We’re two months into the Major League Baseball season and the usual suspects remain the favorites to win Most Valuable Player for their respective leagues.
Online sportsbook BetOnline has Angels outfielder Mike Trout at the top of its oddsboard at +300 to win his third AL MVP award while Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is listed at +400 to claim his second NL award.
Here is a breakdown of why Trout and Harper are currently the favorites and who could be in line in their respective leagues to steal the hardware from these two wunderkinds.
2018 American League MVP Odds
Any casual baseball fan knows of Mike Trout’s exploits since coming up to the big leagues in 2011. Trout has either won or finished in the top five in MVP voting for six straight seasons and may have had more trophies in his case if Miguel Cabrera hadn’t hit for the triple crown in 2012.
Mike Trout leads MLB with 18 home runs in 54 games this season.
And this season is no different as Trout currently leads the majors with 18 home runs in 54 games while sporting an insane 1.123 OPS. As far as five-tool players go, he is the standard for what teams are looking for and at +300, the value isn’t terrible should bettors want to invest in the 26-year-old slugger.
However, the only worthy candidate who could possibly unseat Trout is Mookie Betts. While his odds (+350) aren’t much better than Trout’s, what he has been doing in the heart of the Red Sox order has been extraordinary. Betts has 17 home runs (second in MLB), 19 doubles (second in MLB) and leads the majors in batting average at .359. He also has the edge vs Trout in stolen bases (13 to 12) while only striking out 25 times to Trout’s 45. When you factor in that the Red Sox have the best record in baseball, this may be Betts’ year to shine.
Bettors should keep checking their sportsbook to see if pitcher Justin Verlander eventually gets added to the oddsboard. Verlander is the last pitcher to win MVP in the American League and is arguably having a better year in 2018 than he did in 2012 when he took the hardware. Click Here to Bet Baseball!
AL MVP Winner Odds
Odds as of May 29 at BetOnline
- Mike Trout (Angels) +300
- Mookie Betts (Red Sox) +350
- Jose Altuve (Astros) +700
- Aaron Judge (Yankees) +1000
- Manny Machado (Orioles) +1200
- Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees) +1400
- J.D. Martinez (Red Sox) +1600
- Andrelton Simmons (Angels) +1600
- Carlos Correa (Astros) +2000
- Francisco Lindor (Indians) +2000
- Jose Ramirez (Indians) +2000
- Nick Castellanos (Tigers) +2000
- George Springer (Astros) +2000
- Shohei Ohtani (Angels) +2000
- Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays) +2500
- Jean Segura (Mariners) +3300
- Michael Brantley (Indians) +3300
- Jose Abreu (White Sox) +3300
2018 National League MVP Odds
Arguably the best contact hitter in baseball since Tony Gwynn, Bryce Harper has been crowned for superstardom since he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old. Harper leads the National League with 16 home runs and 46 walks but a glaring .228 batting average makes the +400 odds to win the award quite risky for bettors. Also, when you consider his injury history – he’s only played more than 140 games twice in six seasons – there may be better options, even in his own division.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies at +2000 could be the under-the-radar candidate to win the MVP award with the resurgent Braves. Albies is second in the NL in doubles (15) and homers (14) and has been the main highlight of an Atlanta squad that was pegged prior to the season to win around 72 games. The main knock on Albies is that he currently has six fielding errors this season which ties him for worst among all starting second basemen. But if he continues to stroke at the plate and helps carry Atlanta to a wild card or division title (the Braves lead the NL East standings as of this writing), he could make an enticing option at that price tag.
NL MVP Winner Odds
Odds as of May 29 at BetOnline
- Bryce Harper (Nationals) +400
- Nolan Arenado (Rockies) +400
- Freddie Freeman (Braves) +600
- Kris Bryant (Cubs) +1000
- Scooter Gennett (Reds) +1200
- Brandon Belt (Giants) +1400
- Joey Votto (Reds) +2000
- Charlie Blackmon (Rockies) +2000
- Nick Markakis (Braves) +2000
- Ozzie Albies (Braves) +2000
- Travis Shaw (Brewers) +2000
- Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks) +2500
- Cody Bellinger (Dodgers) +2500
- Yoenis Cespedes (Mets) +2500
- Asdrubal Cabrera (Mets) +2500
- A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) +2500
- Javier Baez (Cubs) +2500
- Matt Kemp (Dodgers) +2500
- Odubel Herrera (Phillies) +2500
- Anthony Rizzo (Cubs) +4000
