The favorites for the 2012 MVP are Joey Votto (NL) and Albert Pujols (AL), according to a sports book in Las Vegas (Bovada). That particular sports book has offered odds for both MVPs, Cy Youngs and the MLB leader in home runs for the 2012 season.
Jose Bautista checks in as the home run favorite, at 13/2 odds. He's followed by Albert Pujols (9/1), Giancarlo Stanton (9/1), Prince Fielder (10/1) and Miguel Cabrera (12/1). They list 29 names, through David Ortiz at 100/1, before offering "the field" at 7/1. Adam Dunn, at 40/1 made me chuckle, but it wouldn't be awful to guess him as a darkhorse, considering track record.
On the AL MVP, Pujols is an 11/2 favorite. Adrian Gonzalez and Cabrera are tied for second at 15/2 odds. Bautista (12/1), Fielder (12/1), Robinson Cano (12/1) and Evan Longoria (15/1) follow. The reining MVP, Justin Verlander, checks in with 25/1 odds. Of note: Yoenis Cespedes is at 50/1. I'm trying to think how much I'd need to bet anything on him, and the best I could come up with is 1000/1, but hey, to each his own.
Over in the NL, Votto's odds are 7/1, and he's followed by 2011 winner Ryan Braun (8/1), Matt Kemp (9/1), Justin Upton (10/1), Stanton (10/1), Troy Tulowitzki (12/1) and Jose Reyes (15/1). Here are a few I found particularly interesting: Carlos Quentin (35/1), David Freese (35/1), Stephen Strasburg (50/1) and Johan Santana (75/1). I can just see the sports book raking it in on those guys, assuming anyone is actually wagering on them.
Verlander is a 9/2 favorite in AL Cy Young odds, followed by Jered Weaver (11/2), CC Sabathia (13/2), David Price (7/1), Felix Hernandez (7/1) and C.J. Wilson (12/1). Yu Darvish sits at 25/1, along with a host of others, including Rangers teammates Colby Lewis and Derek Holland. Highly-touted Rays rookie Matt Moore also has 25/1 odds to win it.
In the NL, Kershaw is also a 9/2 favorite. Roy Halladay (11/2), Cliff Lee (15/2), Tim Lincecum (15/2) and Adam Wainwright (12/1) follow. My pick for NL Cy Young (as you'll see in my first go-round of power rankings) is Zack Greinke, so I love his 15/1 odds.
This is all, of course, for entertainment purposes, but I'm sure that won't keep people from arguing about them. For full listings, hit up Bovada.lv.
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