Throughout the 2023 MLB season, BetFTW is keeping track of the Cy Young and MVP award leaders in the American League and National League.
Every two weeks or so, we’re listing our top-five leaders for each award along with stats to support their award cases. We also include each player’s betting odds from DraftKings to win the award, though it’s important to remember odds often attempt to predict who finishes the year at the top based on previous expectations and adjust as the seasons goes. We simply tell you which players have been the best.
Here are the top five for this week.
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American League MVP
José Ramírez makes his MVP ladder debut at No. 5 (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
1. P/DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (-1200)
.309 AVG | 64 RBI | 28 HR | 11 SB | 3.6 WAR
7-3 | 3.02 ERA | 12.0 K/9 | 2.7 WAR
Last ladder: 1st
Those -1200 odds tell the story. This award is Ohtani’s to lose and it’s not very close right now. The separation began when Aaron Judge went down to injury, but Ohtani put an even larger gap between himself and the field in the time since, turning up the heat on his pitching and batting. He has a 1.398 OPS in June. The Angels need to pay that man!
2. SS Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays (+5500)
.323 AVG | 48 RBI | 14 HR | 3 SB | 3.7 WAR
Last ladder: 5th
Bichette’s climb to second is aided by the injuries to Judge and Yordan Alvarez, but it’s not like he isn’t deserving of the attention. He’s riding a 13-game winning streak and actually has a higher WAR than Ohtani.
3. 2B Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers (+4000)
.282 AVG | 55 RBI | 11 HR | 7 SB | 3.4 WAR
Last ladder: 3rd
Semien holds steady at third, though his June numbers continues to pale in comparison to the hot bat he was swinging in May. If his last five games are any indication — 10 hits in 24 at-bats — he’ll bounce back in July.
4. SS Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays (+3500)
.282 AVG | 36 RBI | 9 HR | 25 SB | 3.9 WAR
Last ladder: Not ranked
Franco returns to the ladder after a short drop two weeks ago mostly because he remains a wizard in the field, boasting the AL’s second-best Def rating, per Fangraphs. But like Semien, he’ll need to get the bat going again soon to avoid another slide.
5. 3B José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians (+6500)
.297 AVG | 51 RBI | 13 HR | 8 SB | 3.1 WAR
Last ladder: Not ranked
Unlike the previous two names on this list, Ramírez is trending up. He’s hitting .340 with a 1.065 OPS in June and put a cherry on top of those numbers with a grand slam in Wednesday’s win over the Royals.
National League MVP
Luis Arráez makes his MVP ladder debut at No. 4 (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
1. OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves (-190)
.331 AVG | 51 RBI | 19 HR | 36 SB | 4.6 WAR
Last ladder: 1st
Acuña’s lead in the NL isn’t nearly as wide as Ohtani’s in the AL, but it’s really strong. He would have the best average in the majors if not for a certain someone chasing .400, and he’s the only player with a WAR of 4.0 or higher.
2. 1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers (+750)
.317 AVG | 49 RBI | 14 HR | 10 SB | 3.2 WAR
Last ladder: 2nd
Freeman got awfully close to Acuña a couple weeks ago, but a brief slide in production in the second half of June slowed his push. He’s still having an incredible season.
3. OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks (+750)
.292 AVG | 44 RBI | 17 HR | 24 SB | 3.9 WAR
Last ladder: 3rd
The NL top-three remains unchanged as Carroll holds steady at No. 3, though his bat has also cooled off quite a bit over the last couple weeks. “Cooled off” is relative, of course. The leading NL Rookie of the Year candidate has an even higher WAR than Freeman.
4. 2B Luis Arráez, Miami Marlins (+2200)
.396 AVG | 39 RBI | 3 HR | 3.5 WAR
Last ladder: Not ranked
Arráez’s pursuit of .400 was always going to put him in the MVP conversation the longer it continued and that time has finally arrived. We’re approaching the All-Star break, and his batting average is right there. His .330 average in May was a down month. He’s hitting .424 in June.
5. OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (+2500)
.255 AVG | 50 RBI | 20 HR | 7 SB | 3.1 WAR
Last ladder: 4th
Betts slides a spot as he continues to bat below his career averages, but his counting stats are way up. He’s fourth in the NL in homers and his 50 RBI are ninth-most and second of anyone on this ladder.
