Updated August 21, 2026
The National League MVP Award is up for grabs again this season. With the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL, there is a ton of big-name talent looking to win the award as a member of the defending champions. But there are marquee players from several other NL teams that will try to claim it for themselves. Here, we break down the NL MVP award odds and make our prediction as to what we think will happen.
The Chicago Cubs have a player in contention to win this year's NL MVP award. Pete Crow-Armstrong is among the favorites still standing heading into the stretch run of the regular season. At the Polymarket prediction market, Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani have nearly monopolized the NL MVP market in 2026.
PCA has already become a member of the 30-30 club this season, eclipsing 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases on the year. If he continues this level of production, he could grab his first NL MVP.
It will be interesting to see if the performance of Crow-Armstrong's team helps or hurts him late in the regular season. Chicago trails the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race, but Chicago looks like they will make the playoffs as a Wild Card team at the very least. Not winning the division shouldn't hurt PCA's chances, unless the Cubs fall apart down the stretch, which is always a possibility.
Those making MLB betting picks before the start of this season saw Shohei Ohtani with a near-50% chance of winning NL MVP at Polymarket. But he has not seen his chances of winning the award improve from where they were at the start of the year. While Ohtani's been as dangerous as ever at the plate, his lack of time as a pitcher this season has blunted his value to some degree.
Ohtani last pitched before the All-Star break this season. And while he has been incredibly productive hitting, we have become so spoiled by his ability to impact the game in several ways that this year feels like a disappointment by his impossibly high standards.
We will go with Pete Crow-Armstrong to win this year's NL MVP award. PCA's numbers have been impressive, while there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Cubs wouldn't be a playoff team without him. The Dodgers, meanwhile, are loaded with stars and would likely be title contenders even without Ohtani. Expect the Cubbies' top offensive weapon to earn some individual hardware when this season concludes.
