As we near the mid-summer classic in the MLB, let’s take a look at the frontrunners for the MVP award. Major players like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are leading the race, but there are several other contenders worth considering.
Key Points and Odds
- Aaron Judge Leading the AL MVP Race: Priced at -220, Judge is on pace for 60 home runs and has been crucial for the Yankees’ success.
- Shohei Ohtani Dominating the NL MVP Race: Priced at -140, Ohtani continues to impress with outstanding batting stats, despite only playing as a designated hitter.
- Potential AL Dark Horse: Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles is having a fantastic season and could sneak in at +400 if Judge and Soto split votes.
- Potential NL Dark Horse: Marcel Ozuna, priced at +2300, is solidifying himself as one of the best hitters and could capitalize if other frontrunners falter.
AL MVP Frontrunners
Aaron Judge
Right now with Aaron Judge, we are witnessing another historic season for the Yankee Captain who is on pace for 60 home runs this year. When we talk about MVP, we talk about not only the best player, but quite literally the most valuable player for your team. Aaron Judge checks both of those boxes.
Luckily for the Yankees, Judge has only missed two games this year for the Yankees, and in those games, they went 1-1 with a 1-0 victory and a 1-0 loss. It’s clear as night and day that when Judge does not play, the Yankee offense is non-existent, even with superstar Juan Soto in the lineup. Maybe if you are looking for some value, place a bet for Soto as he himself has had a great first season in pinstripes.
The Orioles and Yankees are tied for first in the AL as it stands, and quite frankly the Yankees would not be there without Judge’s production. He and Juan Soto have put this Yankee team on their backs. If you want to look at another contender that probably does not have a shot but could sneak their way in, it would be Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles’ shortstop.
He is having a fantastic season and is currently projected to have over 100 RBI’s. Henderson has been the Orioles’ best player by far this year, so if you think that Judge and Soto have split votes, Henderson can sneak his way into winning the AL MVP at +400 with the betMGM NJ bonus code NJDOTBET.
NL MVP Frontrunners
Shohei Ohtani
Going from the city that never sleeps to the city of angels, Shohei Ohtani is once again putting up video game numbers with his new team. Ohtani priced at -140 still has some value considering no one is really close to Ohtani in the running. Really the only setback Ohtani has in this MVP running is that this year, he is only playing as the designated hitter.
For those that believe that the MVP should be a two-way player, that would be your argument to why Ohtani does not deserve the MVP over maybe his teammate Freddie Freeman (+1900) or Phillies star Bryce Harper (+200). However, numbers don’t lie: Ohtani is batting .316 with stats that are at the top of the NL, and top 3 across baseball.
If you take the MVP award for what it should be, here is a dark horse for a ton of value: Marcel Ozuna. Ozuna is priced at +2300 (bet365 NJ) and he himself is solidifying himself as one of the best hitters in baseball. On top of that, his team is winning games.
Unlike the Dodgers losing Mookie Betts and losing games, the Braves lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and are still finding ways to win games. Moreover, if you think that Freddie Freeman pulls votes away from Ohtani, and Bryce Harper does not return to his same self-post injury, Ozuna can find himself holding that NL MVP award at the end of the season.
Opinion and Prediction
There really is no clear pick! The MLB MVP odds at the top NJ sportsbooks are simply too juiced to make a wager on the two best players in baseball. Judge at -220 has zero value whatsoever, and quite frankly, even if his season were to end early, he would still win the MVP award!
He is that good. For Ohtani, he is -140 as said earlier. Taking an MVP at minus odds really does you no good. If you were to parlay the two guys to win the AL and NL MVP, you would get the odds at +149, still not fantastic for MVP odds. The best play here is to lay off the MVP in the MLB.
If you have money to burn and think that the race can be shaken up, place wagers on Henderson (+400) for the AL and Ozuna (+2300) for the NL. But, as it stands, it seems no one will catch Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani.
