World Series MVP Odds, Favorites & Predictions for 2023
The battle for the 2023 World Series title is now down to four teams, with last year’s Fall Classic foes, the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies, both still in the running for an MLB championship.
Tonight, the American League Championship Series will get underway as the Astros and Texas Rangers meet at Minute Maid Park (8:15 pm ET, FOX).
Tomorrow night, the Phillies will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park (8:07 pm ET, TBS), following Game 2 between the Astros and Rangers (4:37 pm ET, FOX/FS1).
Last year, the Astros defeated the Phillies in six games to win their second title in six seasons. After falling behind 2-1 on the road, the Astros won the final three games and clinched at home with a Game 6 win.
Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena became just the third rookie to be named World Series MVP, hitting .400 with a homer and three RBI in the series.
Since the inception of the award in 1955, no one has been named World Series MVP in back-to-back years. Could Pena make history this year?
At +6000 entering the league championship round, the odds are stacked against him. He is well behind favorite Bryce Harper and Corey Seager, who is the only other former winner still in the running.
2023 World Series MVP Odds
- Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies +700
- Corey Seager, Texas Rangers +850
- Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros +950
- Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies +1200
- Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros +1400
- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros +1800
- Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies +1800
- Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks +2000
- Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies +2200
- Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers +2500
- Alex Bregman, Houston Astros +2500
- Evan Carter, Texas Rangers +2500
- Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies +2500
- Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks +2800
- Marcus Semien, Arizona Diamondbacks +2800
- Justin Verlander, Houston Astros +3000
- Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks +3000
- Tommy Pham, Arizona Diamondbacks +3000
- Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks +3000
- Alec Bohm, PhiladelphAstssa Phillies +3500
- Framber Valdez, Houston Astros +3500
- J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies +3500
- Jose Abreu, Houston Astros +3500
- Josh Jung, Texas Rangers +3500
- Nathaniel Lowe, Texas Rangers +3500
2023 World Series MVP Favorites
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies (+700)
After tearing it up in the first few rounds of last year’s playoffs then hitting .200 in the World Series, Harper will be eager to finish this season in much better fashion.
Just like last year, he torched the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, hitting .462 with three homers, five RBI, and five runs scored. If the Phillies are able to win a second straight NL pennant, Harper should retain his MVP favorite status entering the World Series.
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers (+850)
Three years ago, Seager was named World Series MVP after hitting .400 with two homers and five RBI in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2020 title win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
He wasn’t able to reprise his heroics the next year, hitting only .188 in the playoffs as the Dodgers fell to the Braves in the NLCS.
Seager then left L.A. for the Lone Star State, and after hitting only .245 in his first season in Arlington, played at an MVP level this season even though he missed 43 games.
Seager’s chances to win World Series MVP, if the Rangers are able to knock off their AL West rivals for their first AL pennant since 2011, will rest on whether or not he can get enough hits.
In three ALDS games against the Baltimore Orioles, Seager had only six official at-bats, as he walked a record nine times (with no strikeouts, at that) in 15 plate appearances.
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros (+950)
Had the Astros been able to finish off the Washington Nationals at home in 2019, Alvarez might already have a World Series MVP win to his name, as he hit .412 in that seven-game series.
He has largely disappointed in the Fall Classic in the past two seasons, hitting .100 against the Braves in 2021 and .130 against the Phillies last year. But he had what proved to be the decisive blow in Game 6, drilling a three-run homer off of Jose Alvarado to put Houston ahead in the sixth.
Like Seager, Alvarez missed a chunk of time in the regular season, as he played only 118 games.
But after having his third consecutive 30-homer season, Alvarez opened this year’s playoffs with an outstanding ALDS performance against the Minnesota Twins. In four games, he hit .438 with two doubles, four homers, six RBI, and seven runs scored.
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies (+1200)
Will a shortstop be named World Series MVP for the third time in four seasons? Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Turner has hit .500 with four doubles, two homers, three RBI, and five runs scored.
2023 World Series MVP Predictions
Could a Second Straight Rookie Be Named World Series MVP?
Last year, it was Pena who took the playoffs by storm as he swept the ALCS MVP and World Series MVP awards.
This year, the rookie who could steal the show on the biggest stage is Carroll. In the regular season, he played an integral role in the Diamondbacks returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, hitting .285 with 30 doubles, 10 triples, 25 homers, 76 RBI, 54 steals, and 116 runs scored.
He has carried that success over into the postseason, hitting .412 with two homers, four RBI, two steals, and six runs scored in five games in the first two rounds.
Pena Facing Long Odds to Repeat
Considering that only six teams have won consecutive World Series titles since the inception of the World Series MVP award–none since the New York Yankees three-peated from 1998 to 2000–and that there has been only one MVP from a losing team, it is no surprise that no one has won the award in consecutive years.
Could Pena become the first to do so? It’s highly unlikely, but don’t count him out. He hit only .267 with zero RBI in the ALDS, but it must be noted that he hit only .250 in the ALDS last year before heating up in the ALCS (.353 in a sweep of the Yankees) and World Series.
Recent World Series MVP History Unfavorable for Pitchers
Will a pitcher be named World Series MVP for the first time since Stephen Strasburg in 2019? Don’t bank on it.
29 pitchers have taken home honors, but since Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett won the award in 2003, only three pitchers have been named World Series MVP: Cole Hamels (Phillies) in 2008, Madison Bumgarner (Giants) in 2014, and Strasburg.
Recent World Series MVP Winners
- 2022: Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros
- 2021: Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves
- 2020: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
- 2019: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
- 2018: Steve Pearce, Boston Red Sox
- 2017: George Springer, Houston Astros
- 2016: Ben Zobrist, Chicago Cubs
- 2015: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
- 2014: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
- 2013: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
- 2012: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
- 2011: David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals
- 2010: Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants
- 2009: Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees
- 2008: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
- 2007: Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox
- 2006: David Eckstein, St. Louis Cardinals
- 2005: Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox
- 2004: Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
- 2003: Josh Beckett, Florida Marlins
Where to Bet on the 2023 MLB Playoffs
Many top online sportsbooks offer a wide variety of MLB odds throughout the season.
In addition to being able to make daily MLB picks on games from Opening Day until the final game of the Fall Classic, you can also bet on MLB MVP odds, Cy Young Award odds, and MLB Rookie of the Year odds, as well as World Series odds.
There are many sportsbooks out there that are good for MLB betting, but here are some of the books that we have reviewed and highly recommend:
If you don’t have an account at a book on this list, check out our reviews to help you determine if it is worth your interest and your betting funds.
