MLB betting: Shohei Ohtani's odds to win AL MVP are incredibly low
How low can Shohei Ohtani’s odds for AL MVP go?
Ohtani enters the unofficial second half of the MLB season as the clear favorite for MVP. His odds at BetMGM have dropped to a staggering -350, way ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at +220.
Ohtani is the clear favorite for obvious reasons. He’s dominant on the mound and at the plate. His odds have also dropped with each passing month in the MLB season. He opened the season at +1100 to win the award and was already at +500 when May began. He dropped to +130 at the beginning of June and then was at +105 at the end of June. Now, as the All-Star break ends, his odds are even lower and way ahead of everyone else in the field.
Guerrero briefly assumed the mantle as the favorite for MVP. He was +100 on June 28, just ahead of Ohtani. But he’s now behind Ohtani and the only other player with reasonable odds to win.
[NL MVP: Jacob DeGrom has gone from 100-1 to favorite]
Guerrero has been the best hitter in the American League and is challenging for the Triple Crown. He leads the AL in batting average at .332, is second to Ohtani in home runs with 28 and has a league-leading 73 RBI. In any other season, a Triple Crown would mean a guaranteed MVP. But Guerrero is living in Ohtani’s world.
A player with an OPS of 1.062 like Ohtani who has a 3.49 ERA and has struck out 87 in 67 innings is doing something so unprecedented — and valuable — that it’s nearly impossible to not give him the MVP as long as his incredible performance continues.
Ohtani’s Angels teammate, Mike Trout, was the favorite to win MVP when the season began at +200. But a calf injury has kept Trout out of the lineup and his odds to win MVP are at +5000. No matter how good Trout is the rest of the season, he’s not going to have enough at-bats to win MVP.
The No. 3 favorite behind Ohtani and Guerrero is Xander Bogearts. The Red Sox shortstop is at +4000 to win MVP. That’s also where he opened before the season began.
Here's a look at the odds for AL MVP entering Friday. Just look at this chasm.
Shohei Ohtani, -350
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., +220
Xander Bogearts, +4000
Mike Trout, +5000
Jose Ramirez, +5000
Matt Olson, +5000
Marcus Semien, +5000
Aaron Judge, +6600
Rafael Devers, +6600
Carlos Correa, +6600
Yordan Alvarez, +6600
Jose Altuve, +6600
JD Martinez, +6600
Byron Buxton, +6600
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