American League MVP Award Odds to Target at BetRivers Sportsbook

It’s been quite a career for Aaron Judge through his first seven seasons in the Bigs. It all started back in 2017 – his first full season as a member of the New York Yankees – when he launched 52 bombs into the cheap seats to take home the Rookie of the Year Award. Fast forward five seasons and he hit an AL record 62 to make history within the Yankees organization and take home the AL MVP Award. He did so as a +1500 underdog at BetRivers Sportsbook and now finds himself installed the +450 choice to take home bragging rights in back-to-back seasons. Last season was a rarity in that NY’s behemoth outfielder partook in a career-high 157 regular season games and made 696 plate appearances.

Are you willing to bank on that durability repeating this season? I sure as heck am not! The following are my favorite, underdog, and longshot selections to be the best player in the American League over the course of the 2023 MLB betting season.

AL MVP Award Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

        *Remaining Players all 10-1 or greater

Favorite to Bet: Shohei Ohtani +175

Betting on the AL MVP Award begins and ends with Shohei Ohtani who has proven throughout his five years in Major League Baseball that he is a specimen unlike anything else. When routinely compared to Babe Ruth, you got to be doing something right! Already with one MVP Award on his mantelpiece, Ohtani is the rightful favorite to earn a second this upcoming season.

Entering the prime of his career in his age-28 campaign, Ohtani will once again hold down a spot in the pitching rotation and bat within the heart of the Los Angeles Angels batting order when not throwing at the opposition. He went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219:44 K/BB ratio as a starting pitcher last season, and added a .273 batting average, 34 home runs, and 95 RBI when listed as a DH. Already with Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards to his credit along with being voted to the All-Star game each of the last two seasons, there’s plenty more gas left in the Japanese import’s tank to continue dominating at an MVP level in 2023.

Underdog to Bet: Wander Franco +3300

MLB bettors are yet to see the full package Wander Franco brings to the table. Having amassed just 652 plate appearances and 595 at-bats through two seasons plagued by injury and franchise politics, a fully healthy No. 5 is about to reintroduce himself to MLB bettors in a big way. The Tampa Bay Rays once again figure to be a force in the American League (+1100) and be in line for taking home the AL East pennant (+325). Hitting near the top of a Rays batting order will allow this 5-tool player to showcase his overall skills on a gamely basis, and that’s huge for anyone thinking about taking a flier on him in the futures odds market.

Should he be 100 percent healthy and the quad and wrist injuries that hampered him throughout all of last season now be a thing of the past, the time will be now to strike upon this skilled specimen. I expect Franco’s odds to shorten up dramatically once he gets back into a regular everyday playing rhythm. Once that occurs, I don’t expect him to be offering up anything close to 33-1. As such, fire away now with at the very least a beer money wager and hope it materializes into something bigger down the road. Don’t sleep on this kid!

Longshot to Bet: Eloy Jimenez +15000

You already know that I bang the drum and am part of the Eloy Jimenez fan club if you’ve been following my stuff over the years. Though riddled with injuries the last two seasons, I expect it to only be a matter of time until it all comes together for Chicago’s outfielder. Should 2023 actually be that time, we’re going to have a fun time watching his odds of winning the MVP drastically shorten up over the course of the regular season.

Since finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2014 after launching 31 home runs into the night and plating 79 RBI over 504 plate appearances, the injury bug has done nothing but prevent MLB bettors from enjoying Jimenez’s career play out. Last season was the first in three that he actually got over 300 plate appearances, and he went on to bat .295, hit 16 home runs, and knock in 54 RBI. Those stats were accrued in just over half a season – Imagine what could happen if Eloy got 150+ games under his belt for the White Sox! Expected to be more a DH than outfielder moving forward, I think No. 74 is in line for a special season that just might result in him being in the thick of the MVP race. At 150-1, I’ll buy one lottery ticket!

Bet MLB Futures Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook