The unofficial midway point of the 2021 Major League Baseball season is here. We’ll take a look at the best plays for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook‘s odds to win the AL MVP Award with MLB picks and predictions.
Los Angeles Angles DH/SP Shohei Ohtani is the leader in the clubhouse at the All-Star break, socking a league-high 33 home runs, while also making the midsummer classic as a pitcher. There is still plenty of time for the pursuing players to close the gap.
2021 AL MVP odds, picks and predictions
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Monday, July 12, at 7 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Angels DH/SP Shohei Ohtani (-350)
Ohtani is the odds-on favorite or heavy chalk, but he will cost you three and a half times your potential return, and there is no real value in playing that with this much time left in the season.
A potential injury in the second half, or a cooling-off period, could still derail his chances. He looks like a sure thing now, but never bet such a heavy favorite.
Toronto Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+220)
Guerrero will bat second in Tuesday’s All-Star Game behind Ohtani, and that’s ironic since he is the closest on Ohtani’s tail for AL MVP. He pulls into the break with a slash line of .332/.430/.658 while blasting 28 home runs and 73 RBIs.
Sure, he doesn’t pitch, but he was the leading vote-getter for the ASG. Do the baseball writers love him as much as the fans? Bettors should love the greater value.
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Boston Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts (+4000)
It’s a two-horse race in the eyes of the books, but don’t sleep on Bogaerts. He is worth a small-unit play at this price. He has a healthy .321 average with 15 home runs and 51 RBIs at the break, and he ranks fifth in the American League with a .930 OPS.
Last season was a disaster for the BoSox, but Bogaerts has been the biggest piece of the turnaround back to contention.
Cleveland Indians 3B Jose Ramirez (+5000)
I kicked around some of the Houston Astros players in this particular spot, but I don’t like the fact there are so many teammates in the same odds neighborhood. They tend to cannibalize the chances of each other.
Instead, I like singular candidates like Ramirez, as he has no close competition on his team. If “Enriquito” can dramatically improve his .260 batting average, and turn up the power a skosh, he could easily enter the chat for MVP. Right now, he is an outsider looking in, but a speculative value play.
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New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge (+6000)
The Yankees haven’t had the kind of season anybody expected. Judge’s numbers are solid, yet unspectacular, with a .282 average, 21 homers and 47 RBIs. He needs to do more and is capable of putting up big power numbers in bunches.
I believe the numbers will “all rise” (see what I did there?) in the second half, and the Bronx Bombers will have a big surge, led by their magistrate outfielder.
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