With another month down, lots has occurred in the Major League Baseball landscape. As the season heads into July, the playoff picture is starting to look clearer, and certain players are standing out.
West Virginia sportsbooks are constantly updating their futures odds and player props throughout the season.
Bettors can spread some money around on a few different markets or decide to double down on an investment from before the year began.
At the moment, the surprising San Francisco Giants own the best record in baseball and are the first to reach 50 wins. They lead the tight NL West by a few games over the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
In the American League, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros are tied for the lead with 48 victories.
Let’s examine how the most popular MLB futures odds are looking as the calendar turns over to July.
Adjusted MLB Futures At WV Sportsbooks
As the 2021 MLB campaign enters July, the contenders are starting to separate themselves in the standings.
One division that’s particularly close for a couple of teams is the NL East. Through nearly 80 games, four teams are within five games of first place.
The New York Mets hold the lead right now with a mark of 40-34. They’re three games up on the Washington Nationals and a few more ahead of Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Despite the Mets appearing as if they’re in a tight race, DraftKings Sportsbook West Virginia sees them as a decent-sized favorite. New York is listed at -400 to win its division.
Unless these odds give you confidence as a Mets fan, this could be too pricey for such a slim margin between teams. On the other hand, backers of the other franchises can find some value in DraftKings’ odds.
The Braves are shown at +750 to win the NL East, while the Nationals are at +800 and Phillies at +850.
Although things aren’t particularly going well for any of these sides, they’re all within striking distance of the Mets.
Of the three, the Nationals are playing the best baseball. They’ve won seven of their last 10 outings, including two straight.
Part of what could help them match New York in the long run is Max Scherzer‘s effectiveness. The veteran features a 2.14 ERA and 0.85 WHIP this season and can actually compete against the likes of Jacob deGrom.
As for the big picture, the Astros surged to the top of the favorites to win this year’s World Series after just a few months.
They were available with odds around +2000 prior to the season; however, now the Astros are at +650 on DraftKings. These are the second-best odds in the league, behind only the Dodgers at +400.
Second baseman Jose Altuve is scorching at the plate this month, hitting 10 home runs in fewer than 100 at-bats. He leads Houston in that category and is one of five players with at least 10 dingers.
2021 MLB MVP Races
National League MVP Odds
Based on the odds, the NL MVP award is basically down to just three players. At FanDuel Sportsbook WV, deGrom (+125), Fernando Tatis Jr. (+175) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (+380) are the leaders.
The next grouping of players includes Kris Bryant and Jesse Winker with odds of +3500.
Only three pitchers have won the MVP award since 1992. Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley won it that year, followed by Justin Verlander in 2011 and Clayton Kershaw in 2014.
New York’s deGrom would be the 12th MLB pitcher to win the award since the Cy Young was implemented in the 1950s.
He owns the top odds at FanDuel so far, with good reason. The hurler showcases an incredible 0.69 ERA and leads the MLB in strikeout rate with an average of more than 14 per nine innings.
It seems as though the only one who can slow deGrom down is himself. He’s been pulled from the mound several times this year already and has a history of injury issues.
If he can remain healthy, there’s no reason he can’t earn the MVP.
Both Tatis and Acuna are playing spectacularly too.
Tatis Jr. has 25 homers in just 61 games for San Diego. Acuna is third in baseball with 61 runs to go along with the fifth-best OPS of .991.
American League MVP Odds
The American League race consists of only two players. At FanDuel, the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is available at -105, compared to Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at +100.
Again, there is a massive drop-off in odds until the next player. In the AL, it’s Boston’s Xander Bogaerts with odds of +4000.
Ohtani has been special this season and would technically count as another starting pitcher to win the MVP. He’s looked impressive both on the mound and with a bat in his hands.
Despite hitting around .275, he’s tied for the league lead in homers with Guerrero Jr. at 26.
The dual threat is one of the Angels’ best pitchers as well. He currently sports a 2.58 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 59.1 innings.
Besides the 26 home runs, Guerrero Jr. is third in batting with an average above .340. He also leads the league in RBI with 66.
Although what Ohtani is accomplishing by both pitching and hitting consistently is impressive, he might not be able to keep pace with Guerrero. If young Vlad can compete for the Triple Crown, then the MVP could be his in 2021.
Cy Young Award Betting
Since the NL Cy Young Award is almost already in deGrom’s hands at -560, we’ll focus more on the AL race.
The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole holds the top position at -177 on DraftKings, but he hasn’t played spectacularly of late. He went just 2-2 during the month of June, to go with a 4.65 ERA in 31 innings.
Cole’s stats are quite good for the season still, as he owns a 2.66 ERA and the fourth–most strikeouts, with 129.
Chicago’s Carlos Rodon shows the second-best odds at +280. He threw a no-hitter in April against Cleveland and features an ERA of just 2.06.
Incredibly, another White Sox pitcher, Lance Lynn, has the same exact earned run average as his teammate and is 7-3 on the year. The online sportsbook lists him at +600 to earn the award.
There is a sizable jump from Lynn to the next player, Shane Bieber. The defending Cy Young champ is having another good season and is available at +1600.
The next few favorites are the following players:
- John Means +2500
- Hyun-Jin Ryu +3500
- Nathan Eovaldi +4000
- Tyler Glasnow +4000
- Zack Greinke +4000
