Updated MLB Player Prop Bets 2024: Predictions, odds for MVP, Cy Young, home run leaders and more

As the 2024 MLB season races on into the hot-weather months, the elite pitchers and power hitters are also starting to heat up. Naturally, as the collective focus of pro sports bettors and fans starts to shift toward baseball, the player prop bets and awards futures will generate more and more action on major sportsbooks.

Some developments over the first few months of the 2024 campaign have come as no surprise. Aaron Judge remains a beast of a Bronx Bomber, and Shohei Ohtani continues to slug in Dodgers blue. Seeing Zack Wheeler and Corbin Burnes' names at or near the top of the respective Cy Young odds boards should also shock nobody. 

However, plenty of fun under-the-radar players have emerged as legit award candidates, like Marcell Ozuna in the NL MVP race and Tarik Skubal, Tanner Houck, Shota Imanaga and Ranger Suarez in the Cy Young races.

Let's take a look at the updated odds for all the top MLB awards as well as home run leader props, and offer up the Sporting News' official betting prediction for each race.

MLB player prop bets 2024: AL MVP

All odds courtesy of BetMGM. 

AL MVP best bet: Aaron Judge

Let's not overthink this one: if he plays 80 percent of the season, Judge is practically a lock to win MVP. Nobody has been more locked in than the Yankees' power hitter this season, and he's also hitting for average and playing solid defense as well. He's the best and most dominant player on the best squad in the majors.

Top AL MVP long shot if Judge gets hurt: Corey Seager started slow this season, then went on a torrid stretch that would have seen him skyrocket up the MVP odds most years (especially if Texas wasn't in such a World Series hangover). Still, it's tough to refrain from making at least a modest lotto-ticket wager on Seager at these long odds.

MLB player prop bets 2024: NL MVP

NL MVP best bet: Shohei Ohtani

It seems boring, but you can't shy away from betting the best player in the world on the best team in the NL. Now that Mookie Betts has suffered a wrist injury that will sideline him for at least two months, this feels like Shohei's award to lose. Marcell Ozuna may contest him if he finishes with the NL lead in homers, but Atlanta hasn't been all that good this season and Ozuna isn't exactly a media or fan favorite like Ohtani. 

Best NL MVP value bet: Alec Bohm very quietly ranks among the top five in the majors in RBIs, and he's hitting for average as well. If he continues to improve and the Phillies wind up with the best or second-best record in baseball, he could mess around and win this award if Ohtani betting fatigue sets in. Hey, we've seen Philly stars in other sports steal MVPs from perennial winners in the past (cough, Joel Embiid, cough cough Nikola Jokic). 

MLB player prop bets 2024: AL Cy Young

AL Cy Young best bet: Corbin Burnes

This might be the best individual award race in pro sports right now because the AL has been so strong and yielded so many emergent stars on the mound. That said, newbies tend to get overlooked in Cy Young voting, so the best bet is on the most high-profile ace on one of the best teams in the league. His WHIP isn't quite as low as Skubal's, and his strikeout stuff isn't quite as nasty as Crochet's — but his ERA is lower than both of them. He should also finish with 16-20 wins, which the other two pitchers won't sniff.

Top AL Cy Young sleeper: Logan Gilbert just keeps looking better as the season progresses, and he could soon replace Luis Castillo as the staff ace in a Mariners rotation that low-key looks like the best in the bigs. Gilbert has been at or near the top of the majors in innings pitched all season, yet he maintains a superb ERA and strikeout rate.

MLB player prop bets 2024: NL Cy Young

NL Cy Young best bet: Ranger Suarez

Suarez has always been feared by MLB hitters, but this season he has managed to put it all together and become a truly elite pitcher game in and game out. His stuff has been filthy in every way, and he's a huge reason why the Phillies have excelled most of the 2024 season. He's the best bet, without a doubt. 

Top NL Cy Young value play: Who could blame anyone for making a modest wager on Reynaldo Lopez? If the Braves make a strong second-half run and Lopez remains in the impeccable form he has demonstrated so far, it's tough to see him staying this far down the odds board.

MLB player prop bets 2024: AL Rookie of the Year 

AL Rookie of the Year best bet: Luis Gil

The Yankees rookie has been stellar on the mound all season, winning nine of his 10 decisions with a 2.03 ERA and 0.975 WHIP. His -200 odds at this stage of the season suggest that he's running away from the field, so bet against Gil at your own risk. 

Top AL ROY value bet: The Red Sox found a gem in Ceddanne Rafaela, who has been hitting just about everything as of late. He's an exciting young player and could launch toward the top of this futures market if he keeps up his torrid early-summer pace.

MLB player prop bets 2024: NL Rookie of the Year 

NL Rookie of the Year best bet: Paul Skenes

This seemed like a two-pitcher race between Japanese rookies Imanaga and Yamamoto, but then the Pirates' Skenes emerged as a Stephen Strasburg clone and Yoshi got hurt. How can you not love Skenes, who blows away just about everyone with his effortless velocity and pinpoint control? He's already a fan and media favorite, and he should cruise to this award if he keeps up his torrid pace.

Top NL ROY sleeper: Don't sleep on Gavin Stone, quietly one of the best pitchers in the National League and a big reason the Dodgers have been so good despite Walker Buehler's struggles and Clayton Kershaw's continued absence. Odds this long seem preposterous for a pitcher with Stone's solid stats and profile.

AL and NL home run leader props: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani

BetMGM currently has no home run props listed, probably because Judge and Ohtani are such solid bets to lead their respective leagues the rest of the way.

If Judge can stay healthy, nobody can even touch him in the AL — and now that Ohtani caught up to Ozuna, it's tough to see him relinquishing the lead back to the Atlanta slugger.

If and when these league leader props go back up, consider betting either Judge or Ohtani as short as +150 to lead their league in dingers.