Just days into the 2024 MLB season, there’s a new MVP favorite in the National League. 

Mookie Betts leapfrogged Ronald Acuna Jr. for the top spot on the odds board at FanDuel Sportsbook after a scorching hot start to the year. 

Betts, who is now +350 to win the award, has wreaked havoc on the league through nine games, hitting .485/.595/1.091 with five home runs and 11 RBIs – all of which lead the majors entering Thursday.

The outfielder-turned-infielder took over the shortstop position just before Opening Day after Gavin Lux struggled to throw across the diamond throughout Spring Training. 

Betts has more than held his own at the new spot, grading out as roughly above average in a small sample size by Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved. 

Acuna, the 2023 NL MVP, has shifted from +500 in early March to +550, thanks to Betts’ rise. 

It’s early, but the Braves outfielder is off to a much slower start than Betts, slashing .263/.391/.316 with zero home runs and one stolen base through Atlanta’s first five games. 

If he can indeed win this year’s NL MVP award, Betts will become just the second player in MLB history to do so in both leagues, joining Frank Robinson, who won it in with the 1961 Reds and 1966 with the Orioles. 

Betts was the NL’s runner-up behind Acuna last season while finishing in the top 10 for the seventh time.

With Betts leading the way, the Dodgers have gotten off to an excellent 7-2 start in a season full of massive expectations following the additions of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow last offseason. 

The Dodgers opened the season with a historically high over/under total of 103.5 wins, which is the highest since the 1999 Yankees, the eventual World Series champions who were coming off a 114-win season, according to SportsOddsHistory.com.

With such a powerhouse squad, Betts is far from the only Dodger in the NL MVP conversation.

Teammates Freddie Freeman (+1000) and Shohei Ohtani (+1500) are fourth and seventh on the odds board, respectively.