AL MVP Odds: Trout Dominant Favorite Atop Board
By baggedmilk
4 years agoby OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
The dominance of Mike Trout means every other most valuable player candidate in the American League is a darkhorse.
For the fifth season in a row, the Los Angeles Angels centerfielder has top prop on the American League MVP odds as Trout is listed at -110 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The 28-year-old, who is already a three-time MVP (and four-time runner-up), is coming off a season where he hit a career-most 45 home runs in just 134 games while leading the league in both on-base and slugging percentage. That was enough for him to win the award in a close vote over Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
Trout’s honors have come despite the Angels failing to seriously contend. Los Angeles has some playoff buzz this season with the return of pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani (+1800) and the signing of third baseman Anthony Rendon (+2600), but it’s hard to imagine how Trout wouldn’t come in for most of the credit if the Angels find team success.
The New York Yankees are well-represented on the AL MVP odds at betting sites with right fielder Aaron Judge (+900), middle infielder Gleyber Torres (+1400) and pitcher Gerrit Cole (+3000) all relatively high on the board. A rib injury makes Judge a shaky play, but Cole is an intriguing possibility if he has another dominant season on the scale of the campaign he had with the Houston Astros in 2018.
Speaking of the Astros, Bregman (+1200), Jose Altuve (+3500) and George Springer (+4000) should be faded. It is highly implausible MVP voters will be eager to reward anyone from a team guilty of sign-stealing.
Every other MVP since the Trout era began in 2012 has played on a first-place team. But there is little distinction between a division winner and a wild-card team. At the odds available, Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien (+3000) seems enticing since he was third in the 2019 MVP vote. The lowered expectations for the Boston Red Sox could also work in the favor of their young third baseman Rafael Devers (+3000), who seems likely to fill Mookie Betts’ spot in the top of the lineup after the 2018 MVP was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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