NL MVP Odds: Freddie Freeman Making Late Push Against Paul Goldschmidt

NL MVP Odds: Freddie Freeman Making Late Push Against Paul Goldschmidt

As MLB is nearing the last two weeks of the regular season the NL MVP Race is one to watch closely. While Paul Goldschmidt seemingly has it locked up, Freddie Freeman is making a late push. Here's a breakdown of the latest NL MVP odds.

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Freddie Freeman (+3500) (Bet $100 to win $3500)

Two months ago, Freeman was nowhere near the top five of these rankings, and his odds, were closer to +5000 than they were to the leader Paul Goldschmidt, but a lengthy hot streak has propelled him to right next to his first base peer. In fact, Freeman and Goldschmidt are just 0.1 WAR (wins above replacement) apart over the last 30 days.

Over the last month, Freeman has slashed .359/.412/.534 and has hit six home runs with 18 RBI. He only has 20 home runs and 91 RBI on the year, however, so he doesn't have the eye-popping numbers of a Goldschmidt or Aaron Judge. But his .329 average does lead all of baseball.

Freeman's Dodgers have already clinched their division in a runaway, and the addition of Freeman in the top third of the order is a major reason why. It's likely too little, too late to take the MVP, but he has worked his way into a top-three finish.

Paul Goldschmidt (-2000) (Bet $2000 to win $100)

With this large of a discrepancy between presumed favorite Goldschmidt and the runner-ups in Freeman and Nolan Arenado, we have to consider if there is anything that could happen over the last two+ weeks that would cause this award to slip away from the Cardinals' first baseman. As we learned above, Freeman has been matching WAR with Goldschmidt, but thinking back to the old Miguel Cabrera vs. Mike Trout debates, that rarely seems to matter to voters. Freeman is simply just running out of time.

Truthfully, short of an 0-for-100 slump to end the season or a season-ending injury, there doesn't seem to be much Goldy can do to lose the award. He has helped lead the Cardinals into a comfortable lead in the NL Central, which will help boost his stock. But with a .324 average, 35 home runs, and 110 RBI already, it looks unlikely that anything short of a catastrophic turn of events can steal the award. Frankly, he is closer to winning a Triple Crown than he is losing the award.