2022 NL MVP odds: Soto favored once again after runner-up finish
A year after finishing as the NL MVP runner-up, Juan Soto reportedly bet on himself ahead of his age-23 season. So too has the market.
The Nationals star is the preseason betting favorite to win his first MVP award for the second consecutive year, this time coming on the heels of his first career All-Star selection. He's priced just ahead of Padres phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. - a popular pick to win it a year ago - and fellow young star Ronald Acuna Jr., who was on an MVP pace before tearing his ACL in July.
The only other batter priced shorter than 10-1 is, fittingly, Bryce Harper, who won the award with a spectacular end to his 2021 campaign. This time, oddsmakers say, it's a young man's award to lose.
Here are the current odds to win the 2022 NL MVP at Barstool Sportsbook:
| PLAYER | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Juan Soto | +370 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | +400 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | +800 |
| Bryce Harper | +800 |
| Mookie Betts | +1100 |
| Freddie Freeman | +1300 |
| Trea Turner | +1800 |
| Nolan Arenado | +2500 |
| Austin Riley | +2500 |
| Tyler O'Neill | +2800 |
| Ozzie Albies | +3300 |
| Pete Alonso | +3300 |
| Manny Machado | +3300 |
| Francisco Lindor | +3300 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | +4000 |
| Rhys Hoskins | +4000 |
| Starling Marte | +4000 |
| Trevor Story | +4000 |
| Justin Turner | +4000 |
| Christian Yelich | +4000 |
| Nick Castellanos | +4000 |
| Jonathan India | +4000 |
| Jesse Winker | +4000 |
| Max Muncy | +5000 |
| J.T. Realmuto | +5000 |
| Anthony Rizzo | +5000 |
| Joey Votto | +5000 |
| Willy Adames | +5000 |
| Brandon Crawford | +5000 |
| Jake Cronenworth | +6000 |
| Cody Bellinger | +6600 |
| Kris Bryant | +6600 |
| Brandon Belt | +6600 |
| Frank Schwindel | +6600 |
| Josh Bell | +8000 |
| Mike Moustakas | +8000 |
| Marcell Ozuna | +8000 |
| Bryan Reynolds | +8000 |
| Eugenio Suarez | +8000 |
| Charlie Blackmon | +10000 |
| Michael Conforto | +10000 |
| Paul DeJong | +10000 |
| Jeff McNeil | +10000 |
| Joc Pederson | +10000 |
| Tommy Pham | +10000 |
| Jean Segura | +10000 |
Many thought last year's award belonged to Soto, who led baseball in walks (145) and on-base percentage (.465) en route to his third consecutive top-10 MVP finish. There's a case that he was even better in 2020 when he became the youngest player in MLB history to win the slash-line Triple Crown (.351/.490/.695), but his patience a year ago sets the stage for what could be a special 2022 season.
Instead of rewarding Soto last season, voters sided with Harper, who could be a relative value after winning the second MVP award of his 10-year career. The Phillies star led the majors in slugging (.615) and OPS (1.044) and hit 19 of his 35 home runs in the final two months of the season to steal the award from Soto.
Tatis and Acuna both had compelling MVP cases, too, if they could have stayed healthy. The former hit an NL-best 42 homers with 25 steals and ranked fourth in the league in batter fWAR (6.1) despite playing in just 130 games. The latter was on pace for roughly 50 home runs and 35 steals, and he still finished 16th among NL batters in fWAR (4.2) despite missing half the season.
Those two aren't the only young bats challenging for the league's top award, either. After homering 33 times in his first full season with the Braves, 24-year-old Austin Riley (+2500) finds himself alongside teammates Acuna and 2020 MVP Freddie Freeman (+1300) in the preseason top 10 of this year's race. Joining them is 26-year-old breakout star Tyler O'Neill, who burst onto the scene with an eighth-place MVP finish as a member of the Cardinals in 2021.
Looking further down the oddsboard, it's hard not to notice Christian Yelich (+4000) and Cody Bellinger (+6600), who battled each other in an epic 2019 MVP race that went Bellinger's way. It's all been downhill for both sluggers since, though they're too talented to ignore as dark horse candidates in 2022.
C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at cjackson.cowart@thescore.com.