Add oddsmakers to list of doubters giving Ronald Acuña Jr. bulletin board material

Mookie Betts is now the odds-on favorite to win the NL MVP, according to FanDuel.

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. has long been considered the likely winner of that award but his lead has steadily slipped in the face of Betts' impressive second half.

Betts is now -140 while Acuña is +125. Betts' Dodgers teammate is a long way off at +850.

Mookie Betts has passed Ronald Acuña Jr. in NL MVP odds

It's not that Betts is an unworthy challenger to Acuña. He's already matched his career high in home runs at 35 while leading the national league in WAR and OPS+.

But Acuña has the lead in win probability added, runs created and stolen bases while sitting second in WAR.

If anything, Acuña can use the change in odds as motivation in the final month of the season. The MVP race is going to come down to the wire and the outfielder will need to bring his A game if he wants to come away with it.

The closest Acuña has come to winning the MVP was fifth in 2019. He was 12th in 2019 and 2020.

And there will be opportunities to bolster his MVP case. On Saturday, Acuña stole his 59th base of the season. He needs one more and two more home runs to become the first player in baseball history to go 30-60.

The battle between Acuña and Betts could impact the NL standings as well. Both the Braves and the Dodgers are running away with their divisions but they're within touching distance at the top of the league. Atlanta has a four-game lead that they'll want to hold on to.

The Dodgers are facing off with the Diamondbacks to start the week while the Braves are taking on the Rockies. Then they'll begin a four-game series against eachother in Los Angeles.

You better believe MVP voters will be watching that one closely.