As we get closer to the dog days of summer, it’s as good a time as any to check in on the betting odds for this MLB season’s MVP and Cy Young candidates. And those odds are shifting all over the place.
BetMGM has been seeing “consistent action” on these awards and has released information on which odds got shorter, which got longer, and which bets are the sportsbook’s biggest liabilities.
"BetMGM has taken consistent action on the MLB awards. Gerrit Cole to win AL Cy Young is the sportsbook’s biggest overall liability,” BetMGM Sports Trader Seamus Magee said. “Jacob deGrom winning the NL Cy Young or NL MVP and Shohei Ohtani winning the AL MVP would be bad outcomes for the book.”
(Odds courtesy of BetMGM)
Ohtani’s odds to win the AL MVP opened at +1100 and are now much shorter at +500. He’s getting 48.6 percent of the tickets and 35.5 percent of the handle. Meanwhile, his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout is the betting favorite for the award with +180 odds. He opened with +200 odds. Trout is getting 7.9 percent of the tickets and 43.3 percent of the handle.
As for NL MVP, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna is the betting favorite. His odds opened at +300 and are now at +250. He’s getting 16.3 percent of the tickets and 21.1 percent of the handle. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.’s odds for the award have shortened considerably. He opened at +3000 and now his odds are +850. He’s getting 14.4 percent of the tickets and 11.2 percent of the handle.
Sportsbook liability Gerrit Cole also has some shortened odds to win the AL Cy Young. He is the betting favorite with +150 odds after opening at +300. The New York Yankees pitcher is getting 18.2 percent of the tickets and 76 percent of the handle. The odds for Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize to win the award haven’t changed at all and stayed put at +5000. He’s getting 38.8 percent of the tickets, all of which are from Michigan.
The status of New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is currently up in the air, as he is on the IL with tightness in his right side. Nevertheless, he is the betting favorite to win the NL Cy Young with -125 odds. Those odds opened at +225. He’s getting 39.7 percent of the tickets and 79 percent of the handle. Meanwhile, the odds for Milwaukee Brewers star pitcher Corbin Burnes to win the award actually got longer. They opened at +400 and are now at +450. He’s getting 17 percent of the tickets and 8.1 percent of the handle.
Keep an eye on these odds going into the summer as these awards races start to really heat up. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out, not only for these MLB stars, but for the sportsbooks as well.
Lucy is a sports betting content producer with Audacy and BetQL. She has worked with WEEI and Audacy as a writer, radio producer and podcaster. Lucy lives in Boston and loves Tom Brady and prop bets. Follow Lucy on Twitter at @LucilleBurdge.
