MLB MVP Ladder 9.0: Mookie Betts is suddenly neck and neck with Ronald Acuña Jr. in the NL race

For a brief moment this week, Ronald Acuña Jr. lost his MVP lead at BetMGM, ceding the top odds spot to Mookie Betts, who has been on an absolute tear in August.

Betts eventually fell back to second, but even that is a huge leap from his distant fourth-place odds of two weeks ago when I put together the last MVP ladder.

Despite those previous odds, I still had Betts third at the time, and he’s done nothing but reward that decision by thoroughly outplaying the other three candidates in the time since. Now, his odds are nearly neck-and-neck with Acuña, and a race that’s been gaining steam the last few weeks is a RACE.

Here’s where things stand today ahead of a crucial series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves starting Thursday.

Stats: .316 AVG | 94 RBI | 36 HR | 10 SB | 7.6 WAR

Last ladder: 3rd

How you finish does matter in my opinion, and right now nobody is closing with a better flourish than Betts. Right now. Of course, there’s still a month left in the season, so a lot can change. But 100 RBI and 40 HR look like a lock for Betts, who’s also now batting firmly above .300, which he wasn’t at the time of our last ladder. Not to mention, most of the advanced numbers favor him over Acuña.

Stats: .334 AVG | 79 RBI | 29 HR | 61 SB | 6.5 WAR

Last ladder: 1st place

It was a really tough decision to drop Acuña from first, but his only real edge on Betts at the moment is in the stolen bases department. Yeah, sure, his batting average is better, but Betts has just as many total bases and their on-base percentages are a lot closer. A more important factor for me was Betts’ superior OPS+ and wRC+. But don’t get it twisted, these two are more like 1A and 1B rather than 1 and 2.

Stats: .338 AVG | 89 RBI | 25 HR | 17 SB | 6.0 WAR

Last ladder: 2nd place

Freeman is still very much in this conversation, though his candidacy is the exact reason Acuña might still come away with the award despite what the advanced numbers say. Even with Freeman hitting the way he is, and Betts doing what he’s doing, it’s the Braves who have the best record in the majors. Still, there’s no denying Freeman has been special.

Stats: .271 AVG | 112 RBI | 43 HR | 5.1 WAR

Last ladder: 4th

Olson is falling further out of contention — as demonstrated by his very long betting odds — but it was always unlikely he’d stay as hot as he was from July to mid-August. He’s still playing at a high level, currently riding a seven-game hitting streak. It’s just not an MVP level any more. His RBI and HR rates have dropped significantly over the last two weeks.

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