As another MLB season gets underway, the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge (+185) and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Shohei Ohtani (-140) are, once again, the big favorites to win the American League and National League MVP awards, respectively. Ohtani, with the seeming inevitability of his fifth MVP award, has attracted a leading 56.1% of handle at BetMGM, but the New York Mets‘ Juan Soto (+650) has the highest ticket count and the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Bryce Harper (30-1) is considered the sportsbook’s largest liability.
The AL is, perhaps predictably, a bit more divided with Bobby Witt Jr. attracting a leading 17.3% of wagers at BetMGM and having already moved down to +450 from +500 at DraftKings. Julio Rodriguez has also made a solid move down to 13-1 from 17-1 and has the most handle at BetMGM, but the sportsbook’s largest liability is the Red Sox’s Roman Anthony (15-1).
The NL Cy Young race got a lot more interesting when reigning winner and preseason favorite, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, got blown up in his first start of the season, moving him from +210 to +350. As a result, the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez is the new odds leader at +330. In the AL, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal (+190) and Boston’s Garrett Crochet (+450) are well ahead of the rest of the field.
As for NL Rookie of the Year, there’s really only one name bettors are looking at: Pittsburgh super prospect Konnor Griffin, who is being promoted to the Pirates on Friday. Prior to that news, Griffin was fourth in the the odds at +600 and had attracted over 50% of the handle at BetMGM to be its largest liability. However, Griffin has now moved to +260 and is the odds leader, moving ahead of Cincinnati Reds infielder Sal Stewart +350.
Note: Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publication. You can also find the latest odds for each team to win the World Series here.
