MLB 2023 MVP Races: Acuña, Ohtani Betting Favorites as Season Winds Down

October baseball has almost arrived.

Less than two weeks remain in the 2023 MLB regular season. Teams around the National and American leagues are battling for better postseason positioning, but that's not all that's at stake as the season winds down. Only a handful of games are left on the schedule for players in the MVP races.

All 30 MLB teams will play their final regular season games of the year on October 1. Players have until then to polish their MVP résumés. What's the state of the NL MVP race? And can anyone overtake Shohei Ohtani in the AL?

Here's a look at where everything stands.

NL MVP Race One for the Ages

A two-way race between Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves for NL MVP has been ongoing for most of the 2023 season. But Acuña is doing all he can of late to make sure he finishes on top.

The 25-year-old superstar hit another two home runs and stole his 67th base of the season on Tuesday night. Acuña was already the first player in MLB history to hit at least 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season. The outfielder may become the inaugural member of the 40-70 club if his hot play continues.

Acuña is up to 39 home runs and 100 RBI after Tuesday's performance. He entered Wednesday leading the NL in hits (205), runs (138), stolen bases (67), on-base percentage (.418), OPS (1.014) and the list goes on.

Not that Betts isn't having an outstanding season in his own right.

The 30-year-old is slashing .311/.410/.596 with 39 home runs on the season while splitting time between right field and second base. The seven-time All-Star and 2018 AL MVP leads the NL in wins above replacement (WAR) at 8.1 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Baseball Reference website.

Betts and Acuña both have teammates having MVP-caliber seasons—Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers and Matt Olson of the Braves—but the race is coming down to the two outfielders.

FanDuel listed Acuña as the NL MVP favorite as of Wednesday afternoon. The sportsbook gives him -2100 odds to win. Betts has the second-best odds at +950. Acuña is also the betting favorite at the DraftKings and Caesars sportsbooks, with Betts having the second-best odds at both.

Ohtani Heavy AL MVP Favorite Despite Injury

Ohtani hasn't played for the Los Angeles Angels since September 3. He said Tuesday he successfully underwent surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

But the two-way star's absence hasn't dampened his MVP chances.

Ohtani finished his injury-shortened season with a .304/.412/.654 batting line and an AL-best 44 home runs as a hitter. From the mound, the 29-year-old compiled an ERA of 3.14 and struck out 167 batters in 132 innings. Ohtani leads all MLB players with a 10.0 WAR. And, according to sportsbooks, the 2021 AL MVP is a heavy favorite to add another trophy to his collection.

FanDuel gives Ohtani -20000 odds to win the award, as of Wednesday afternoon. The player with the next-best odds is Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager at +2200. Ohtani is such a heavy favorite that some other sportsbooks aren't even taking bets on the AL MVP at this point.

PointsBet USA declared Ohtani the winner with nearly two months to go in the regular season.

If voters are as convinced as sportsbooks that Ohtani is the best of the best in the AL this season, he could become the first two-time unanimous MVP in league history. Ohtani finished second to New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the AL MVP last season after receiving every first-place vote in 2021.