Dodgers superstar TWP Shohei Ohtani’s 2026 MLB season has been a slight oddity, if not a full anomaly, when measured against the seemingly constant upward trajectory of his brilliant nine-year career.
The four-time MVP seems poised to achieve virtuosity and universal acknowledgment as the best pitcher in the game. Missing, among an impressive range of hardware and accolades that either furnish his trophy room in Oshu, Japan, or occupy several heavily fortified storage compartments, is the Cy Young Award.
Is the top pitching prize in the game truly on Ohtani’s radar?
It absolutely is.
Now two full seasons removed from major elbow surgery to reconstruct a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), the Dodgers look to be supportive in Ohtani’s quest to amp up his total innings. They’re ready to provide all of the opportunities and resources for Ohtani’s individual dreams to be realized. So just how important is the Cy Young Award, and how fulfilling an accomplishment could it be for a player who has accomplished seemingly everything?
“Extremely [important]. I think with Shohei, he’s done everything on the field. He’s carried—not single-handedly, but almost- the game of baseball, domestically and internationally, as the face of the game. [A Cy Young] is something he hasn’t done,” — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
With brilliance comes sacrifice, and for a two-way player, the discipline, the precision, and the preparation operate like a triple-beam balance. Super athletes like Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals, or recently profiled Blue Jays prospect Austin Smith, enter the professional ranks with the remote possibility that they might be the next. Many have proven that they can get hitters out, even dominate at times, against top NCAA Division 1 hitters.
