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We’re nearly two full months into the MLB season, but we’re just getting started here at Just Baseball!

College playoffs are kicking off this week, and we’ve got coverage at conference tournaments all over the nation this weekend from our team at On the Clock. You can also listen to this episode of The Call Up for more college baseball info.

On the MLB side, we’ll check in on the top award races around the league and some of our top stories of the week. As always, huge shoutout to all of you—the reason we do this!

MLB Award Races

As we move forward this season, this felt like a good time to check in on the top award races around the league.

Award odds, as always, are from our friends at BetMGM! Use code “JUSTBASEBALL” when signing up to bet with the king of sportsbooks. 

MVP

Last year, despite a historically good season from Bobby Witt Jr., two players ran away with the MVP awards. This season, those same two players are already the odds-on favorites in their respective leagues to win it again.

One race is much more competitive than the other, but both could be a wrap by August for a second year in a row.

American League Odds

1. Aaron Judge (-2500)

2. Bobby Witt Jr. (+1400)

The fact that no other players are below +5000 to win this award is a testament to just how incredible Aaron Judge has been this season.

Much like last year, Bobby Witt Jr. appears to be the only player capable of maybeeee stopping Judge from winning his third AL MVP in four years.

Judge is off to an absurd start to the year, still hitting over .400 nearly two months into the season. Yes, you read that right. It’s his award to lose.

National League Odds

1. Shohei Ohtani (-120)

2. Fernando Tatis Jr. (+450)

3. Corbin Carroll (+600)

4. Kyle Tucker (+1000)

5. Pete Alonso (+1000)

6. Pete Crow-Armstrong (+1200)

Throughout April, Shohei Ohtani was hovering around the +200 range to win yet another MVP, which was great value honestly, looking back now.

He has been on a tear in May, cementing himself once again as the clear favorite for another MVP. He’s tied for the MLB lead in home runs and is in the top tier of most other stats. The dude is unreal.

Cy Young

While not nearly as drastic as in the MVP race, the favorites to win this one are the same players that opened the season as such.

The competition is tighter on the National League side, but both of these remain truly competitive with so much pitching talent in baseball right now.

American League Odds

1. Tarik Skubal (+175)

2. Garrett Crochet (+450)

3. Max Fried (+450)

4. Hunter Brown (+450)

5. Nathan Eovaldi (+1000)

6. Jacob deGrom (+1000)

The reigning winner has been incredible once again, as Tarik Skubal is a step ahead of the pack for now. But this race is far from over, with a trio of arms all in the same tier behind him.

Garrett Crochet has been the ace the Red Sox needed, while Max Fried has stepped in as a true ace in New York with Gerrit Cole out for the year. Hunter Brown is the most fascinating one here, as he has taken a strong finish to 2024 and blossomed even further in 2025.

Don’t count out the veterans leading Texas, though 👀

National League Odds

1. Paul Skenes (+220)

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+300)

3. Zack Wheeler (+350)

4. Hunter Greene (+900)

5. Logan Webb (+1100)

After finishing third in his rookie year, Paul Skenes was the choice of many to win his first Cy Young (of likely many to come) this year. The Pirates have struggled mightily, but Skenes has been as advertised with a 2.44 ERA and 0.94 WHIP to open the year.

A pair of other aces are right on Skenes’ tail, though. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been everything the Dodgers need amidst all their injuries, and Zack Wheeler is consistently shoving per usual.

Rookie of the Year

This is rather different from last year’s Rookie of the Year races. In 2024, we had two of the greatest rookie seasons ever in the NL, with sort of a crapshoot on the AL side.

Now, we have a complete jumble on the NL side that could go just about any direction and an odds-on favorite in the other league.

American League Odds

1. Jacob Wilson (-160)

2. Jasson Domínguez (+450)

3. Kristian Campbell (+1200)

The first few weeks signaled this could be Kristian Campbell’s race to lose, but he has slumped badly of late, while Jacob Wilson’s hit tool has shined.

Wilson has become the clear leader, but Jasson Domínguez has started to get rolling of late and has emerged as a second top candidate.

National League Odds _{^{*As of 5/21}}

1. Drake Baldwin (+400)

2. AJ Smith-Shawver (+450)

3. Luisangel Acuña (+550)

4. Hye-Seong Kim (+550)

5. Agustín Ramírez (+600)

6. Dylan Crews (+1100)

Wow, what an absolute mess. Roki Sasaki, Dylan Crews, and Matt Shaw opened the year as the clear favorites, and none are within the top five now. Drake Baldwin was +2000 a week ago and is now the favorite. AJ Smith-Shawver has been carving in his last few starts and is now towards the top.

This race has been wild to start the year and could still go just about any direction. It may be the most fascinating race of all to watch, and we have no idea who will win.

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Just Baseball Trivia of the Week

Our newsletter will have a trivia question every week to test and expand the baseball knowledge of our subscribers! The answer to the weekly trivia question will be at the bottom of the newsletter each week.

Which active player does NOT have three Cy Young Awards?

A) Clayton Kershaw

B) Justin Verlander

C) Jacob deGrom

D) Max Scherzer

Top Stories

Perfect Draft Fits. With the MLB draft approaching, we’re breaking down the best fit for every team in this year’s draft. Check out the NL East, Central, and West draft fits.

Veteran Stars. We keep track of players around the league throughout the season and have recent stories on veterans such as Kyle Schwarber (shoutout to him for his 300th homer!), Freddie Freeman, and Cal Raleigh.

Blue Jays Top Prospects. Our latest farm system top prospects list features the Toronto system. Read our Blue Jays Top 15 Prospects and listen to The Call Up for full analysis.

NCAA Tournament Bracket Projection. The college baseball postseason kicks off soon, and we have news from the end of the regular season and a projected tournament bracket heading into conference tournaments!  

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Read all the details about our Discord community here.

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Trivia Answer: C) Jacob deGrom

Despite an unreal peak of his career, deGrom has just two Cy Young Awards, while the other three legends in this group each have three.

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