Throughout the 2023 MLB season, BetFTW is keeping track of the Cy Young and MVP award leaders in the American League and National League.
Like Shohei Ohtani in the AL, Ronald Acuña Jr. has been the season-long favorite to win the NL MVP from the very first ladder we put together.
However, while the distance between his betting odds and those of No. 2 Freddie Freeman continues to increase, it’s not nearly as large as the gap in the AL, which begs the question, can Freeman (or anyone else) catch Acuña?
The only stat where Acuña has a significant advantage over the field is his 51 stolen bases, which is a huge number. But Freeman is now batting at a slightly higher average while also putting some distance in how many more RBI he has. If that continues, this race could turn into a race.
Until then, here’s where things stand today, with odds from DraftKings.
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American League MVP
Kyle Tucker makes his MVP Ladder debut at No. 4 (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
1. P/DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (-20000)
.307 AVG | 81 RBI | 39 HR | 13 SB | 5.2 WAR
9-5 | 3.43 ERA | 11.6 K/9 | 2.9 WAR
Last ladder: 1st
Now that we know Ohtani is staying put in the American League, we can pretty much pencil him in as the MVP already.
2. SS Corey Seager, Texas Rangers (+7500)
.352 AVG | 61 RBI | 16 HR | 1 SB | 4.8 WAR
Last ladder: 4th
Seager has done an incredible amount of damage in a very condensed amount of time, and after two homers and four RBI combined in the two games before Thursday, it doesn’t look like he’s ready to slow down any time soon.
3. SS Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays (+15000)
.321 AVG | 59 RBI | 17 HR | 3 SB | 4.2 WAR
Last ladder: 2nd
Toronto got good news Tuesday with the MRI on Bichette’s knee, which showed no significant structural damage after he was injured running the bases. But he still landed on the injured list, which threatens his standing on the ladder.
4. OF Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros (+6500)
.300 AVG | 74 RBI | 18 HR | 20 SB | 3.2 WAR
Last ladder: Not ranked
Tucker had a .267 average at the end of May, but he’s been swinging a hot bat ever since to crack the MVP ladder for the first time. He hit .359 with a 1.119 OPS in July, which both ranked top-four in the majors out of players with at least 100 plate appearances.
5. OF Adolis García, Texas Rangers (+15000)
.261 AVG | 85 RBI | 26 HR | 7 SB | 3.6 WAR
Last ladder: 5th
García hasn’t done much since the last ladder, but he’s riding a seven-game hitting streak that’s buoyed his averages while we wait for him to start adding more to his AL-leading RBI total.
National League MVP
Luis Arráez returns for his 2nd MVP Ladder appearance of 2023 (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
1. OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves (-1000)
.335 AVG | 64 RBI | 25 HR | 51 SB | 5.5 WAR
Last ladder: 1st
Acuña went 3-for-4 with a 3-run homer in his last game Wednesday, and he’ll want to keep that up just maintain this lead.
2. 1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers (+700)
.338 AVG | 75 RBI | 21 HR | 14 SB | 5.0 WAR
Last ladder: 2nd
Freeman is scorching right now with multiple hits in four of his last five games, including a 7-for-9 line with three doubles and two RBI in his last two games.
3. OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (+3000)
.282 AVG | 70 RBI | 29 HR | 7 SB | 4.9 WAR
Last ladder: 5th
Freeman wasn’t the only Dodger beating up on the A’s in the last two games. Betts went 4-of-8 with two homers, two doubles and four runs scored in those games.
4. 1B Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (+6000)
.263 AVG | 91 RBI | 37 HR | 1 SB | 3.8 WAR
Last ladder: 5th
As good as Freeman has been, Atlanta isn’t missing him too much with the way Olson is slugging. He has five homers and 11 RBI in his last six games and leads the NL with a .598 slugging percentage.
5. 2B Luis Arráez, Miami Marlins (+10000)
.378 AVG | 51 RBI | 3 HR | 1 SB | 4.4 WAR
Last ladder: Not ranked
Arráez may not get that .400 average he seemed destined for earlier in the year, but he remains a steady presence in the Marlins lineup, which gives him the edge over Corbin Carroll, who drops off the ladder amid a rough stretch.