Tatis Jr. and Trout Are Updated MLB MVP Favorites

We’re at the halfway point of the 2020 MLB season and although there have been some surprises, oddsmakers haven’t strayed too far from the beaten path with their updated Most Valuable Player odds. Mike Trout is still favored in the American League and Fernando Tatis Jr. is the fave for the National League.

Trout is the reigning MVP in the AL but his odds have moved to +350 to win his fourth trophy compared to his preseason odds at +110. Tatis, on the other hand, is listed at +350 but his preseason odds were +1400 according to the best baseball betting sites. Mookie Betts was the NL MVP preseason fave at +285 and now he’s behind the San Diego Padres shortstop at +450.

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Let’s look at each MLB league and determine some betting value for Most Valuable Player:

AL MVP Odds

For the fifth year in a row of tracking odds for American League MVP, Angels center-fielder Mike Trout is the favorite to take home the hardware but he’s not having the best start to the season. Sure, he has 10 home runs in 28 games but he’s only hitting .255, his OPS is at a career low and he’s only stolen one base.

That’s still better than 90 percent of most major leaguers but there may not be enough season to turn the tide. It also doesn’t help that the Angels are a dumpster fire this season at 10-22 SU with a very low probability of making the playoffs.

That’s why players like Chicago’s Jose Abreu (+750) or Minnesota’s Nelson Cruz (+1000) could be more attractive options at this stage with their power stats and their teams’ position in the standings. They both have double-digit home runs and rank in the top 10 in batting average while their clubs both have winning records.

Here are the top 20 players on the oddsboard to win American League MVP:

Odds as of August 28 at Bovada

NL MVP Odds

The hype around the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. this offseason seemed like it was a bit premature but at this stage, maybe we didn’t hype him enough. The second-year shortstop has been mashing the ball with 12 home runs in 33 games, including three grand slams. He has easily been the most electric player in baseball this season and at +350, there’s still some value left in his odds to win National League MVP.

The preseason favorite, Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been busting apart the long-held belief that players who switch leagues tend to regress because he’s been excellent in Dodger blue. He leads the team in home runs with 11, leads the NL with 11 doubles and is hitting .297. At +450, his odds are still decent but his chances likely come down to how Tatis fares the rest of the season.

If he and the Padres start to struggle and end up missing the postseason, it could be difficult for voters to want to back him over Betts considering the Dodgers have the best record in MLB. Keep that in mind when betting on MVP futures. It’s not always stats but the narrative that can carry players forward. Also, if Betts were to win MVP, he would become the first player since Frank Robinson in 1966 to win MVP awards in both leagues.

Here are the top 20 players on the oddsboard to win National League MVP:

Odds as of August 28 at Bovada

Making a Futures Bet

A futures bet is a wager made on events or milestones that will happen in time. The MLB MVP bet is a form of futures betting because you are making a pick based on an outcome determined at the end of the MLB regular season. The trophy is given out in mid-December and if you want to get a bigger payout, it’s best to lock in your bets sooner rather than later so you can take advantage of better odds. The closer it gets to the end of the season, the more the odds will change.

How to Read MLB MVP Odds

The above chart features the odds for each top player in the American League and National League. At your sportsbook of choice, the betting lines would look something like this:

Mookie Betts +285

Ronald Acuna +600

Christian Yelich +700

This means that Betts is the favorite since he has the lowest odds and the highest chance of winning the prop, according to oddsmakers. If you were to bet $100 on Betts and he won, you would get a payout of $385 – your original $100 is returned along with your winnings of $285.

On the other hand, if you strongly believe that Yelich is going to outdo himself in Milwaukee, a winning $100 bet on him would yield $800 – your $100 comes back along with your prize of $700.

Our Odds Calculator will show you how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet.