2026 MLB National League MVP Betting Odds

Shohei Ohtani won the honor last season and is once again the frontrunner to win the award again this year, which would make three in a row.

However, there are some other strong players who will be battling to take the honor. Here’s a look at what to expect and betting odds as the race for NL MVP heats up.

Note: Odds were correct as of July 16, 2026

Best Sportsbooks for National League MVP Betting

How is the Winner Decided?

The National League Most Valuable Player is determined by a vote by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which takes place right after the end of the regular season.

NL MVP is decided through a weighted points system, based on factors such as player production and overall team impact.

MLB NL MVP Betting Odds

As the 2026 MLB season gets underway, the National League MVP race is already drawing attention from bettors. With a mix of established superstars and emerging talent, DraftKings odds highlight a competitive field where performance, team success, and durability will all play key roles.

Unlike team-based futures, MVP betting focuses on individual production, making it one of the most dynamic and unpredictable markets in baseball.

Top NL MVP Contenders

Here is a look at the current NL MVP odds heading into the second half of the 2026 season, with pricing from DraftKings.

Shohei Ohtani (-5000)

Shohei Ohtani remains the overwhelming favorite in the NL MVP race, priced at -5000 at BetMGM with an implied probability of 98.04 percent. He has held minus-odds status since the market opened in the preseason, when he was listed at -145, and has only strengthened his position since. Not only is the Dodgers superstar back to pitching full-time, but he is absolutely dominating, posting a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts.

Add in his 22 home runs and .953 OPS heading into the break, and it is not hard to see why he is running away with what would be a historic fifth MVP award. Ohtani won back-to-back NL MVP awards for the first time since Albert Pujols did it in 2008 and 2009, and a fourth consecutive award overall would put him within three of Barry Bonds’ all-time record of seven. Because Ohtani is such a massive and almost unprecedented favorite, some sportsbooks have opened an alternate Ohtani vs The Field market at +900 for bettors who believe the award will not go to the Dodgers superstar but are unsure which challenger to back.

Pete Crow-Armstrong (+1400)

The Chicago Cubs center fielder has built the best statistical case of any NL challenger, matching Ohtani with a 5.6 WAR while pairing a .296 average and 21 home runs with elite defense that makes him the top choice for voters who favor advanced metrics over narrative.

Crow-Armstrong presents a fascinating split-market opportunity as well, listed at dramatically different prices across books, making line shopping especially important for bettors who want exposure to his candidacy. A true center fielder providing Gold Glove-caliber defense alongside genuine offensive production is the profile that historically earns down-ballot MVP support, and if Ohtani were to suffer any setback in the second half, Crow-Armstrong would be the most credible beneficiary on the ballot.

Kyle Schwarber (+1400)

Schwarber brings pure power to the NL MVP mix, having led all of Major League Baseball with 32 home runs through 89 games while posting a .945 OPS and a 149 OPS+ for the first-place Phillies. Schwarber has already reached 32 home runs, the first player this season to clear that threshold, but as a designated hitter with an OPS lower than Ohtani’s, he would need to do something historically dominant down the stretch to generate serious first-place votes against a two-way player producing at Ohtani’s current level.

The Phillies’ strong position in the NL East and the potential for a pennant-driving second half give Schwarber’s candidacy the team-success backdrop that voters typically require.

Juan Soto (+3000)

Soto remains a model of plate discipline for the Mets, holding a .978 OPS and a 171 OPS+ with 20 home runs through 74 games, though his 2.9 WAR reflects missed time rather than any decline in production when available. A strong second half could keep him in the broader MVP conversation, though the Mets’ disappointing season means the team-success narrative that typically propels contenders to the top of the award board is working against him rather than for him. Soto’s case is built entirely on individual output, and the market has priced that structural disadvantage accordingly.

James Wood (+4500)

Wood leads the National League in OPS and has been going supernova at the plate as one of the most compelling offensive storylines of the second half. The Washington Nationals outfielder’s emergence as a genuine production leader in the National League is one of the more unexpected developments of the 2026 season, and his odds at +4500 reflect both the genuine quality of his numbers and the significant structural challenge of winning MVP from a team that is not a playoff contender. Historical precedent does not favor non-playoff candidates in this market, but the WAR profile he is building is difficult for voters to fully ignore.

Other Players in the NL MVP Race

Matt Olson surged from +3000 to become an outside challenger heading into the All-Star break behind a monster first half in Atlanta, hitting .277 with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs through 48 games, with the Braves sitting in contention for the best record in baseball.

Otto Lopez has been one of the summer’s most surprising individual stories, batting an MLB-best .346 on the season and heating up even further in July as the engine driving the Marlins’ stunning playoff push. His candidacy is the most unconventional on the board given that he plays for a franchise that entered the season as a near-certain non-contender, but the combination of the best batting average in the league and a team now in genuine Wild Card contention has forced the market to take him seriously.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has cratered from his preseason +1700 odds to +10000 at the break, as his healthy bounce-back season has not materialized the way bettors and the Braves had hoped. An injury setback derailed what had been projected as a dominant return to the top of the NL Most Valuable Player conversation.

Betting Outlook

The NL MVP market in 2026 has become one of the most lopsided award races in recent history, and bettors need to approach it with clear-eyed honesty about what the numbers represent. Ohtani has already won three consecutive NL MVP awards and four MVP trophies in total, making him one of the most dominant individual performers in the history of the award. Betting against him at -5000 is not viable for most bettors given the implied probability and the limited return on a winning ticket.

The genuine market value in this race lives in two places. The first is the Ohtani vs The Field option at +900 for bettors who want broader exposure to a second-half upset without committing to a specific challenger. The second is identifying the challenger most likely to benefit from any Ohtani health setback or workload management decision, which the market currently identifies as Crow-Armstrong given his defensive value and WAR production. The real edges in the NL middle tier go to players on teams that are contending, producing at elite rates by advanced metrics, and available at prices that reflect market uncertainty rather than genuine production gaps.

As the trade deadline approaches and second-half schedules take shape, the award narrative will be influenced by whether the Phillies make a decisive push for the NL East, whether the Braves get their injured players back, and whether any challenger can put together the kind of historic multi-month run that historically generates serious first-place votes against a clear preseason favorite.

MLB NL MVP Previous Winners

NL MVP has varied from year to year, but Ohtani look to remain a leading candidate for the forseeable future. Here’s a look at winners of the award since 2015.

Year	Player	Team
2025	Shohei Ohtani	Los Angeles Dodgers
2024	Shohei Ohtani	Los Angeles Dodgers
2023	Ronald Acuna Jr.	Atlanta Braves
2022	Paul Goldschmidt	St. Louis Cardinals
2021	Bryce Harper	Philadelphia Phillies
2020	Freddie Freeman	Atlanta Braves
2019	Cody Bellinger	Los Angeles Dodgers
2018	Christian Yelich	Milwaukee Brewers
2017	Giancarlo Stanton	Miami Marlins
2016	Kris Bryant	Chicago Cubs
2015	Bryce Harper	Philadelphia Phillies

How to Bet On The MLB NL MVP

To wager on the MLB NL MVP, complete these steps:

1. Choose your desired sportsbook.
2. Sign into your account.
3. Select the MLB Odds tab on the menu.
4. Choose “Futures” in the drop-down menu.
5. Click MLB NL MVP.
6. Add the pick to your bet slip.
7. Place your bet.