{"id":10439,"date":"2011-02-17T21:19:45","date_gmt":"2011-02-17T21:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/?p=10439"},"modified":"2011-02-17T21:19:45","modified_gmt":"2011-02-17T21:19:45","slug":"american-league-mvp-2011-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2011\/02\/american-league-mvp-2011-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"American League MVP 2011 Odds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MLB futures<\/a> for the 2i011 American League MVP are especially intriguing with some big names finding new teams and figuring to contend for the coveted award. Let\u2019s handicap the top 10.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miguel Cabrera <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook<\/a> odds: +400<\/p>\n

Miggy is well on his way to a Hall-of-Fame career. The Tigers slugger has at least 103 RBI in all seven of his full pro seasons; at least 30 homers in six of seven full pro seasons; and a .320 batting average or better in five of his last six season. 2010 was his best year yet, as he set career highs with 38 homers and drove in 127 runs. He should have better protection with Victor Martinez joining Detroit\u2019s lineup so Cabrera is a fine pick to win the AL MVP.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Contender<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adrian Gonzalez<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +500<\/p>\n

The MLB betting<\/a> community is finally about to find out how good this guy is. Adrian Gonzalez was a perennial 40-homer threat playing in baseball\u2019s worst hitter\u2019s park in a popgun lineup with the San Diego Padres. Now he goes to Boston? Scary. On the road the last two years over 602 at-bats, basically a full season, A-Gonz hit .311 with 48 homers and 122 RBI. That\u2019s exactly the type of year I expect him to have.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Contender<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Evan Longoria<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +700<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only a matter of time before Evan Longoria wins an MVP award. The 25-year-old is the total package and still has room to get better. Still \u2013 he hasn\u2019t vaulted into the same echelon as a slugger like Miguel Cabrera. Miggy has bested Longoria\u2019s numbers every year and even he still hasn\u2019t won an MVP yet. So Longoria may have to wait a bit longer.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Sleeper<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Josh Hamilton<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +800<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubting Josh Hamilton\u2019s all-world talent. He put it all together last year, hitting .350 with 30-plus homers and 100 RBI in just 133 games. But Hamilton hasn\u2019t posted back-to-back healthy seasons in his career. His games played over four seasons: 90, 156, 89, 133. We can\u2019t trust him this year.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Pretender<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Joe Mauer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +1000<\/p>\n

The 2009 AL MVP is probably the best pure hitter on the planet \u2013 but his 28-homer MVP season really looks like an outlier. He has one other 13-homer season and has single-digit homer totals every other year. I\u2019m not sure he has the power to steal the award a second time.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Pretender<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Teixeira<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +1200<\/p>\n

Tex only battled .256 last season but you know you\u2019re good when 33 homers and 108 RBI qualify as a \u201cdown\u201d season. He still topped Josh Hamilton in both those categories. Teixeira is still young enough \u2013 31 on April 11 \u2013 that his career year could still be ahead of him. He has a shot at the MVP this year.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Contender<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alex Rodriguez<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +1500<\/p>\n

Now 35 years old, A-Rod is almost certainly past his prime. He\u2019s also missing more time than he used to as his creaky hip starts to get the better of him. Still \u2013 he drove in a whopping 125 runs with no one even noticing him last year. We can\u2019t count him out of the MVP race just yet.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Sleeper<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Robinson Cano<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +1800<\/p>\n

A third straight Yankee to appear on this sports betting blog<\/a> list, Cano was the MVP choice over Josh Hamilton in many people\u2019s eyes last year. He\u2019s far more durable and an outstanding hitter at a traditionally thin offensive position. His game reached a new height last season and could stay there.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Contender<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Justin Morneau<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +2000<\/p>\n

Whenever Justin Morneau plays, he contends for the MVP award. He had a monster season going in 2010 before a concussion derailed him. But we have to relegate him to sleeper status for 2011 since we can\u2019t know for sure that he\u2019ll return from the serious injury without a hitch.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Sleeper<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kevin Youkilis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sportsbook odds: +2500<\/p>\n

If people voted on who they simply wanted to win the award, Youk would probably win. He\u2019s a beloved player for his team play, batting eye, power and defense. But are there too many cooks in the kitchen? He has to contend with MVP candidates Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and 2008 winner Dustin Pedroia on his own team.<\/p>\n

VERDICT: Sleeper<\/p>\n

American League MVP free pick<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Miguel Cabrera\u2019s numbers are difficult to ignore and guys like Longoria and Cano seem ready to make the next jump. However, I\u2019m a believer in Adrian Gonzalez<\/strong>. He\u2019s a phenomenal talent long overdue to be recognized as one of the game\u2019s best. I think it all comes together for him in 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The MLB futures for the 2i011 American League MVP are especially intriguing with some big names finding new teams and figuring to contend for the coveted award. Let\u2019s handicap the top 10. 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miguel Cabrera Sportsbook odds: +400 Miggy is well on his way to a Hall-of-Fame career. The Tigers slugger has at least 103 … Continue reading American League MVP 2011 Odds<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports_betting_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10439"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10441,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439\/revisions\/10441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}