The stakes are growing as the 2025 MLB season heads into August. Most teams and players are attempting to clinch a playoff berth for a chance to win the Commissioner’s Trophy. It’s the perfect time to dive into the 2025 MLB futures awards markets, so here are a couple of best bets to place based on current odds.
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Futures awards markets often fluctuate throughout an entire season in any professional sports league. The MLB’s 162-game schedule means there are great opportunities to grab value, especially if a good player is underperforming or vice versa.
The American League MVP 2025 betting market is currently a two-man race between Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge. Earlier this season, Judge was as short as -1500 to win AL MVP, with over a .400 batting average.
Now, Raleigh, who was the first catcher in MLB history to win the Home Run Derby during the All-Star event, is the betting favorite at -125 odds. There’s a lot of value available on the Yankees’ star slugger at even odds (+100), particularly after being placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained elbow.
Raleigh leads Judge in one key metric, which is home runs. He’s hit 41 balls out of the park, with Judge sitting at 37. He’s behind only Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani, who has logged 38 home runs.
He’ll be back within two weeks to help New York gain momentum heading into the playoffs on October 1st. Judge leads the MLB in over a dozen hitting metrics, including WAR (6.7), OPS (1.160), batting average (.342), slugging percentage (.711), on-base percentage (.449), and hits (129) in 2025.
Take the discount and bet on Judge to win the American League MVP 2025 award at +100 odds.
There is another tight race in an MLB Awards betting market, featuring Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler dueling for the National League Cy Young Award. Neither pitcher has won this award, and both have very different situations heading into the final two months of the regular season.
Let’s start with Skenes. He’s in his second year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but leads the MLB in WAR for Pitchers (5.7), ERA (1.83), Hits per 9IP (5.955), and adjusted pitching wins (3.8).
Offensive struggles have kept Pittsburgh from climbing into contention for a playoff berth, despite Skenes’ best effort on the mound. He’s 6-8 as a starter this season, while the Pirates are 13 games behind in the National League Wild Card race.
Head across the state to the Philadelphia Phillies, who have their veteran ace, Zack Wheeler, pitching well enough to hold a two-game lead in the NL East. The 35-year-old has never won a Cy Young award, despite being a three-time All-Star with the Phillies.
Wheeler leads the MLB in strikeouts per nine innings pitched (11.581) this season. He’s got a 9-4 record and a 2.56 ERA with a 5.0 WAR and 0.890 WHIP.
This race should be heavier in Skenes’ favor. However, the optics of a bad Pirates offense, which ranks 30th in the MLB for total runs scored (358), allow Wheeler to apply pressure in the National League Cy Young Award market by simply playing on a better roster.
There’s a bit of juice on Skenes to win the award for the best pitcher in the National League right now at -165 odds. Yet, compared to other awards markets, which have favorites as short as -3500 and -1400, laying -165 is very reasonably priced. Don’t hesitate to back Pittsburgh’s 23-year-old ace to win the 2025 National League Cy Young Award, despite playing on a bad team.
