The regular season hasn’t even gotten underway for most teams in the MLB, so the NL MVP hasn’t been given out yet. I just double-checked to be sure. While there is a clear-cut favorite who seems almost a lock, there are still some other options to consider in this year’s NL MVP Award Best Bets.
Not surprisingly, Shohei Ohtani (+170) is the clear favorite after his historic season last year. Add in the fact that he’ll also be pitching this season, and it almost seems unfair. He won the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 and added the NL MVP last year. All three of those MVP awards were unanimous.
He’s the clear front-runner this season as well, but let’s go deeper with my NL MVP Award Best Bets. While no one was close to Shohei last year, and he’ll get a boost from pitching as well, here are a few other options that could enter the race if Ohtani falters.
2025 NL MVP Award Odds
Mookie Betts (+1200)
Ohtani’s teammate, Mookie Betts might have the best shot of unseating him if Ohtani’s year goes sideways. Betts won the 2018 AL MVP award with the Red Sox, and he finished in the top five for NL MVP in 2022 and 2023. Last year, he slid a bit to finish 13th in the race.
Betts was limited to 116 games last season but still hit 19 home runs, had 16 stolen bases and a solid .289 batting average. He missed the Tokyo Series with illness but should be ready to roll when the rest of the season begins.
He’ll be hitting at the top of the Dodgers’ stacked lineup with Shohei, and if it’s his turn to stay healthy and Ohtani battles injuries, it’s not impossible that he jumps out in front of this race, assuming the Dodgers are still the best team in the NL and Betts steps in as their best player.
His versatility adds to his value as well, although that’s tricky to quantify. He plays excellent defense in both the infield and the outfield, which will allow the team to shuffle around other pieces and give them more lineup construction options.
Elly De La Cruz (+1500)
De La Cruz has the flare and style to take down Ohtani if something goes wrong for the Dodgers or De La Cruz has a historic season. It’s easy to forget that he’s still just 23 coming into the season and could take another step forward this year.
Last year was Elly’s first full season in the MLB, and he smashed 25 home runs while producing an MLB-leading 67 stolen bases. He finished the season with a .259 batting average and .349 wOBA.
While picking any player for a 50/50 season would have seemed absurd last year, if anyone but Ohtani could do it, De La Cruz would be my next pick this year. Even if he comes up short of that a 30/30 or 40/40 season could get him attention for this award if Ohtani stumbles.
If his batting average improves and the Reds get back to the playoffs, De La Cruz will likely have some of the highest home run and stolen base totals in the MLB.
Jackson Chourio (+3500)
Chourio lost out on Rookie of the Year last year to Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill, but he deserves a little attention as a dark horse for the NL MVP award. I covered him as one of my top breakout candidates at the start of Spring Training, and I’m very high on him having a huge year for the Brewers and leading them back to the postseason.
Chourio is barely 21 and showed his huge upside after a brief adjustment period after he was called up. After the All-Star break, he hit .310 with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases over his 62 games. He posted a .914 OPS and .387 wOBA backed up by a 46.8% hard-hit rate, per Statcast.
He’ll likely be at or near the top of the order for a playoff team and has the potential for a 30/30 type of season. Chourio is truly one of the brightest young rising stars in the game, and if he continues his emergence as a star, he could fight his way into the MVP discussion.
All three of these picks are long shots, for sure, but so is everyone else in this race aside from Ohtani. Shohei would deserve to be the heavy favorite even if he wasn’t pitching, but if you want to take a flier and play another option for the NL MVP, these are the three bets I like the most.
