Knowing Shohei Ohtani racked up 30 first-place votes and has more vote points than James Wood and Corbin Carroll combined, it would take a major falloff for Carroll to be a serious NL MVP candidate.

That said, no one can take away what he's done this season. The Arizona Diamondbacks just walked off the Los Angeles Dodgers, a sentence that's hard to fully comprehend knowing how rocky this D-backs team has been.

Ketel Marte continues to play out of his mind, but it's Carroll who truly carries the weight and has been awarded by being third place in the second MVP poll of 2026.

For starters, Carroll doesn't pitch, so he's already worlds behind. Being a two-way player is absolutely incredible, and Ohtani's 158 total vote points are more than justified. For reference, Carroll is in third place with 60 total vote points.

"The D-backs are one of three franchises that have never had a player take home MVP honors," Theo DeRosa of MLB.com wrote. "Could Carroll change that? It’s possible..."

DeRosa continued, "He’s an all-around star, a strong defender and elite baserunner who is having his best offensive season to date. Carroll has a .286/.379/.534 slash line in 2026 with seven homers, seven steals and an MLB-high eight triples. He’s been among MLB’s best players ever since his 2023 Rookie of the Year season, and he’s having his finest season yet. Is it enough?"

Currently, Wood is six total vote points ahead of Carroll for second place. Keep in mind though, Carroll didn't receive a single first-place vote while Wood had two.

DeRosa noted Wood's fall-off after the All-Star break a year ago, so that could certainly help Carroll climb the charts and truly compete against Ohtani for the NL MVP crown.

There are no handouts in baseball. Sure, Ohtani is seemingly on every major promotional material the MLB has to offer, but for good reason. There isn't a single two-way player in the world who's as good as he is, and that in itself more than justifies how many votes he's been receiving.

Carroll knows he has his work cut out for him, but the only thing he can focus on is himself. Hitting home runs, triples, and stealing bases will certainly help his case, but until the Dodgers shut down Ohtani on the mound, this is a race that doesn't look too favorable for the D-backs.

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