MLB betting, odds: Yordan Alvarez is World Series MVP favorite, but Bryce Harper is most popular bet
The final chapter of the MLB season gets underway on Friday with the Houston Astros installed as pretty sizable favorites to win the World Series against the surprising Philadelphia Phillies. The Astros are -190 to win it all, while the Phillies come back the other way at +155. Of course, you can bet the World Series result beforehand or simply bet it on a game-by-game basis. Additionally, you can bet on who you think will win World Series MVP. Those bets have better payouts, but obviously, they're harder to predict.
Alvarez favored, but Harper most popular bet
With the Houston Astros favored to win the World Series, it's no surprise to see that the favorite to win the World Series MVP is a member of the Astros.
Yordan Alvarez is +600 to win the MVP, the best odds of any player. Alvarez finished with the second-best OPS in baseball during the regular season behind only Aaron Judge. Alvarez hit .306 with 37 home runs and 97 RBIs. It's been a bit more of a struggle in the playoffs, but he still has an OPS of .889 to this point.
Overall, 7.8% of bets and 8.6% of the money is backing Alvarez to win the award. That's the second-highest number of bets and third-highest betting handle of any player in the series.
The most popular bet to win the award by a wide margin is Bryce Harper of the Phillies. Harper is on an absolute tear in these playoffs, batting .419 with five home runs and 11 RBIs. He has an incredible 1.351 OPS through three series. He was rewarded for his efforts by being named NLCS MVP.
Harper is +700 to win World Series MVP and bettors are loving him at that price. Harper has received over 27% of the bets and money ahead of Game 1. No other played has received more than 12% of the betting handle.
Big bet comes in on Castellanos
If Nick Castellanos wins World Series MVP, one bettor will be a very happy person.
Earlier in these playoffs, one bettor bet Nick Castellanos to win World Series MVP at 40-to-1. The bettor risked $5,000. If Castellanos wins the award, the bet will pay out $200,000. Castellanos is currently down to 25-to-1 to win World Series MVP.
Castellanos had a down season and that has carried over into the playoffs. In the postseason, Castellanos is batting just .220 with no home runs. In the regular season, he hit just 13 home runs and had an OPS below .700.
However, the potential for Castellanos to have a big series is certainly there. Last year with the Reds, Castellanos had a .309 batting average, 34 home runs and 100 RBIs. He was one of the best hitters in baseball. If Castellanos can find that level for a few days here, an MVP isn't out of the question. Overall however, Castellanos has received just 2.7% of bets.
World Series MVP odds
Here are the current odds for each player to win World Series MVP at BetMGM:
Yordan Alvarez (+600)
Bryce Harper (+700)
Justin Verlander (10-to-1)
Kyle Tucker (10-to-1)
Alex Bregman (10-to-1)
Framber Valdez (11-to-1)
Kyle Schwarber (11-to-1)
Jose Altuve (13-to-1)
Aaron Nola (15-to-1)
Jeremy Pena (18-to-1)
JT Realmuto (18-to-1)
Zack Wheeler (18-to-1)
Rhys Hoskins (18-to-1)
Nick Castellanos (25-to-1)
Further down the list, some intriguing names include Alec Bohm at 40-to-1 and Yuli Gurriel at 30-to-1.
