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All 15 teams in the American League will begin the 60-game 2020 MLB season in World Series contention. Players will have less time than ever to make a noticeable impact on their team’s postseason chances. Below, we look at a player from each tier of the betting odds at BetMGM and make out best picks to win the 2020 AL MVP award.
2020 AL MVP best bets: Favorite
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday, July 10 at 2:10 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Angels 3B Anthony Rendon (+1600)
Angels OF Mike Trout is the odds-on favorite to defend his 2019 AL MVP crown at +130, but is still uncertain of his playing status for the full season with his wife expecting to give birth later this summer. With the risk of him not even being available for a full 60 games, there’s no sense in eating this much chalk on an award race that’s wide open this season.
Rendon has the next best odds of any Angels player and is the fifth favorite overall. The free-agent signee and reigning World Series champion with the Washington Nationals is a plus defender at the hot corner. He slashed .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and led the majors with 126 RBIs in a career-best 2019 season. Should Trout miss any amount of time and the Angels remain in playoff contention, Rendon should be justly rewarded in his first season in the AL.
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2020 AL MVP best bets: Contender
Chicago White Sox C Yasmani Grandal (+6000)
3B Yoan Moncada (+4500) is the top contender from a White Sox team being widely picked as a darkhorse World Series contender, but he was there last year and can be overshadowed by 2020’s marquee additions should the team reach new heights in 2020.
Grandal signed as a free agent this offseason after hitting .246/.380/.468 with 28 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. He’s also one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and could be largely credited with helping to get the best out of a young and largely inexperienced starting rotation.
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2020 AL MVP best bets: Long shot
Boston Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo (+17500)
As noted above, the AL MVP race is up for the taking this year. As such, it only makes sense to sprinkle at least a small wager on one of 10 players with the longest odds on the board. Verdugo slashed .294/.342/.475 and hit 12 homers with four stolen bases across 377 plate appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.
Verdugo will be under pressure in Boston this year as the replacement for former-MVP OF Mookie Betts in the trade with the Dodgers. A similar line and helping to keep the Red Sox in contention with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East title will get him the recognition he needs on one of baseball’s most popular teams.
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