Betts, Acuna Jr. Co-Favored For NL MVP Award In 2020

The American League MVP awards have been somewhat dominated by Mike Trout, who is the reigning winner and has claimed the award in three of the last six seasons. In the National League, though, it’s been wide open as we haven’t seen a repeat winner since 2009 when Albert Pujols won it for the third time in five years.

With the race wide open, let’s take a look at the betting odds on the board and see who is favored to win, according to the NL MVP odds.

MOOKIE BETTS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS
NL MVP ODDS: +500

The offseason deal which sent Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with David Price, in exchange for super-prospect Alex Verdugo and two other high-profile prospects, made Betts the instant favorite in the National League MVP preseason odds list. Betts would have toiled in the shadow of both J.D. Martinez (his former teammate on the Boston Red Sox) and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had he remained in Boston and the American League. Now, though, Betts might be the best and most complete player in the National League.

The visibility and perceived significance of his arrival with the Dodgers – a big-market team with World Series expectations – mean that if Betts puts together a great season, it will take something incredibly special to overtake him. If Betts plays his best baseball, good luck to the other NL MVP contenders this year.

RONALD ACUNA JR., ATLANTA BRAVES
NL MVP ODDS: +600

The Atlanta Braves’ young star has a few moments every now and then when he fails to hustle; he admires the flight of the ball on what he thinks is a home run, but the ball stays in the park and Acuna scrambles into second to get a double, on a play when he probably should have had a triple. If Acuna can eliminate those kinds of plays, and still play five-tool baseball (hitting for power, hitting for average, running the bases well, fielding well, and throwing out baserunners on the opposition), he will have a chance, especially if Betts is not on top of his game with the Dodgers.

He finished with a 5.5 WAR last season and will have to do more now that Josh Donaldson is gone.

CHRISTIAN YELICH, MILWAUKEE BREWERS
NL MVP ODDS: +700

The Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger is such a fearsome and intimidating hitter. He finished second in WAR last season among National League hitters as he was at 7.1 while Cody Bellinger was at 9.0. If you were to bet on any player finishing in the top three of the NL MVP voting, Yelich would make the best bet… but this is not a bet on the top three. This is a bet on number one.

Yelich needs to lift the Brewers to the National League Central Division title. He will have quality statistics, but if the Brewers win the division and beat out the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, that would be Yelich’s best possible argument to make in this environment. He would like Betts to falter to some degree, but if Betts puts up a big year, Yelich could still overtake him if the Brewers become an excellent team and the class of the National League.

JUAN SOTO, WASHINGTON NATIONALS
NL MVP ODDS: +1200

The young superstar with the Washington Nationals made a lot of history last season and in the World Series in particular. Few hitters as young as Soto hit playoff and World Series home runs. He was utterly unafraid of the big postseason spotlight. He lives for the big stage and is supremely confident, and he backs up his confidence with bold and highly productive play.

The challenge is that Anthony Rendon is no longer alongside him in the Nationals’ batting order. That could hurt him in that he might not see as many hittable pitches. And keep in mind that he didn’t really have MVP-like numbers in the regular season as he finished with 34 home runs, 110 RBI’s and a .282 batting average. That’s not bad but that still puts him ninth in RBI’s, 17th in home runs and 20th in batting average. He’ll have to do better in 2020 to compete for the award.

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