Last year’s AL MVP was one of the more interesting races of all time. Although Shohei Ohtani walked away with the MVP unanimously, the guys that finished behind him certainly had a case to win the award. Considering the type of numbers that Ohtani he did put out, it would have been improbable that they could have picked anybody else. However, guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Marcus Semien, Aaron Judge, and a few others certainly had the numbers to warrant a vote or two.
If some of these players can put up similar numbers to what they did a year ago, there’s a chance that we could have a new MVP winner from a year ago considering that voter fatigue will eventually take place with Ohtani.
Let’s take a look at the favorites to win the AL MVP this year. There are going to be many of the top names in all of baseball that is going to be featured in this, including Ohtani who is going to be the favorite at the best MLB betting sites to win the award.
The best bet is going to be taking that Shohei Ohtani to win the MVP. Considering the type of season that he had a season to go as he finished with a 9-2 record and 3.18 ERA while still hitting nearly .260 and 46 home runs, if he can have anywhere near similar stats, the award is 100% his.
Even if a guy like Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, or a few other guys have one of the best seasons of their career, there is no chance that the award would be won by any of those guys if Ohtani does anything to what he did a year ago.
The game has never seen a guy like Ohtani. No matter if people want to compare him to somebody like Babe Ruth, the competition that Ohtani is facing now compared to Babe Ruth is incomparable. The things that he did a season ago are truly memorizing.
Dark Horse AL MVP
My Dark Horse pick for the 2022 AL MVP is going to be taking Corey Seager. Seager has had to deal with a few injuries throughout most of his career, unfortunately. His injuries have certainly hurt his chances of winning the MVP.
When looking at the type of Dodgers teams that he was on in the previous parts of his career, he was arguably in some of the best lineups that baseball has ever seen. The protection that here had around him made pitchers have to come at him more than what he is likely going to see in a Rangers Jersey.
However, when Corey Seager is healthy, there’s a debate to be made that not only is he the best hitting shortstop in all of baseball, but that he’s one of the top 10 hitters in the game. He’s put up some ridiculous numbers throughout his career, including hitting over .300 in back-to-back seasons. He did only play in 95 games last season and the 2020 season was shortened because of Covid, but hitting over .300 is an incredible feat in itself.
For Seager to win the MVP, he’s going to have to hit somewhere around .320 and belt nearly 40 home runs. The one thing that does worry me about this is that the Texas Ranger stadium is one of the least hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball, meaning that even if he does have a healthy year, the power numbers could be down a bit.
However, I do expect him to have a huge season in his first year with the Texas Rangers, and when we can get +2800 odds for him to win this award, it feels like a bet that we should definitely throw a few dollars on.
Interesting Name To Keep An Eye On For AL MVP
One name that is going to beextremely interesting to keep an eye on is Byron Buxton. When thinking about a guy like Buxton, the first question that is always going to come to mind about him is if he’s going to have the ability to stay on the field. Last season, he only managed to play in 61 games, and he hasn’t played more than 100 since the 2017 season.
Obviously, no matter how good a guy is, he’s never going to win the MVP award if he can’t stay on the field.
However, if Byron Buxton does manage to stay on the field this year, there is a great chance that he could walk away with this award, and considering the type of odds that we will be getting, it might not be a bad idea to just throw a few dollars on him.
Not only is Byron Buxton one of the best hitting center fielders in baseball, but he also has elite Speed and can control the center field position at a higher level than most in the MLB.
If he can stay healthy, bettors will make a huge amount of money on this bet.
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