Yankees and Dodgers Stars Continue to Headline AL and NL MVP Race

We are just under 50 games into the season, and the race for AL and NL MVP is starting to take shape. Let’s take a look at the updated MLB MVP odds for the AL and NL.

There are plenty of players having a good season, but the MVP award is so hard to win. Everything has to fall into place, and the player’s team most likely is one of the better teams in the MLB. The Yankees and Dodgers were the two teams with the favorites to win the award at the beginning of the season, and that has not changed heading into the middle of May.

All odds are courtesy of BetMGM: When you deposit and bet $5 on any game, you get $150 back in bonus bets upon completion of the game regardless of the outcome. Click here to redeem the Bet $5, get $150 offer or use code JUSTBASEBALL.

2024 American League MVP Winner Odds – Top 10

All stats were taken prior to play on May 17th

The AL MVP Favorites

The American League has five players under +1000 to win the MVP award, but there are two clear favorites. Juan Soto has been at the top of that list all year.

Soto is currently batting .302 with nine home runs, 34 RBI, and an OPS of .920. What is even more impressive is that Soto is in the 96th percentile or better in nine categories according to his baseball savant page. Soto does have an oWAR of 1.8, which is just eighth in the American League.

Bobby Witt is the other name in the top two, and he is having a heck of a season. He is also one of the biggest movers. His odds have gone from +1600 to +250, so he is doing enough to catch everyone’s eye. Witt is third in the American League with a 2.1 oWAR. He is also batting .293 with an .859 OPS, and 15 stolen bases. His 3.0 total WAR is the best in the American League. If Witt won the AL MVP, nobody would be surprised.

Aaron Judge deserves a shoutout here, as well. His odds have not changed much, but his stats have normalized after a slow start to the season. Judge has a .948 OPS, 11 home runs, and a better WAR than Juan Soto at the moment. Soto might have slightly better overall numbers, but there is no doubt that Judge is the heart of the Yankees. If he remains consistent all season, he is going to make a run for his second MVP award.

Biggest Movers

There are two players that have moved quite a bit, besides Bobby Witt Jr. Those are Kyle Tucker and Gunnar Henderson. Selfishly, I would love to see Kyle Tucker win as he was my pick at the beginning of the season. Tucker is batting .280 with 13 home runs (leads the entire MLB), 29 RBI, and more walks than strikeouts. Tucker also has an OPS above 1.000 while supporting a 2.3 oWAR. In fact, his oWAR is the best in the American League.

Henderson is coming off a Rookie of the Year 2023, and his 2024 is matching it. He is slugging .543 at the moment, which is 10th in the MLB. Henderson is also second in the AL in oWAR. He crushes the ball in the box, and he is on a very good Baltimore Orioles team. Keep an eye on him as the season continues to roll on.

2024 National League MVP Winner Odds – Top 10

Dodgers Dominating

The Dodgers are dominating this list. Freddie Freeman is on it, but Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani steal the show. Betts is batting .343 with a .943 OPS, and 182 OPS+. Betts is also tied with Ohtani for first in oWAR (3). His power numbers are a bit down right now, but do not expect that to be the case for long. Betts is one of the best pure hitters in the game of baseball, and he has three top-5 MVP finishes in his past four seasons. He looks to become the second player in MLB history to win the MVP in both the AL and NL.

The funny thing is that his own teammate might beat him to the punch this season.

Shohei Ohtani had surgery to repair his elbow, so it was unknown how he would perform at the plater this year. Well, everyone can stop wondering because Ohtani is living up to his record-breaking contract. Ohtani is tied for first in oWAR, he is batting .360 with 12 home runs, a 1.099 OPS, and an incredible OPS+ of 209. The superstar is also tied for eighth in stolen bases.

Betts is starting at shortstop for the Dodgers, while Ohtani only plays DH, so it makes sense to have Betts as the favorite. With that said, Ohtani could make a case offensively that is so undeniable that he is named league MVP even as a DH-only.

Biggest Movers

There are plenty of massive movers on this list. However, the most surprising, and the most notable is William Contreras. Contreras started the season off as a non-factor in the MVP race, but he has quickly inserted his name into the conversation.

He owns a slash line of .359/.434/.553, and his OPS+ is a very impressive 182. His oWAR is third in the MLB behind Betts and Ohtani, and he has the fifth-best total WAR in the MLB. He is making some noise, so continue to keep an eye on Contreras this season.

Marcell Ozuna and Alec Bohm have cracked the top-10 after being an afterthought for the award in the preseason. Ozuna has the second-best OPS in the MLB, and he is batting .327 with 12 home runs. Ozuna also leads the MLB in RBI. Bohm is not as much of a power hitter. However, he is batting .333 with a .921 OPS and 2.0 WAR up to this point in the season.

Ronald Acuna Jr has been moving the wrong way. Acuna was one of the early favorites for NL MVP, but that has quickly fallen off. He is batting just .245, and his OPS is below .700. He has three home runs with 11 RBI, and he has been striking out a lot. For all those that bet Acuna for NL MVP, it is not looking good.

My Predictions

To begin the season, I had Kyle Tucker and Matt Olson winning the MVP. I am going to double down on the Kyle Tucker AL MVP winner pick. His power numbers are very good, and the Astros will not stay bad for long. As for the NL MVP winner, I am going to take the easy route and choose Mookie Betts. However, it feels like history will be made with the NL MVP winner no matter what.