2022 MLB MVP Odds, Favorites & Predictions (AL & NL)

While the NBA, NFL, and NHL each all hand out one Most Valuable Player award across the entire league, MLB still remains a contrarian in 2022. Instead, separate MVP awards are given in the American League and National League.

Last season, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani picked up AL MVP, while Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper received NL MVP honors for the second time in his career.

Entering the 2022 season, Ohtani was favored to repeat as AL MVP, and after the first month of the season, that remains the case.

Through his first 15 games as a hitter, Ohtani was hitting only .206. But in the 15 games since, he has hit at a .304 clip to raise his season average to .252, which is not far off from the .257 average he had last season.

As a pitcher, he is 3-2 with a 3.08 ERA through five starts, and with 41 strikeouts and only five walks in 26.1 IP, he is averaging 14 strikeouts per nine innings and has a K/BB ratio of 8.2.

In the NL, preseason favorite Juan Soto has dropped from the top of the charts for now, though he is joint-second with St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado, who has excelled in the first month of the season. Leading the way, however, is San Diego’s Manny Machado, who is off to an absolutely scorching start.

Here are the AL and NL MVP odds for 2022, provided by FanDuel Sportsbook. As with Cy Young odds, all of our recommended sportsbooks also offer MLB MVP odds, so we encourage shopping around for the best possible value for your chosen pick(s).

Listed MLB MVP odds are as of Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

Current 2022 American League MVP Odds

2022 AL MVP Favorites

• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels +310 (2021 AL MVP winner)
• Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Toronto Blue Jays +450
• Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels +500
• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees +850
• Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins +1100
• Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians +1200
• Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays +2000
• Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox +3000
• Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros +4000
• Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox +4000

Potential 2022 AL MVP Contenders

• George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays +5000
• Ty France, Seattle Mariners +5000
• Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees +6000
• Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays +6000
• Alex Bregman, Houston Astros +6000
• Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros +8500
• Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox +8500
• Taylor Ward, Los Angeles Angels +8500

Best of the Rest

• Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays +12000
• Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees +12000
• Jose Altuve, Houston Astros +12000
• Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox +12000
• Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox +12000
• Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals +12000
• Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins +13000
• Corey Seager, Texas Rangers +13000
• Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox +13000
• Javier Baez, Detroit Tigers +13000

Current 2022 National League MVP Odds

2022 NL MVP Favorites

• Manny Machado, San Diego Padres +600
• Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals +650
• Juan Soto, Washington Nationals +650
• Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves +1000
• Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers +1200
• Francisco Lindor, New York Mets +1500
• Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers +1800
• Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves +2000
• Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers +2000
• Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies +2000 (2021 NL MVP winner)
• Pete Alonso, New York Mets +2500

Potential 2022 NL MVP Contenders

• Willy Adames, Milwaukee Brewers +5000
• Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves +5000
• Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers +5500
• Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres +5500
• Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies +5500
• Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals +6500
• Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves +6500
• Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers +6500
• C.J. Cron, Colorado Rockies +7500
• Jazz Chisholm, Miami Marlins +7500
• Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs +7500
• Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies +8500
• Starling Marte, New York Mets +8500

Best of the Rest

• Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves +10000
• Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers +10000
• Max Scherzer, New York Mets +10000
• Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants +10000
• Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers +10000
• Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals +10000
• Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies +10000
• Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies +10000
• JT Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies +10000
• Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers +10000

2022 MLB MVP Preseason Odds, Picks & Best Bets

American League

2022 AL MVP Preseason Odds

• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels +340 (2021 AL MVP winner)
• Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels +600
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays +600
• Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins +1600
• Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox +2000
• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees +2200
• Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox +2200
• Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians +2500
• Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros +2500
• Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays +2500
• Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros +3000
• Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays +3000
• Corey Seager, Texas Rangers +4000
• Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins +4500
• Alex Bregman, Houston Astros +5000

Odds are via FanDuel.

2022 AL MVP Preseason Best Bet: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (+380)

Guerrero should have a monster season for the Blue Jays, who are favored to win the AL pennant.

But it’s hard to look past Ohtani, given how outstanding he is at, well, everything.

Last season, he hit 46 homers, drove in 100 runs, and stole 26 bases in 36 attempts. On the mound, he was 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts and struck out 156 batters in 130.1 IP.

Ohtani started the 2022 season hitless at the plate and took the Opening Day loss on the mound against the Astros. But he also struck out nine (and walked just one batter) in only 4.2 innings against Houston.

If he can stay healthy, he could challenge for 40 homers, 30 steals, and 100 RBI as a hitter, plus 200 strikeouts as a pitcher. Those kinds of numbers aren’t going to not win MVP.

2022 AL MVP Preseason Best Value Pick: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox (+2000)

Listen, barring injuries, it is unlikely that someone outside of that top three will win AL MVP this season. Someone outside of that group will have to be truly extraordinary to alter things if any of Ohtani, Trout, or Guerrero produces as expected.

But Devers is a good candidate to get in the mix. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez is also a solid option, but Devers gets the edge here.

Last season, Devers had his second straight full season with 35+ doubles, 30+ homers, 110+ RBI, and 100+ runs season, as he hit .279 with 37 doubles, 38 homers, 113 RBI, and 101 runs scored.

Had there been a 162-game season in 2020, he could be on a streak of three such seasons in a row, given the numbers he put up in 57 games in 2020 (16 doubles, 11 homers, 43 RBI, 32 runs scored), all while hitting only .263.

Devers has already opened 2022 with a bang, hitting a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season against the rival Yankees. If that is a precursor of what is ahead for him this season, his odds will be shorter than +2000 before long. With that in mind, grab this number while you still can.

National League

2022 NL MVP Preseason Odds

• Juan Soto, Washington Nationals +380
• Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves +900
• Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies +900 (2021 NL MVP winner)
• Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers +1300
• Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers +1300
• Francisco Lindor, New York Mets +1800
• Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers +1800
• Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves +2400
• Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals +2700
• Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers +3000
• Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres +3000
• Pete Alonso, New York Mets +3500
• Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals +3500
• Manny Machado, San Diego Padres +3500
• Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves +3500

Odds are via FanDuel.

2022 NL MVP Preseason Best Bet: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals (+380)

Last season, Soto finished second in NL MVP voting despite playing on a team that went 65-97 and finished last season in the NL East. Sure, the crop of candidates and their resumes were not as outstanding as in other seasons. But it is still a notable achievement, especially in his age-22 season.

MLB division predictions and MLB playoff odds do not see the Nationals very favorably, as they are projected to finish last in the East again and are +900 to make the playoffs.

But if Soto could almost win the MVP last season despite how bad the Nationals were, another terrible season for the team is unlikely to scare voters away this season.

2022 NL MVP Preseason Best Value Pick: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves (+3500)

Riley had a big breakout campaign in 2021, hitting .303 with 33 homers, 107 RBI, and 91 runs scored. He followed up an excellent regular season by hitting over .300 in the NLDS and World Series, and though he hit only .200 in the NLCS, his walk-off hit in Game 1 set the foundation for the Braves’ series win over the Dodgers.

He only finished seventh in NL MVP voting last season, but with Ronald Acuna Jr. lost for the season and the Braves floundering for much of the season, Riley’s emergence is a big reason why they were able to stay afloat and then take control of the NL East race. Without him, the Braves would not have reached the playoffs, much less won the World Series.

Atlanta opened its title defense with an Opening Day loss to the Reds, but Riley went 3 for 4 with a homer and two RBI in the 6-3 loss.

The presence of Matt Olson–and Acuna in the near future–could hamper Riley’s case. But he is an established name now, and that will go a long way if both he and the Braves do well this season.