Camila Sosa
Since the official date of the beginning of the 2022 MLB season is next week, we bring you the odds on all the candidates to win the National League MVP. The competition will not be at all easy in this edition: many teams are more than ready to take a place in the post season after not having achieved it the previous year. However, others will defend their place as division winners, while the champions themselves (the Atlanta Braves) will not press the brakes for any reason in order to keep their crown.
Some of the names on the list were already present among the possible winners, and other novel additions will make the dispute even more serious than it was in 2021. The following are the favorites to win the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2022, along with their corresponding odds.
National League MVP Award
- Juan Soto, Washington Nationals = +300
- Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers = +700
- Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies = +800
- Ronald Acuna Jr, Atlanta Braves = +800
- Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers = +1000
- Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers = +1400
- Francisco Lindor, New York Mets = +2000
- Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves = +3000
- Nolan Arenado, St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis Cardinals = +3000
- Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis Cardinals = +3000
- Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers = +3000
- Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves = +3000
- Manny Machado, San Diego Padres = +3000
- Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers = +4000
- Pete Alonso, New York Mets = +4000
Last year, it was Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies who triumphed in a race against Juan Soto and Fernando Tatís Jr. for the National League Most Valuable Player award. The latter, however, suffered from a wrist fracture which will keep him out for several months at the beginning of the season, thus the San Diego Padres star’s chances of being on the ballot for the award again are extremely low.
Nonetheless, the Washington Nationals star continues to be at the top the list of favorites since he demonstrated in his last few seasons not only his durability, but also having perhaps the best plate technique of any hitter today, leading the majors in fielding percentage (.465) and bases on balls (145) without even reaching triple digits in strikeout totals (93).
As the offensive focal point and current leader of the Nationals, who are the underdogs of the post season, the Dominican outfielder will look to extend his MLB success record by earning his first All-Star Game selection in 2021 and his second Silver Slugger award.
Both Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper are players who already know what it’s like to win an MVP award, but that doesn’t mean they are any less likely to repeat the feat. In the case of the Phillies star, the fact that he won the award in 2021 lowers his chances of winning it again for how unlikely it is to see a back-to-back MVP awards this decade. Besides, the addition of Nick Castellanos could subtract a bit from his overall numbers but improve his efficiency.
Betts, on the other hand, will be the Dodgers’ lead-off man along with Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman in the batting order, who are other candidates to win the award. But the 29-year-old outfielder has all the ability to command an elite result in every possible category: contact, power, speed, defense, and, the most important of all, bringing wins to the Los Angeles team’s record. As he is injury-free at the start of 2022, he is one of the favorites to have the best individual campaign.
As for the young Venezuelan Ronald Acuña Jr., his return from a torn ligament is scheduled for the beginning of May – with a month less of production it would be very complicated to be among the MVP candidates, but not impossible. Acuña’s numbers in 2021 were along those lines as he accumulated a .283/.394/.596 line with 24 homers, 52 RBIs, 72 runs scored, 19 doubles and 17 stolen bases in 23 attempts through 82 games prior to his injury. As he gets back, he could ignite in the same way, giving us the best season of his young career.
Francisco Lindor had a disappointing debut season with the New York Mets, but having already gone through the worst, a turnaround in his performance could put him as a leading MVP candidate on one of the teams favored to take the hard-fought National League East division. Improvements to both the rotation and the batting lineup, and a change of manager will all be aspects to consider in the possible rise of the Puerto Rican’s performance during 2022.
Other interesting names to take into account include Matt Olson, taking Freddie Freeman’s place in Atlanta, could be the next step into the ranks of the best hitters in all the majors after having the best season of his career with an incredibly mediocre Oakland Athletics in terms of talent. Nolan Arenado is also a real possibility, having won so many individual awards but never an MVP. After a year of adaptation in St. Louis, the nine-time Gold Glover could revive his bat to the level he had with the Colorado Rockies.
Finally, Christian Yelich, if the 30-year-old outfielder can stay healthy, he will continue to be a major cog in the Milwaukee Brewers’ offense, and he knows what it’s like to be MVP in recent years: with one of the best pitching staffs in the majors, if the 30-year-old outfielder finds his best swing again, he’s a threat to any of the top favorites, being the main cog in Craig Counsell’s offense.
