NL MVP odds: Goldschmidt priced at even money to win ahead of 2nd half
Paul Goldschmidt has long been one of baseball's most underappreciated stars. At this rate, that won't be the case much longer.
The Cardinals first baseman is currently at even odds to win the NL MVP at Barstool Sportsbook, dealing ahead of Padres star Manny Machado (+550) - who was favored to win shortly before missing 10 games in late June - and Mets slugger Pete Alonso (+850), who's the only other player priced shorter than 10-1.
| PLAYER | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Paul Goldschmidt | +100 |
| Manny Machado | +550 |
| Pete Alonso | +850 |
| Mookie Betts | +1100 |
| Austin Riley | +1500 |
| Freddie Freeman | +1700 |
| Trea Turner | +2100 |
| Nolan Arenado | +3000 |
| Juan Soto | +3500 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | +4000 |
| Kyle Schwarber | +4000 |
| Dansby Swanson | +4500 |
| Francisco Lindor | +7500 |
| Matt Olson | +8000 |
| C.J. Cron | +10000 |
| Bryce Harper | +12000 |
| Jazz Chisholm | +12000 |
| Sandy Alcantara | +12000 |
| Nick Castellanos | +15000 |
| Rhys Hoskins | +18000 |
| Josh Bell | +20000 |
| Starling Marte | +20000 |
| Joc Pederson | +20000 |
| Cody Bellinger | +25000 |
| Ketel Marte | +25000 |
| Marcell Ozuna | +25000 |
| J.T. Realmuto | +25000 |
| Bryan Reynolds | +25000 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | +25000 |
| Joey Votto | +25000 |
| Christian Yelich | +25000 |
| Brandon Belt | +25000 |
| Brandon Crawford | +25000 |
| Jake Cronenworth | +25000 |
| Jonathan India | +25000 |
| Tyler O'Neill | +25000 |
| Ian Happ | +25000 |
| Ozzie Albies | +30000 |
| Charlie Blackmon | +30000 |
| Eduardo Escobar | +30000 |
| Jeff McNeil | +30000 |
| Max Muncy | +30000 |
| Justin Turner | +30000 |
| Willy Adames | +30000 |
| Willson Contreras | +30000 |
| Kris Bryant | +50000 |
| Mike Moustakas | +50000 |
| Tommy Pham | +50000 |
| Max Scherzer | +50000 |
| Jean Segura | +50000 |
| Frank Schwindel | +50000 |
An MVP would be a fitting reward for the veteran Goldschmidt, who's twice finished as the runner-up (2013, 2015). He's also landed on the ballot in eight of the last nine years, including a third-place finish in 2017 and sixth-place results in 2018 and 2021. Yet he's never been able to fully break through and cap off a potential Hall of Fame career with the NL's top individual award.
That could change amid the best season of his 12-year career. Entering Friday, Goldschmidt led the NL in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.413), and OPS (1.001) while scoring a league-high 62 runs for the Cardinals. He's also on pace for 34 home runs, which would come just shy of his career high (36) and complement his career-best contact numbers, too.
Unlike in the AL, which looks like a two-man race, Goldschmidt has plenty of competition for this award.
Machado was the favorite at one point before a brief injury halted his momentum, but he's hit three home runs in the last week and ranks second in the majors in fWAR (4.5), even with fewer games played. Goldschmidt's teammate, Nolan Arenado, leads all batters in that metric (4.7) thanks to his otherworldly defense, though his 18 homers and 58 RBIs make a good case, too.
And then there's Alonso, who paces the NL in RBIs (74) entering Friday despite a slow start to July. He and former MVP winner Mookie Betts (+1100) - who was also the favorite earlier this season - could climb back into this race if they can rediscover their May magic over the second half of the season.
C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].