MLB awards watch: Odds, picks, best bets for MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year for 2024 season

Players have two more months to polish their awards résumés before the end of the regular season

By Matt Snyder Aug 2, 2024 at 8:10 am ET• 6 min read

We're now past the trade deadline and just a touch under two months remain in the 2024 Major League Baseball season. This is about the time of year where, among other things, I start really zeroing in on how the races for the major player awards are shaping up. 

Let's take a look where the races stand. 

For a key: bWAR is Baseball Reference's version of WAR, while fWAR is FanGraphs' version of WAR

American League MVP

The favorites: 

• Aaron Judge, Yankees, -1000
• Bobby Witt Jr., Royals, +550
• Gunnar Henderson, Orioles, +1000
• Juan Soto, Yankees, +2000
• José Ramírez, Guardians, +5000

This felt like Judge had this award sewn up for a while and the odds certainly reflect that, but Witt is far closer than the odds suggest. He's coming off a month for the ages and his Royals are in a wild-card spot just like Judge's Yankees are. If you look at their numbers and factor in Witt's prowess as an exceptional defender at shortstop, it's clear this race depends on what you value most. 

Judge: .316/.447/.689, 214 OPS+, 122 hits, 25 doubles, 1 triple, 39 homers, 99 RBI, five steals, 84 runs, 7.5 bWAR, 7.3 fWAR, 86 walks, 119 strikeouts