2018 MLB MVP Odds: Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich Favored in Latest Lines

Heading into the final weekend of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox and Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers are favored to win their respective league's MVP award. 

Per Odds Shark, Yelich is an even-money favorite to capture the National League honor. Betts is a -200 (bet $200 to win $100) to take home the AL trophy.

Using some traditional stats, Betts' teammate J.D. Martinez would likely be the leading candidate. Martinez's 127 RBI lead MLB and his 42 homers rank second. 

Advanced metrics, though, point to Betts being the AL's best player in 2018. Craig Edwards of FanGraphs noted how special the Red Sox right fielder has been this season.

"What makes this campaign especially historic is that Betts has reached double-digits in WAR (10.1) for the year," Edwards wrote. "Since 1901, there have only been 50 10-plus WAR seasons. Since 1947, there have only been 23 10-plus WAR seasons. Betts’ 2018 campaign is just the 12th 10-plus WAR year in the past 50 seasons."

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels is having another outstanding season—his .462 on-base percentage is 25 points higher than Betts (.437) and his 1.090 OPS leads MLB. The two-time AL MVP could be punished in the voting because his team is currently 78-81 and won't make the playoffs. 

Yelich has the perfect combination of performance and narrative working in his favor. The 2018 All-Star leads NL position players in FanGraphs WAR (6.9), batting average (.321), slugging percentage (.583), is tied for fourth in RBI (104) and tied for seventh in homers (33). 

The Brewers clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 with a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. 

Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs is Yelich's closest MVP competition among bettors at +135. He leads the NL with 111 RBI and has played four different positions—first base, second base, third base and shortstop—this season due to injuries. 

The Cubs currently lead the Brewers by 0.5 games in the NL Central, leaving the possibility that the MVP will be determined by the team that finishes atop the standings after the final day of the season on Sunday.