25 MLB players who could win MVP in 2026

Well, duh. Ohtani has won the last three NL MVP awards, and he won an MVP with the Angels as well. Only Barry Bonds has more MVPs. Also, he will only turn 32 during the season and is intent on pitching more. We may have a couple more years of Ohtani being a lock as long as he’s healthy.

Let’s go to the other reigning MVP. Judge has three MVPs, and he’s won each of the last two. The only time in the last four campaigns he didn’t win the MVP, he was limited to 106 games. Now, Judge will turn 34 early in the 2026 campaign, so there may be a better chance he falls off, but Judge is definitely one of the favorites, if not the favorite.

Witt, to us, has the best chance of winning his first MVP. Judge wins MVPs with all-time power numbers. Witt, though, is a flashy shortstop with two Gold Gloves. Plus, the Royal has never failed to steal at least 30 bases in a season. Owing to some voters feeling that a trip to the postseason is necessary for a player to be an MVP, that might be all that stands in the way of Witt in 2026. Well, that and Judge.

On the one hand, after stealing 54 bases as a rookie, Carroll has been in the 30s on that front the last two seasons. On the other hand, he had his first 30-homer campaign in 2025, and he also had a staggering 17 triples. Carroll could, potentially, be a 40/40 guy, but being a 30/40 guy with over 15 triples would also go a long way.

We thought Raleigh might win MVP last season, but part of that was imagining MVP voters might not want to give Judge his third MVP in four years. Nope! Also, Raleigh probably just had his best season. The Mariner hit 60 homers as a catcher! However, in 2024, he won a Gold Glove. If Raleigh can be a catcher with, say, 40 home runs and a Gold Glove, that might be enough.

Acuna has something working for him, and that’s precedent. He was the MVP in 2023 when he hit .337 and stole an incredible 73 bases. Injuries have washed out his last two campaigns, but in 2025 he did manage a .935 OPS in 95 games. If Acuna can play at least 150 games, he’ll be in the running.

Will Vladito follow in his father’s footsteps and win an MVP? The way he hit in the 2025 postseason was a good sign. Guerrero is only 27, so still in the meat of his prime, and he’s hit .300 in two seasons. However, after popping for 48 homers in 2021, the Blue Jay has become more of a 20-to-30 homers, 30-to-40 doubles kind of guy. Guerrero may need to get back to 40 home runs to win an MVP.

Maybe a Dodger other than Ohtani will win the NL MVP. Tucker was fantastic for the Astros in 2022 and 2023, and we figured he would take home the MVP hardware at some point. Then, 2024 was lost to injury, and 2025 saw him move to the Cubs, struggle a bit with the transition, and face another bout of injuries. If Tucker stays healthy for the Dodgers and rakes for a potential 100-win team, he might get that MVP. Or, voters may knock him for joining what many already saw as a “super team.”

Ramirez has already shown he can get attention in Cleveland, but can he get enough attention? He’s finished in the top five in MVP voting six times. Of course, the question then becomes, how does Ramirez get over the hump? Well, he once had 39 doubles, 39 homers, and 41 stolen bases and finished fifth, so it may just come down to the competition.

The Mets will have to win the NL East, as it seems unlikely voters will reward Soto otherwise. We know he will get on base, and he’s led the league in OBP three times. Last year, he even got into running the bases and swiped 38 bags to go with 43 homers. Soto is a horrendous fielder, so he has to do damage with his bat and on the base paths. Oh, and help the Mets win the NL East. Otherwise, not a chance.

Henderson was Rookie of the Year with the Orioles in 2023, and in 2024, he was fourth in MVP voting. He was on that Bobby Witt trajectory of “When, not if.” Henderson started 2025 hurt, though, and he struggled to get on track. That being said, he did still hit .274 with 17 home runs and 30 stolen bases. If Henderson is healthy, he should get back in the mix.

Would MVP voters reward a guy who was once suspended for 80 games for PEDs? Tatis could make voters think long and hard about that. In 2025, he hit 25 home runs and stole 32 bases while winning a Gold Glove. Tatis is an elite fielder, so if he can get over 30 homers and pick his average up a bit, we shall see.

Anthony debuted in 2025 as the consensus choice for best prospect in baseball. He posted a .396 OBP in his age-21 season over 71 games. This is not merely a bet on Anthony putting up the same numbers over a full campaign. It’s a bet on the expected improvement at the plate happening very quickly.

De La Cruz once hit 25 homers and stole 67 bases while playing strong defense at shortstop and finished eighth in MVP voting. How? Well, for starters, the Reds went 77-85. Second, De La Cruz barely walked and led MLB in strikeouts. We know De La Cruz can pop with the counting stats. If he could avoid being one of the top strikeout guys and get his OBP over .350, that would go a long way.

Altuve is one of the active players with an MVP award, though it was now effectively a decade ago. Not everybody on this list is as likely to win as Ohtani and Judge, though. As recently as 2022, Altuve finished in the top five in MVP voting. He won a Silver Slugger in 2024. If he’s back to being a .300 hitter and can still be a 25-homer guy as a second baseman, it could happen.

Bregman didn’t enjoy Boston, and he hopes Wrigley Field works better for him than Fenway Park. His .273 average with the Red Sox was his best number since 2019, though, and he may just need to stay healthy and keep showing some power. Also, the Cubs would need to win the NL Central, or maybe even have the best record in the National League.

Kurtz didn’t get called up by the Athletics until the 2025 season was underway, and he was the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. He had a 1.002 OPS and 36 home runs in 117 games. Again, as a rookie, a 22-year-old rookie at that. If Kurtz can be a 50-homer guy in 2026, he might get in the MVP running. If he can get to 60 homers, well, then the awards could be his.

Machado is a two-time Gold Glover, but that’s not really in the mix here. His second Gold Glove win came in 2015. Machado debuted in his age-19 season, so he’s been around forever but is only turning 34 during this campaign. Twice since joining the Padres, he’s finished in the top three in NL MVP voting. Maybe all he needs is one season where things really click, and it would help a lot if the Padres won the NL West over the Dodgers.

Can Buxton stay healthy? Not healthy for him, but actually healthy. Last year, he played in 126 games, and that was the second-most of his career. He also hit 35 homers and stole 24 bases in those 126 games. Buxton has elite power. If everything just breaks right one year in his career and he plays 150 games, he might be an MVP.

The 2025 season was rough for Devers, as he had a falling out with the Red Sox and then moved to the Giants. He only hit .236 with the Giants, but he also hit 20 homers in 90 games. Devers is a career .276 hitter, so if he’s hitting like that and manages to hit 40 homers for the Giants, he can get in the mix.

Don’t forget about pitchers! It’s not common for an MVP award to go to a pitcher, but it does happen. If a pitcher is going to win the MVP, though, it might just be the guy who won the last two AL Cy Young awards. If Skubal wins MVP, he’ll assuredly win a third Cy Young in a row, which is rarified air. Of course, Skubal would have to be great, and the Tigers would have to be quite good without a standout hitter.

Paul Skenes’ season opened with a disastrous start, and the Pirates were never likely to be good enough for a Pirate pitcher to win MVP anyway. The Phillies, though, could win the NL East. Sanchez finished second in the NL Cy Young last year. If Sanchez wins that award and he carries the Phillies’ rotation, he might be the MVP.

Being a Yankee helps, for sure. So does being available, and Fried led the majors with 19 wins last season. Now, we don’t think a win-loss record is a great measure of a pitcher, but some MVP voters do. Oh, and Fried is also a great pitcher who has finished in the top five in Cy Young voting three times. On top of that, he has four Gold Gloves. A Cy Young, a Gold Glove, and 20 wins for the Yankees could do it.

Narratives matter. The Mets traded for Peralta to try and get over the hump. What if he is the clear NL Cy Young? What if the Mets win the NL East? Or win 100 games? Peralta won 17 games to lead the National League in wins, and if the Mets win 100, he might win 20. Then, well, there would be a narrative, and that matters.

Why not? Let’s consider the possibility of a throwback season from Trout. Trout is a future Hall of Famer. The thing is, once upon a time, he seemed like a future all-time great. He still could do that, maybe, but with better health and an uptick in play. Trout has three MVPs. Three! He started the 2026 season at the age of 34, so he’s exiting his prime, but he’s potentially still got some years. Ohtani has come for the throne of the best player to hit MLB since Albert Pujols. Another MVP from Trout would show it’s still a battle.