2025 MLB Future Best Bets For AL, NL MVP And Cy Young Awards
Technically, the 2025 baseball season began when the Los Angeles Dodgers met the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series earlier this month. But, officially, MLB Opening Day is Thursday, March 27. Regardless, it's time to add award futures to my betting portfolio for 2025. I'm sticking to the MVP and Cy Young markets because the Rookie, Manager, and Reliever of the Year awards are boring and random, and I don't feel like wasting money on them.
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Furthermore, I've hit a Cy Young bet in three of the last four seasons, so I'm obligated to make a bet on that award. Regarding the MVP, I found some good odds for longshots and wanted to go on the record with my picks. With that in mind, here are my bets for the MVP and Cy Young awards in the American and National Leagues.
MLB 2025 Season Awards Best Bets
The odds chosen are the best available at legal U.S. sportsbooks at the time of writing.
American League MVP
- Pick: New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge
- Value Bet: Cleveland Guardians 3B Jose Ramirez (+2200) at FanDuel
- Longshot Bet: Minnesota Twins SS Carlos Correa (+12000) at FanDuel
Cleveland Guardians 3B Jose Ramirez
J-Ram might be the most underrated player in baseball. He is a six-time MLB All-Star and in the top-10 in AL MVP voting seven times. Last year, Ramirez tied a career-high with 39 home runs, had 118 RBI and stole a career-high 41 bases. Ramirez has never struck out more than 90 times in a season, which is rare nowadays in baseball.
The market is down on the Guardians entering this season. But, MLB is the one league where a player can win MVP regardless of his team's record. Hell, Mike Trout has won three AL MVPs and the Los Angeles Angels always suck. Yet, if Cleveland wins the division again this year, which is doable since there is no clear favorite in the AL Central, then Ramirez could get a boost in MVP voting.
Minnesota Twins SS Carlos Correa
Correa needs a good season for the Twins to cash my futures on them to win the AL Central (+280) and go Over 83.5 wins (-110). In 2024, he made his third All-Star game, but missed 50 games from mid-July to mid-September. Otherwise, Correa slashed .310/.388/.517 and had a career-best 155 wRC+ last season.
Also, I'm high on Minnesota's lineup. Correa bats second in the order and is protected by CF Byron Buxton, batting third, and LF Matt Wallner, who replaces Twins' former LF Manuel Margot as the leadoff hitter. Like Correa, Buxton would be a perennial MVP candidate if he could stay healthy. Wallner has a 144 wRC+ and .373 wOBA in 169 career MLB games.
Ultimately, he is only 30 years old, the first pick of the 2012 MLB Draft, the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, and a 2017 World Series champion. So, the talent and upside are there. Correa has only played 150+ games once in 10 major league seasons. That's the problem. Obviously, my bet is "price dependent", but if Correa can stay healthy, he should be closer to +4000.
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National League MVP
- Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers DH/Pitcher Shohei Ohtani
- Longshot Bet: Milwaukee Brewers OF Christian Yelich (+12000) at FanDuel
There is no point in betting this award if Ohtani pitches and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has suggested he'll be on the mound by May. Shohei won his third MVP in four years last season. He led the NL in batting WAR, home runs (54), RBI (130), and runs (134). All by a considerable margin, too. Ohtani stole the second-most bases in the league last year (59), which is insane.
I.e., the only way Shohei doesn't win the 2025 NL MVP is if he gets hurt. That's not a "handicapping angle", though. With that in mind, the only longshot bet worth placing is Brewers OF Christian Yelich. He is a two-time batting champion, three-time All-Star, and the 2018 NL MVP.
Milwaukee Brewers OF Christian Yelich hits a single vs. the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field. (Photo Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports)
Last season, Yelich slashed .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in 73 games. If that was extrapolated across 150+ games, and Shohei didn't exist, Yelich could have the numbers to win his second NL MVP. Again, barring injury, Ohtani wins this award. But, 120-to-1 ain't bad for Yelich, who should have top-10 odds.
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AL Cy Young: Seattle Mariners RHP Logan Gilbert (+1100)
I'm firing a single bullet on Gilbert. He is the fourth-betting favorite to win the 2025 AL Cy Young, but he should be the favorite. Despite a 9-12 record last season, Gilbert had career-bests in innings pitched, WAR, fastball velocity, and K-BB%, which is the essence of pitching. He led the AL in contact and swinging-strike rates post-All-Star break last year, per FanGraphs.
Look, I've cashed on the Cy Young market in three of the last four seasons, and Gilbert checks the boxes I'm looking at. He is an "innings eater" with nasty stuff and a vast pitch arsenal, and is only 27 years old. Logan is Seattle's Opening Day starter, perhaps the best rotation in MLB. Finally, he has one year left on his contract and could make life-changing money with a big season in 2025.
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NL Cy Young: Cincinnati Reds RHP Hunter Greene (+3000)
This is another "single-bullet" bet. After two years with a plus-4.40 ERA, Greene started to show why he was the second pick in the 2017 MLB Draft last year. He had a 2.75 ERA with the best stuff in the NL, per FanGraphs. Statcast graded Greene in the 96th percentile for expected batting average last season, 92nd percentile in hard-hit rate, and 89th percentile in expected ERA.
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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. I'll add bets to my MLB 2025 betting record via X all season.