Bryce Harper’s NL MVP odds drop from 150-1 to 4-1 in 11 days

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper in action during a baseball game against the New York Mets, ... — Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper in action during a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper, left, celebrates with teammate Rhys Hoskins after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, right, is congratulated in the dugout by Alec Bohm after H ... — Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper, right, is congratulated in the dugout by Alec Bohm after Harper hit a solo home run off New York Mets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Bryce Harper hasn’t climbed the charts this fast since he left Las Vegas High School after his sophomore year to attend the College of Southern Nevada.

In a span of 11 days, Harper had his National League MVP odds at BetMGM slashed from 150-1 on July 30 to 4-1 on Monday.

The Philadelphia Phillies right fielder is the second choice to win the award behind San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., the -110 favorite for MVP who has been sidelined since July 30 with a shoulder injury.

“Tatis looked like he had the MVP wrapped up but the injury changed everything,” Caesars Sports vice president of trading Nick Bogdanovich said. “Now you’ve got a guy who’s hot on a winning team contending for MVP in Harper.”

The 2015 NL MVP, Harper is hitting .391 in his last 15 games. He’s batting .367 with four home runs and seven RBIs during Philadelphia’s eight-game winning streak that has propelled it into first place in the NL East.

According to MGM Resorts director of trading Jeff Stoneback, no wagers were placed on Harper at 150-1.

“There were no takers at those odds,” he said. “We’re a winner with Harper.”

Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler is making a charge of his own in the NL Cy Young Award race after opening at 35-1 at BetMGM. The former 51s starter emerged as the 2-1 favorite Sunday to win the award after tossing a two-hit shutout in Philadelphia’s 3-0 win over the New York Mets.

“Wheeler got lowered from 7-2 after that outing. We took half a dozen bets on him,” Stoneback said. “He’s actually a winner for us.”

Wheeler is 10-6 with a 2.42 ERA and leads the majors in strikeouts (181) and innings pitched (156.0).

Mets ace and former 51s starter Jacob deGrom appeared to be a lock to win his third Cy Young before he was sidelined July 7 with a forearm/elbow injury.

DeGrom was a prohibitive -1,000 favorite at BetMGM on July 6 to win the award but has since soared to 15-1.

“That’s why betting those props are so tricky because you have to stay healthy,” Bogdanovich said.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler is the +260 second choice to win the NL Cy Young Award and is BetMGM’s biggest liability.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.