-half figure.

Betts got off to a slow start at the plate this season, but he had a May to remember, launching 12 homers and posting a 1.157 OPS for the month. He struggled in June, when he was limited to 13 games due to a cracked rib, but he’s homered three times in 10 games since returning from the injured list. The former AL MVP with the Red Sox looks to become the second player in MLB history to win the MVP Award in both leagues (Frank Robinson is the only player to have accomplished that).

Riley makes his debut on our top-five, thanks to a red-hot July so far, in which he’s launched seven homers in 13 games after connecting for six homers in each of the season’s first three months. He’s been a huge reason the defending World Series champs have been able to turn things around and are now within striking distance of the first-place Mets in the NL East.

Others receiving votes: Nolan Arenado, Dansby Swanson, Sandy Alcantara, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor, Ronald Acuña Jr., Tommy Edman, Kyle Schwarber, Max Fried, Juan Soto