Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
Last year, Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Cody Bellinger won National League MVP honors thanks to a strong start and with the help of a late-season injury to Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers. This year, Bellinger will have competition from a new teammate in fellow outfielder Mookie Betts, who was traded to the Dodgers this past offseason and is listed as the +350 favorite (bet $100 to win $350) on the NL MVP odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Yelich is the +700 third choice to win MVP while Bellinger is fourth at +900.
Betts won the American League MVP two years ago as a member of the Boston Red Sox, hitting a career-best .346 with 32 home runs and 80 RBI en route to also capturing a World Series title over Los Angeles.
Yelich won the NL MVP that same season with 36 home runs, 110 RBI and a .326 batting average, and he was on his way to another potential award-winning campaign in 2019 before fracturing his kneecap. Bellinger ended up winning it last year with a career-high 47 home runs and 115 RBI.
Another strong contender to win this season’s NL MVP award is outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves. The 22-year-old phenom posted career-best numbers a year ago with 41 home runs and 101 RBI, and he stole 37 bases as well. Acuña is the +450 second choice at sports betting sites behind only Betts, and rightfully so.
He is the clear-cut best player on his team similar to Yelich, who recently agreed to a massive nine-year contract worth $215 million. The difference of course is that Yelich could struggle to live up to that big deal now whereas Acuña should still be extremely motivated to earn more money.
Other top NL players who might be worth a wager in 2020 include Fernando Tatis Jr. (+1000) of the San Diego Padres, Juan Soto (+1000) of the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper (+1400) of the Philadelphia Phillies and Nolan Arenado (+1400) of the Colorado Rockies.
Tatis Jr. and Soto are each just 21 years old, making them solid candidates to have breakthrough seasons in which they become known as a couple of the best players in the league. Two more longer shots to consider are Paul Goldschmidt (+3000) of the St. Louis Cardinals and Pete Alonso (+3300) of the New York Mets. Alonso was named 2019 NL Rookie of the Year after hitting 53 home runs with 120 RBI.
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