Welcome to the Ronald Acuña Jr. show. The outfielder has taken over the National League MVP race with a performance that has shown us why he was considered one of the best players in baseball when he debuted in 2018 and broke out in a big way in 2019.
NL MVP Odds 2023
NL MVP betting odds are current as of Friday, Aug. 18, courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
- Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves (-550)
- Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (+375)
- Matt Olson, 1B, Atlanta Braves (+1800)
- Mookie Betts, OF/2B, Los Angeles Dodgers (+3000)
- Five Players at (+10000)
It’s a four-player race according to Caesars and a lot of sportsbooks. As great as Acuña has been, the NL MVP race is still live on the majority of sportsbooks, where the AL MVP race has been all but decided, according to the same books.
Regardless of the juice, there are still betting options to take from the current odds.
Looking to bet on today’s action? Head over to The Game Day’s MLB betting odds.
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NL MVP Best Bet 2023
Mookie Betts, OF/2B, Los Angeles Dodgers (+3500)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.25 Units
The race for second is a race between Dodgers teammates with an Atlanta player sandwiched in between. That’s good and bad since both are deserving, but it is guaranteed they’ll lose votes to each other.
Betts has the better number, has been asked (or volunteered) to play multiple positions that were not right field, and has similar numbers as Freeman and Acuña.
The trio’s numbers are so similar - offense and defense - that their WAR are within 0.2 points of each other.
Los Angeles wasn’t supposed to run and hide with the NL West this season, yet here it is. Betts is a large reason why.
NL MVP Favorites 2023
Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves (-550)
Caesars Sportsbook
Like Shohei Ohtani in the American League, we’re officially in “do not bet" territory for Acuña’s odds.
Acuña is on the best team in baseball at the moment. I doubt he loses this award if Atlanta were to lose the No. 1 seed in the NL, but his odds would dip some if it did.
I am not interested in betting Acuña until he is closer to (-300).
Caesars has his best odds by 50 cents, and some books have the outfielder listed at (-750).
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (+600)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.50 Units
The difference between Betts and Freeman outside of odds is that the veteran first baseman is arguably the best hitter since he entered baseball.
Betts is also in that conversation, but Freeman as a lefty adds a small wrinkle.
There’s nothing wrong with betting on Freeman. I just want to limit my exposure since his odds are so much smaller than Betts’.
