Major League Baseball

2024 MLB odds: Astros' Yordan Alvarez favored to lead league in RBIs

Published Mar. 27, 2024 9:47 a.m. ET

The MLB season starts on Thursday and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is the preseason betting favorite to lead the majors in runs batted in.

Alvarez, who had 97 RBIs in 114 games last season, is at the top of the board with +900 odds.

Here are the odds for the RBIs leader via FanDuel Sportsbook.

2024 MLB RUNS BATTED IN LEADER ODDS: *

Yordan Alvarez, Astros: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Aaron Judge, Yankees: +950 (bet $10 to win $105 total)
Austin Riley, Braves: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Juan Soto, Yankees: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Pete Alonso, Mets: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Matt Olson, Braves: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Blue Jays: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Bryce Harper, Phillies +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)

* odds as of 3/27/24

RBIs is a category heavily influenced by the quality of the team, unlike individual statistics such as home runs or stolen bases. The same hitter is likely to get more RBIs on a strong hitting team than he would on a weaker one.

Unsurprisingly, Alvarez has that in his favor, as the Astros boast one of the league's best squads, holding the third-shortest World Series odds.

However, as this is a counting stat, another big component to leading the league in RBIs is a player's health. The healthier you are, the more games you can play. The more games you play, the more RBIs you can earn.

This could prove troublesome for the oft-injured Alvarez, who has never played in more than 145 games.

Compare that to the 2023 RBI leader Matt Olson, who played all 162 last year and suited up for fewer than 156 games only once in the last five full seasons.

FOX Sports MLB Analyst Ben Verlander, host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast, ranked Alvarez No. 9 on his list of best MLB players.

"There's an argument for Alvarez being the best pure hitter in baseball. He's certainly in the top three. Some guys are just different at the plate, and Alvarez is clearly one of them. The Astros have boasted one of the game's best lineup for years, and no one in it is more feared than Alvarez."

Here are the RBI leaders for the previous 10 seasons:

2023: AL: Kyle Tucker, (112) | NL: Matt Olson, (139)
2022: AL: Aaron Judge (131) | NL: Pete Alonso, (131)
2021: AL: Salvador Perez (121) | NL: Adam Duvall (113)
2020: AL: José Abreu (60) | NL: Marcell Ozuna (56)
2019: AL: José Abreu (123) | NL: Anthony Rendon, (126)
2018: AL: J.D. Martinez (130) | NL: Javier Baez (111)
2017: AL: Nelson Cruz (119) | NL: Giancarlo Stanton, (213)
2016: AL: Edwin Encarnacion, David Ortiz (127) | NL: Nolan Arenado, (133)
2015: AL: Josh Donaldson (123) | NL: Nolan Arenado (130)
2014: AL: Mike Trout (111) | NL: Adrian Gonzalez (116)