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The 2025 World Series begins Friday, with the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the Toronto Blue Jays. A popular gambling angle heading into the series will be World Series MVP. 

It's a fun enough shot in the dark. In a small sample of a series, it's anyone's guess. We've seen plenty of stars and even superstars over the years win the hardware, such as Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager, Stephen Strasburg, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. That's a diverse enough cast of stars on its own, but then you need to factor in when a good player who isn't a big star wins it, such as Jeremy Peña, Jorge Soler, Ben Zobrist or David Freese. Or how about when a role player takes it, like Steve Pearce did in 2018 or, going back to a Blue Jays title, Pat Borders in 1992? 

Given that it's all over the map here, let's breakdown the candidates who have enticing odds. The lines are via DraftKings.

The easy favorites

Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers, +180 - This seems like incredible value, actually, for a favorite. What's the most likely scenario here? The Dodgers winning? Yes. Ohtani being the best player in the series? Yes.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays, +600 - Fresh off his ALCS MVP, Guerrero is the easy pick if the Blue Jays win the World Series. He's having a special postseason, hitting .442/.510/.930 with three doubles, six homers, 12 RBI and 11 runs in 11 games so far.

Next-tier stars

Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, +900 - We just saw what can happen last year. What does Freddie have in store for an encore?

George Springer, Blue Jays, +1000 - Only two players in history have more World Series home runs and Springer's postseason résumé of clutch hits is as good as anyone in history.

Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers, +1800 - He's often wedged between the superstars in the Dodgers' lineup, hitting third after Ohtani and Mookie Betts and in front of Freeman. Sometimes he hits in the sixth spot, which is prime RBI territory. He has nine home runs and 27 RBI in 30 career playoff games.

Mookie Betts, +2000, Dodgers - He got hot down the stretch and has been steady thus far in the playoffs. A huge World Series wouldn't surprise in the least.

Will Smith, +3000, Dodgers - The All-star catcher battled a hand injury earlier in the playoffs, but he's 6 for 15 with two walks in the last four games. He was an offensive force when healthy in the regular season.

Alejandro Kirk +3000 - We might be stretching the definition of "star" here, but he's made two All-Star Games and hits cleanup.

Frontline pitchers

Blake Snell, Dodgers, +1800 - Snell is the Game 1 starter for the Dodgers, which means he's likely also the Game 5 starter. In his last three regular-season starts, he had a 0.47 ERA. In his three playoff starts, he has a 0.86 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 21 innings. Let's say the Dodgers win this in five games and he deals twice, including in the clincher. He seems like a great candidate at these odds.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers, +3500 - By the same token, what if the Dodgers close this out in six and Yamamoto dominates twice, including in the clincher? He's been very good so far in the playoffs, including last time out with the first complete game since 2017.

Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays, +6000 - We saw in Game 7 of the ALCS that the Jays aren't averse to using Gausman in relief. If he has two dominant starts and then pitches well in relief in a Game 7 win in Toronto, it's easy to see the path to him winning MVP here.

Trey Yesavage, Blue Jays, N/A - Yesavage wasn't listed on the odds as of posting time, but it's always possible he is before the series starts. Keep an eye out. He has the talent to grab the hardware.

Wild cards

Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays, +3000 - In only 71 regular-season games, Varsho had 13 doubles, two triples and 20 home runs. He hit .438 with three doubles and two home runs in the ALDS and came through with an RBI single in Game 7 of the ALCS. He also adds excellent defense in center field.

Tommy Edman, Dodgers, +4000 - The switch-hitter wears out lefties and has gotten plenty of big postseason hits in his career. In fact, he won the 2024 NLCS MVP, so we're acutely aware it's possible. He's hitting .286 with a pair of homers so far this postseason.

Nathan Lukes, Blue Jays, +5000 - He bats second between Springer and Guerrero. That's quite the cushy spot where a player could soak up a lot of runs and RBI. He's hit .333 with three doubles so far in the playoffs. He'd need to outshine everyone else, of course, which is where this becomes tricky.

Ernie Clement, Blue Jays, +5000 - He's hit in the six hole the last several games and is slashing .429/.444/.619 with three doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI and 10 runs in 11 playoff games so far this postseason.

Fun longshots

Max Scherzer, Blue Jays, +10000 - It's possible he makes two starts and comes in relief in Game 7, right? What if he throws the way he did in ALCS Game 4? 

Jeff Hoffman, Blue Jays, +20000 - There's a world in which the Blue Jays win four close games with Hoffman getting the save every time -- and going more than an inning in a few games. If all the clutch hits were spread out pretty evenly on the offense and the starting pitching wasn't dominant, Hoffman could sneak in there.