While several Major League Baseball teams out there continue to turn heads, you simply can’t forget about the individual performances from guys as well. In both the American League and National League, some players in particular have stood out. In this piece, we have our MLB MVP awards picks for the 2021 season. Who will end up taking home the prized honor?
To start things off, Shohei Ohtani feels like a lock to win AL MVP. After putting the bad memories of Tommy John Surgery behind him, Ohtani has been downright phenomenal this season for the Los Angeles Angels. What makes Ohtani so special is that he’s making plays both at the plate with his impressive homers, but also pitching on the bump as well for the AL West team.
As of this writing, Ohtani leads all of baseball with his 38 homers, while the lefty is also fourth in the bigs with 84 RBI. Those numbers are nothing short of spectacular. Not only that, Ohtani indeed is also a beast on the bump, as he’s posted a 7-1 record and 2.93 ERA. Whether he’s at the dish or starting games for the Angels, Ohtani is always ready to put on a show.
| MVP odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani to win | -1100 | -1100 | -1100 | -1100 |
| Guerrero to win | +750 | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Tatis to win | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Harper to win | +240 | +240 | +240 | +240 |
He’s been given mind-blowing -1100 MLB odds to win AL MVP, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Rafael Devers, Matt Olson and others are also in the hunt as well. Guerrero Jr. has 35 home runs this campaign, and he’s No. 1 in all of baseball with his 88 RBI. If it weren’t for Ohtani, Guerrero Jr. would be the run-away pick to take home MVP honors once the season comes to a close.
Unfortunately for Guerrero Jr., Ohtani is doing special things this year for Los Angeles. It’s one thing for him to be so good at the plate, but when you’re also 7-1 pitching with an ERA less than 3.00, it’s just going to send you over the top. Ohtani is no doubt our pick to win AL MVP this season. Do baseball fans agree with us? If so, check out our MLB betting sites, like Bovada, and get a wager in today.
On the other side of things, the NL MVP race will come down to the wire this season. That’s because both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bryce Harper appear ready to battle things out the rest of the way. Early on, it really looked like Tatis was going to be able to walk away with NL MVP honors, but Harper has really stepped up his game of late and the Phillies are looking tough.
On the season, Tatis has posted 31 homers and 70 RBI. He also plays with an unreal amount of swag, as he’s surely making baseball even more entertaining than it previously was. Because of Tatis’ contributions, the Padres are 15 games over .500 right now. If it wasn’t for the Dodgers and Giants being so strong, San Diego would be in the NL West title hunt.
Meanwhile for Harper and the Phillies, Philadelphia is 0.5 games ahead of the New York Mets in the NL East standings. If you want to talk about a close race, that one figures to go back and forth until September, with the Atlanta Braves also in the mix. If the Phillies want to win the division and go on a deep postseason run, Harper will have to keep playing well.
Harper is hitting .298, with 21 homers and 46 RBI. While Tatis has more homers and RBI, Harper truly has been fantastic over the past month. He’s made this a close race, as the Las Vegas sportsbooks have given him +240 odds and Tatis has been set at -110. At the end of the day, however, we think that Tatis will be too much for Harper to overcome. We’re going with Tatis as our pick to win NL MVP this fall.
As for the pitchers, Lance Lynn is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award. Lynn has been excellent for the Chicago White Sox this season, as the club is looking like a serious threat to potentially win the World Series. Lynn is 10-3 this season with a 2.26 ERA. He’s also posted an impressive 137 strikeouts on the year, which shows how great he is on the bump.
He’s not the only one in contention, however, as Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Robbie Ray and a handful of others are considered threats as well. For Lynn, he’s been given -220 odds. Cole is +320, Rodon is +750 and Ray is +1200. With the White Sox being so dangerous, this only increases Lynn’s odds of potentially earning the highest honor in baseball for a pitcher.
While Chicago’s Rodon is also a contender, he’s dealing with an injury and is currently on the IL. That’s of course going to have a negative impact on his chances. With that said, Lynn has looked like one of the best pitchers in the bigs throughout the year and it doesn’t look like anything is going to slow him down. Lance Lynn is our selection to be named the AL Cy Young winner.
