The 2026 season is over, and the debriefing shall commence. My preferred way to begin is by handing out awards to some of the players who made the season what it was.
How many awards? Thinking back to the 40 I issued last year, two words come to mind: how pretentious. I can't monopolize people's time like that anymore. There are no more lineups to set. No more pickups to make. Any time I take up here is time better spent watching playoff baseball or even YouTube.
So instead of 40 this year, I've reduced it to ... OK, to 35, which is still pretentious, but I'm genuinely trying to represent all of the principal actors from this season. Some of these awards are serious business. Others are a bit silly. All are final, so if you have any complaints, bring them to your mother.
In case you're wondering about my picks for standard awards like MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year, I'll share them right at the top here, but they're not as interesting as what follows.
AL MVP: Yordan Alvarez, OF, HOU
NL MVP: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, CHC
AL CY: Cam Schlittler, SP, NYY
NL CY: Jacob Misiorowski, SP, MIL
AL ROY: Kevin McGonigle, 3B/SS, DET
NL ROY: Sal Stewart, 1B/3B, CIN
You see? Boring. Now, let's get to the good stuff.
Most Valuable Hitter
 
CHC
Chi. Cubs
• #4
•
Age: 24
This award doesn't automatically go to the best overall hitter, but whether in Head-to-Head points or Rotisserie leagues, Crow-Armstrong was a distant No.1 despite widespread skepticism coming in. He became the seventh player ever to have a 40/40 season, led the majors in runs scored, and nearly tripled his walk rate from 2025.
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Most Valuable Pitcher
 
MIL
Milwaukee
• #32
•
Age: 24
This one was a close call between Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler, who were both drafted in a similar range, but the 19-inning gap between the two is Schlittler's only real statistical advantage. The clincher is Misiorowski's 0.12-point edge in WHIP, which doesn't seem as significant when both of their WHIPs are below 1.00, but how much more would you value a 1.10 WHIP than a 1.22 WHIP?
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Best Value, hitter edition
 
CHW
Chi. White Sox
• #20
•
Age: 26
Vargas made small strides last year but was still barely drafted inside the top 300, with his former top prospect standing now a distant memory. Turns out a little extra bat speed (biggest increase in the majors, actually) goes a long way, transforming Vargas into the 10th-best hitter in 5x5 scoring and the third-best in points scoring.
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Best Value, pitcher edition
 
CLE
Cleveland
• #77
•
Age: 25
Messick didn't get the same treatment as Cam Schlittler or Nolan McLean on Draft Day despite a similarly strong debut late in 2025, but he went on to be the ninth-best starting pitcher in Rotisserie leagues and the 11th-best in Head-to-Head points. He's about to go down as one of the biggest Rookie of the Year snubs in history, thanks to Kevin McGonigle.
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Biggest Bust
 
TOR
Toronto
• #27
•
Age: 27
Sure, Garrett Crochet and Cal Raleigh were technically worse, but the former was basically absent due to injury and the latter a known bust risk coming in. Guerrero had been an early-round mainstay through age 26, and our only theory for why his power dried up is that his back was achy all season.
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Biggest Breakthrough
 
STL
St. Louis
• #18
•
Age: 24
After he started out with an underwhelming rookie season and then moving backward in the two years that followed, Walker didn't have many believers left, but his 2026 season serves as a reminder not to give up on 24-year-olds who impact the ball like he does. He made the All-Star team, won the Home Run Derby and positioned himself to be drafted as early as Round 2 next year, despite a poor September.
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Biggest Breakthrough, midseason edition
 
MIN
Minnesota
• #15
•
Age: 24
Keaschall was a popular breakout candidate at second base, but by the end of June, he was hitting .245 with just two home runs and a .645 OPS. Thereafter, he slashed .324/.422/.508 and offered his first glimpse of power in the majors, homering eight times over the course of three months with the sort of pull-air rate that made such power production possible in the minors.
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Quietest Breakthrough
Jake Bauers
1B
MIL
Milwaukee
• #9
•
Age: 30
Bauers probably doesn't come to mind when you think of 2026 breakouts, but he was a top-15 outfielder in both scoring formats and has a Baseball Savant page that's lit up like a Christmas tree. To think we were upset early on about him stealing at-bats from Andrew Vaughn.
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Most Improved Hitter
 
KC
Kansas City
• #14
•
Age: 23
Caglianone hit only .157 as a rookie last year, even though his peak exit velocities were in the 90th percentile and he had no real issues making contact. He started out slowly in 2026 as well, but then he hit .317 with 18 home runs and a .914 OPS from June 1 on, with his average exit velocity placing in the 97th percentile and his max in the 98th percentile.
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Most Improved Pitcher
 
Cade Cavalli
SP
WAS
Washington
• #24
•
Age: 28
Cavalli's return from Tommy John surgery late in 2025 received little fanfare since he was already in his late 20s and had yet to offer even a glimpse of the potential that once made him a first-round pick. He seemingly improved with each passing month in 2026, overcoming early control issues to finish in the top 20.
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Best Comeback
 
HOU
Houston
• #44
•
Age: 29
After being limited to just 48 games by hand and ankle injuries in 2025, Alvarez was back and better than ever in 2026, playing in a career-high 158 games, hitting a career-high 42 home runs, securing his first batting title and likely going on to claim AL MVP honors.
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Best Midseason Comeback (tie)
 
SD
San Diego
• #23
•
Age: 27
If someone told you at the All-Star break that Tatis would be one of the few early-rounders to pull his weight, you might have presumed you were talking to an idiot. But it turns out that idiot was a time-traveling one because after taking until May 30 to hit his first home run, Tatis hit 24 thereafter, reverting to his old mechanics after experimenting with a closed stance early on.
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SD
San Diego
• #3
•
Age: 23
There must have been something in the water in San Diego because Merrill also floundered early before delivering on his lofty expectations in the second half, going from slashing .219/.278/.350 to slashing .304/.339/.569. His OPS jumped nearly 300 points, from .628 to .909.
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Alex Bregman
3B
CHC
Chi. Cubs
• #3
•
Age: 32
Perhaps the most disappointing turnaround for me personally was Bregman, who seemed to substantiate my preseason bust call by hitting .241 with nine home runs and a .696 OPS in the first half before hitting .303 with 19 home runs and a 1.010 OPS in the second half. He ended up with his best numbers since 2019, when he almost beat out Mike Trout for AL MVP honors.
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Biggest Fakeout
MIL
Milwaukee
• #52
•
Age: 25
The Brewers know pitching, and they proved it again by nurturing the twice-cast-off Harrison into the ace he always should have been with a 2.79 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 11.1 K/9 through 21 starts. Unfortunately, he kept pitching thereafter, and as you can tell from his final numbers, it didn't go well, even resulting in his banishment to the bullpen by season's end.
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Fakest Fakeout
 
Zack Wheeler
SP
PHI
Philadelphia
• #45
•
Age: 36
What's that? Wheeler might never be the same after having thoracic outlet syndrome late last season? Psych! He's back with a 2.16 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 16 starts. Oh, wait, now it's catching up to him with an 8.51 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over a six-start span. Never mind, he's back to a 1.67 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in his final six starts. He's healthy again. No wait, he's not. Oh, but he actually is. Stop dragging my heart around.
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Perpetual Fakeout
 
Jacob Lopez
SP
ATH
Athletics
• #57
•
Age: 28
Lopez entered 2026 with some helium after a strong finish to 2025, but a 6.75 ERA through 12 appearances took the air right out of that balloon and even landed him in the minors. He returned to sucker us in again with a 2.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.9 K/9 over a nine-start span, only to blow up for 10 runs in a Sept. 19 start at the Guardians, when it mattered most. Seeing as he's a funky left-hander who relies more on deception than stuff, these wild swings in production may just be the norm.
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Biggest Head-Scratcher
 
Paul Skenes
SP
PIT
Pittsburgh
• #30
•
Age: 24
Skenes, whose first two seasons couldn't have gone more flawlessly, lost more than a mile per hour off his fastball and floundered for much of the season, but that velocity was also missing in his first nine starts, when he delivered his typical 1.98 ERA with a 0.64 WHIP and 10.8 K/9. So it's not clear where his velocity went, if it's possible for him to regain it, or even if it's really to blame for his struggles.
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Best Role Change
 
Jacob Latz
RP
TEX
Texas
• #67
•
Age: 30
The Rangers tried Latz as a starter down the stretch in 2025, and it seemed to go well, yielding a 2.72 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 7.7 K/9 in eight starts. But even so, he moved back to the bullpen for the start of 2026 and, most surprisingly, took over as closer to tremendous success.
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Ultimate April All-Star
Jose Soriano
SP
TOR
Toronto
• #40
•
Age: 27
Having expanded his arsenal with more four-seamers and splitters, Soriano seemed like he was breaking out with a 0.84 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 10.3 K/9 in his first seven starts, and that idea took such hold that his roster rate wouldn't drop below 90 percent for the rest of the season. That's even though he was basically the same Soriano as always from May 1 on, putting together a 4.88 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 8.0 K/9.
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Told You So award
CHW
Chi. White Sox
• #5
•
Age: 26
For all the enthusiasm over Murakami's arrival from Japan, I contended that he was another Joey Gallo, offering massive power but with such difficulty connecting when he swings, even on strikes, that the home runs may not be enough. It seemed silly when he was batting .244 with a .935 OPS through the end of July, but over the final two months, he hit only .156 while striking out 40 percent of the time.
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Mr. September
KC
Kansas City
• #22
•
Age: 23
Jensen's debut last September, in which he batted .300 with three homers and a .941 OPS in 20 games, earned him plenty of helium heading into 2026. He didn't live up to it for most of the year, batting under .200 in three of the first five months, but then went on to hit .338 with eight home runs and a 1.194 OPS in September, salvaging his rookie season and establishing his favorite month.
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Biggest Overachiever
 
ARI
Arizona
• #57
•
Age: 33
Maybe it finally caught up to him with a 5.20 ERA in September, but Rodriguez still managed to have a 2.89 for the year despite a 3.89 FIP and 4.27 xERA. The 33-year-old was playing with house money all year, averaging a career-low 6.8 K/9 with middling walk and ground ball rates.
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Biggest Power-Up
 
Luis Garcia
1B
NYY
N.Y. Yankees
• #26
•
Age: 26
The actual answer here is probably Miguel Vargas, but since he's already enjoying a higher honor (Best Hitter Value), I'll instead highlight Garcia, who himself gained nearly 2 mph of average bat speed, skipping right over being a 20-homer guy to become a 30-homer guy even while frequently sitting against left-handers.
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Biggest Heel Turn
 
SEA
Seattle
• #29
•
Age: 29
Raleigh was my pick for Most Valuable Hitter in this space last year, having turned in the best offensive season ever for a catcher while doubling his usual number of home runs. While I don't think anyone expected him to repeat that feat, his 2026 was less a regression than an outright collapse. Following a career-best season with a career-worst is a twist of the knife that no amount of mechanical issues can excuse.
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Fizzle Reel award
SEA
Seattle
• #13
•
Age: 22
Some of us had been salivating over Anderson's arrival since as far back as May. By the time it finally came in late August, he was sporting a 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 13.0 K/9 at Double-A, truly some historic numbers for the top pitcher selected in the 2025 draft. What he gave us in six starts wasn't so different from what a generic streamer off the waiver wire could have, which raises the question of how much upside he actually has.
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What's Dead May Never Die award
ARI
Arizona
• #28
•
Age: 35
Arenado seemed like he was done as a power hitter, having lost too much of his already thin exit velocity margin to hit even 20 homers in 2024 or 2025, but then he goes to the Diamondbacks, loses even more off his average exit velocity, and delivers his first 30-homer season since 2022. It may turn out to be the last nudge needed to get in the Hall of Fame.
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Mr. Funny Math
 
Payton Tolle
SP
BOS
Boston
• #70
•
Age: 23
This is normally where I tout a pitcher using my patented "if you remove his four worst starts" framing that drives everyone crazy, but I'm going to take a different approach with Tolle and sort his starts by curveball usage. In the 15 starts in which he threw the pitch less than 10 percent of the time, he had a 3.87 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 8.6 K/9. In the 11 starts in which he threw it more than 10 percent of the time, he had a 1.94 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 12.6 K/9. Imagine if he threw it more than 10 percent of the time, all the time.
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Vinny Vindication
PHI
Philadelphia
• #44
•
Age: 28
Jesus Luzardo was last year's choice for Mr. Funny Math and oh, how they laughed when I pointed out that his ERA improved to 3.03, his WHIP to 1.11 and his K/9 to 10.6 if you removed his two worst starts, which were clearly marred by pitch tipping. Turns out it was legitimate analysis. His numbers were even better than that this year, with no reported pitch-tipping incidents.
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The One Who Fantasy Footballers Won't See Coming
Jared Jones
SP
PIT
Pittsburgh
• #17
•
Age: 25
Maybe Fantasy Footballers will take a look at Jones' final numbers and realize what has to be done, but it'll still come as a shock to them, given that his ERA was pushing 5.00 prior to his September surge. Three of his final five starts saw him allow just one hit, and three others saw him strike out nine, combining for 0.93 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 12.4 K/9.
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The One Who Nobody Saw Coming
STL
St. Louis
• #13
•
Age: 22
Overshadowed in an organization overrun with catcher prospects, Bernal hit his way to the majors with strong plate discipline and exit velocity readings and then started every single game after he arrived, an incredible feat for any prospect call-up but especially a catcher. I'm getting Drake Baldwin vibes from him.
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Don't You Forget about Me award
 
SF
San Francisco
• #10
•
Age: 27
You've already forgotten, haven't you? Prior to his torn meniscus in late July, which ended his season, Schmitt was the brightest spot for a bad Giants team, providing quality power production while picking up eligibility most everywhere. He'll retain only third base and outfield, but those are still coveted positions. The fact that he underperformed his expected stats would suggest his breakthrough was legit.
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Dodger Dog award (tie)
 
LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #80
•
Age: 26
The Dodgers flaunted their dominance down the stretch not just on the field but in the makeup of their roster. They brought back Sheehan after a month in the minors, got the version they always dreamed of as he put together a 0.53 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and 12.7 K/9 across three appearances, all five innings or more, and yet still saw fit to option him back to the minors twice during that stretch. The Reds would never.
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LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #95
•
Age: 21
Likewise, the Dodgers called up top hitting prospect De Paula when Shohei Ohtani was sidelined by knee and biceps issues, and he proceeded to reach base 50 percent of the time, proving to be a real boon to their offense. Yet they sent him back down when Ohtani returned in the final week because they couldn't find room in their outfield for him. They're just dogging us now.
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Rebuilder's Delight
 
COL
Colorado
• #31
•
Age: 29
McCarthy had clearly fallen out of favor with the Diamondbacks, and seeing as he's a marginal defender who hadn't shown much power or on-base ability up to that point, his only hope for regular playing time was on a bad team just looking to fill out a lineup. Fortunately, that team was the Rockies, and he took to Coors Field like scrapheap outfielders of yore, placing in the top 10 at the position.
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Mr. Two-Frace
Gage Jump
SP
ATH
Athletics
• #61
•
Age: 23
In Jump's nine good starts, he had a 1.35 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 11.0 K/9, and in his 11 other starts, he had a 10.32 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and 8.5 K/9. It didn't strictly adhere to matchups or venues. When he threw enough strikes, he was terrific, and when he didn't, he was horrid.
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Biggest Weirdo
 
TB
Tampa Bay
• #28
•
Age: 36
How does a guy whose already pitiful K/9 rate dropped by about a point for a third straight year go on to have a career-best season in which he placed in the top 15 for wins, ERA, WHIP and innings? With the way they coaxed this sort of season out of Martinez, we're going to have to start calling them the Devil Rays again.
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Mr. Loook Who Finally Decided to Show Up
Mookie Betts
SS
LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #50
•
Age: 33
With apologies to his teammate, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts' September went a lot further toward salvaging his career-worst season, seeing him hit .337 with seven home runs and more walks (16) than strikeouts (11). If you prorate his 2026 totals over the 150 games he played in 2025, they come out to 28 homers, 84 RBI and 86 runs, so there may be life in the soon-to-be 34-year-old still.
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