The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers will face off in the 2023 World Series. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Rangers are -170 favorites to win it all, while the D-backs are +145 underdogs. But a ring isn’t the only thing up for grabs here — what about World Series MVP?
You can view full odds for both teams here and here. We’ve also provided some of our best bets below. Before we get to that, however, here are some things to know about the history of the award.
The World Series MVP has played for the winning team all but once (Yankees infielder Bobby Richardson took home the honors after hitting .367 with 12 RBI in New York’s seven-game loss to the Pirates in 1960). It’s also difficult for a pitcher to take home the hardware, happening only once in the last eight years — while a reliever hasn’t won it since Mariano Rivera in 1999. On the other hand, it’s just as hard to predict which hitter is going to get hot in a best-of-7 series. Case in point: Jeremy Pena and Jorge Soler have won each of the last two World Series MVPs for the Astros and Braves, respectively, despite not being on too many people’s radars.
World Series MVP picks
Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll +1000
Ketel Marte, fresh off winning NLCS MVP, is also listed at +1000. But I’m giving the nod to Carroll here for his ability to wreak havoc in just about every aspect of the game. Marte is sizzling hot right now, with at least one hit in all 12 postseason games so far. We saw in Game 7, though, the sort of impact Carroll can have once his bat heats up: The presumptive NL Rookie of the Year tallied three hits, two steals and added an RBI sac fly against flamethrowing lefty Jose Alvarado for good measure. He’s run hot and cold at the plate in these playoffs, but his ceiling is higher than Marte’s — and it’s very hard to imagine Arizona winning this series without Carroll going off.
Gabriel Moreno +2000
Of course, if you’re looking for a dark horse, you could always go with Arizona’s other star rookie, slugging .512 in the playoffs with a hit in six of seven games against Philly in the NLCS. Despite taking a seemingly never-ending string of dings behind the plate, Moreno has just kept on hitting, delivering two of the biggest swings of Arizona’s season in NLCS Game 7. Torey Lovullo seems committed to hitting his backstop third in the order, right behind Marte and Carroll — a great spot to be in for counting stats and good pitches to hit. The D-backs don’t have a ton of viable options here — Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt feel like too-distant long shots — but Moreno could be the bat that turns the tide of this series.
Texas Rangers
Evan Carter +2000
The two shortest odds to win this award belong to a pair of Rangers, Adolis Garcia and Corey Seager — each of whom boasts an OPS north of 1.000 so far in October. The name of the game here, however, is value, and neither Garcia (+500) nor Seager (+550) offer a ton of it. But Texas has no shortage of impact bats in their lineup, and Carter has just as much a chance to break out in this series. The rookie has slashed .308/.449/.538 so far in his first career postseason, including a two-run double in Game 7 in Houston that helped really break things open. He was regarded one of the top prospects in baseball for a reason, and his willingness to work counts and wait on good pitches to hit should help him excel where the ultra-aggressive Phillies floundered against this Arizona pitching staff. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that Carter is a very slick defender as well, capable of making a game-saving catch in left field.
Marcus Semien +1500
Semien was just about the only member of the Rangers lineup who didn’t hit in their ALCS victory. Make no mistake, though: Semien has All-Star upside, and as long as he’s healthy there’s no way that Bruce Bochy will bump him from the top of Texas’ order. The second baseman led the AL in hits and runs scored this year, adding 29 homers and 14 steals to go along with a 122 OPS+. He’s a very good hitter, just as capable of taking over a series as Garcia or Seager, and his recent cold spell just means that you can get him at a significant discount.