Major League Baseball

2024 MLB MVP odds: Ronald Acuña Jr.'s ACL injury tears into the oddsboard

Updated May. 27, 2024 4:53 p.m. ET

We're deep into May of the MLB season, and Mookie Betts and Juan Soto remain the favorites to win MVP for each league — but both are facing intense competition from their own dugouts.

Unfortunately, for Atlanta Braves fans, there is one less competitor in the National League race now that Ronald Acuña Jr. has suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

The unanimous 2023 NL MVP, Acuna was hoping for a repeat performance this year but was way behind last season's record-setting pace of 41 homers and 73 stolen bases.

This is the second ACL injury he has suffered in the last three years.

In the American League, Juan Soto sits at the top of oddsboard at +300.

He is closely trailed by fellow Yankee Aaron Judge.

Based on his standards, Judge got off to a slow start this year and saw his odds to win the AL MVP balloon all the way out to +1800 as he struggled at the plate.

But any early troubles have evaporated in a New York minute, as Judge has turned it around with a .637 slugging percentage and 1.050 OPS (as of May 27).

He's now at +330 on the oddsboard.

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge & Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. headline Ben's Team of the Week

Let's check out the most recent odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

National League MVP Odds: *

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: +135 (bet $10 to win $23.50 total)
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)

American League MVP Odds: *

Juan Soto, New York Yankees: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals: +390 (bet $10 to win $49 total)
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles: +480 (bet $10 to win $58 total)
Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)

* odds as of 5/27/24

FOX Sports MLB analyst Ben Verlander gushed over Judge's recent uptick in play.

"All rise, because the 2022 AL MVP is officially back," Verlander wrote. "Judge started to heat up over the past couple weeks and then went white-hot this past week like only he can do. This is Judge at his best, and when he is at his best, he might be the best hitter in the entire game."

Not surprisingly, the Yankees have the most wins in the American league due to the play of their two MVP candidates.

RELATED: The Yankees are Back

Betts' odds of winning the National League MVP sit at +135, ahead of his teammate, Shohei Ohtani, who is enjoying a stellar debut season with the Dodgers.

As of May 27, Ohtani is tied for seventh on the MLB home run leader board with 13 and leads MLB in batting average at .336.

He has taken the year off from pitching to recover from an injured elbow ligament.

In mid-April, Ohtani was at +1400, fifth on the oddsboard behind Betts, Acuna, Fernando Tatis Jr. and another Dodgers teammate, Freddie Freeman.

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