The 2020 MLB season is a go. Players will report to training camps July 1 and a 60-game season will begin July 23 or 24, with teams playing in their home stadiums without fans. The new format has led to sportsbooks adjusting betting odds for player futures such as the MVP in both the American and National Leagues.
Every team will play 10 games against each of their four divisional opponents, along with four games against each of the five teams from the corresponding division in the other league. The designated hitter will become universal and games going beyond nine innings will begin each half-inning with a runner on first base. The standard 10-team playoff format will then be followed, including a play-in game in each league.
MVP favorites and longshots (FanDuel odds)
AL MVP
Mike Trout (+135): Trout’s MVP odds have dropped from +150 in early March under the new abbreviated-season format. No player in baseball is capable of doing more in just a 60-game sample than the three-time and reigning AL MVP. The Angels have also seen their World Series odds drop since March and an elusive playoff berth would be yet another checkmark to go along with Trout’s annual criteria.
Aaron Judge (+1200): Judge is the top contender from the star-studded Yankees, but he remains questionable to start the season on time due to a fractured rib. Any missed time or a slow start will prove extremely detrimental to a player’s MVP chances this season. If you want to bet a Yankees star, look at 2B Gleyber Torres (+1900), OF Giancarlo Stanton (+3000), or SP Gerrit Cole (+3500), all available at more profitable odds.
Alex Bregman (+1500): Bregman, and the rest of the Astros, won’t have to worry as much about hostile fans for their road games following the offseason’s sign-stealing scandal. Bregman, 26, slashed .296/.423/.592 with 41 home runs, 122 runs and 112 RBI a season ago, while walking more than he struck out. He has hit .289/.391/.533 across 468 first-half games over the last three seasons, proving he’s able to get a jump on opposing pitchers early in the season.
Gerrit Cole (+3500): Cole has the lowest MVP odds of any starting pitcher in the AL. He’ll anchor a pinstripes rotation that’ll be without Luis Severino (elbow) and likely to be without Domingo German (suspension). Increased usage over 60 games for the soon-to-be 30-year-old could make him more valuable than any Yankees hitter.
Tim Anderson (+5500): The 27-year-old Anderson was one of baseball’s most improved players in 2019, and he led the AL with a second-half average of .357 with an 18th-ranked .378 wOBA. The ChiSox are expected to challenge the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central crown this season, and if they do so, their most valuable player will likely receive plenty of AL MVP consideration. Back Anderson with the fourth-best odds on the team.
NL MVP
Christian Yelich (+600): Yelich has taken over top spot in the NL race after being second ahead of the originally scheduled start of the 2020 season. The 2018 NL MVP nearly repeated last season before his campaign was cut short due to injury. He’ll need to do just as much, if not more, to get a weakened Brewers roster back to the postseason in 2020.
Mookie Betts (+700): The 2018 AL MVP will finally get to suit up for the Dodgers after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox along with SP David Price. The shortened season limits his opportunity to make a noticeable impact on the reigning NL West champs and a strong roster featuring 2019 MVP OF Cody Bellinger (+800).
Bryce Harper (+1300): The pressure will be off Harper and the Phillies after an 81-81 2019 season that fell well short of expectations for both player and team. The 2015 MVP could benefit from playing in empty stadiums and on a strengthened roster. He slashed .270/.376/.564 with 19 homers in the second half of last season after an awful start to the year.
Eugenio Suarez (+2500): Suarez hit an NL-high 29 home runs in the second half of 2019 and his .434 wOBA over the final 72 games ranked second in the league. He’s also a .271/.364/.521 hitter with 109 homers over 458 first-half games across the last three seasons and can get the early jump on pitchers. The Reds are also widely expected to take a major step forward this season, potentially helping him get more attention from voters after last year’s 75-87 record and a fourth-place finish in the NL Central.
Starling Marte (+10000): While the Dodgers’ acquisition of Betts stole the offseason headlines, the Diamondbacks also made a big move in acquiring Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates to stay competitive in the NL West. He may be just the second-best Marte on his own team, but his odds are much more appetizing than Ketel’s +2500. The former Pirates outfielder posted a .390 wOBA over the second half of last season, and he remains both a power and speed threat.
MVP betting history: recent winners
