AL and NL MVP watch: Could a teammate dethrone Yankees' Aaron Judge? And is Shohei Ohtani's top competition the Braves' Matt Olson?

Ben Rice

After proving plenty last year in his first full season as a key cog in the Yankees’ lineup, Rice has upgraded his game across the board to become one of most dangerous bats in the sport. His underlying data was already terrific, but there was still some question about whether the lefty-hitting Rice would be an everyday player or still be shielded against certain southpaws, whom he was notably less effective against last season. That skepticism extended all the way into the start of this season when Rice sat against four of the first six lefty starters the Yankees faced, even as he had gotten off to a ridiculously hot start. By now, though, there’s little doubt, as Rice has demolished righties (.333/.455/.718) and lefties (.367/.457/.867), cementing himself as the Yankees’ No. 2 hitter ahead of Judge. With designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list and veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt showing minimal signs of impact in his age-38 season, there is zero reason Rice shouldn’t be in the lineup every day. Rice leads all qualified hitters with a 224 wRC+ (1.214 OPS), which surely won’t sustain, but speaks to his ascent to worthy co-star status alongside Judge atop the lineup.

There’s a long way to go to stay relevant in the MVP discussion, but there is recent precedent of a non-Judge Yankee earning due respect from voters, as Juan Soto finished third in his lone year in the Bronx. Regardless of where Rice finishes on MVP ballots, his rise from 12th-round pick out of Dartmouth to this caliber of major-league mashing is one of the best stories in baseball.

Yordan Alvarez

If Rice’s rapid rise to the top of the offensive leaderboards has come as a shock, Alvarez’s return to such statistical territory has been anything but. Injuries may have derailed Alvarez and the Astros in 2025, but everything he had demonstrated with the bat in his career prior suggested that Alvarez was one of the best hitters on the planet. And this year, now healthy, he seems to have gotten even better, dropping his strikeout rate to a career-low 11.7% and improving his batted ball profile to enable more consistent slugging. He leads the AL in hits and total bases, and perhaps most encouragingly considering his history, Alvarez has been durable, starting all 36 of Houston’s games batting second.

Without much defense or baserunning value added — Alvarez has made eight starts in left field, and 28 at DH — he will need to continue to rake at an outlier level to stay in the MVP mix for the whole season. That’s what he did in 2022 en route to a third-place finish behind Judge and Ohtani, but those efforts were magnified coming for a dominant Houston team that would eventually win the World Series. The 2026 Astros do not appear to be on nearly as promising a trajectory, but if Alvarez can continue to dominate at the plate to this degree, his case should be taken seriously, whether Houston continues to wilt or climbs its way back into a playoff race.

In the hunt

Mike Trout

For all the injuries that have limited Trout’s playing time over the past half-decade, the most discouraging thing about Trout’s 2025 was that for the first time in his career, he was healthy but not special. His 130 games marked the most he had played in a single season since 2019, but his strikeout rate spiked to a career-high 32%, his OPS was a career-low .797 and he played zero games in center field. All of it screamed that a sharp if unwelcome decline was officially in progress … or so we thought.

Trout has returned to center field in 2026 in his age-34 season, and his bat looks rejuvenated as well, restoring him toward the top of the WAR leaderboards where he has resided for the bulk of his legendary career.

Trout has started all but one game batting second for the Angels (31 in center, four at DH), and has markedly improved his contact rates from the troubling marks he showcased a year ago, lowering his strikeout rate to a more palatable 23.6% while walking at a career-high 21.7% clip. Trout is also crushing the ball when connecting, running a 23.5% barrel rate that ranks fourth in MLB behind only Aaron Judge, James Wood and Juan Soto. Playing for a bad Angels team (13-23 entering Tuesday) hasn’t prevented Trout from being a part of past MVP discussions, so if he can stay healthy — one of the biggest ifs we have in the sports — this slug-happy, on-base machine version of Trout is fully capable of hanging around the MVP race, even if he doesn’t offer the speed or defense that he used to.

Bobby Witt Jr.

It took until his 28th game of the season for Witt to hit his first home run of the season — and he’s added only two more since — but the Royals’ superstar shortstop is such a difference-maker in every other aspect of the game that he still ranks as one of the most valuable players in the American League. While his 112 wRC+ lags behind the other star position players atop the fWAR leaderboard, Witt’s spectacular glovework at shortstop has made him the second-most valuable defender in baseball behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong. The standout defense at a premium position plus impact baserunning (he has already stolen 11 bags in 13 tries) ensures Witt will remain a part of this conversation regardless of any sort of power outage at the plate.  As for his chances of actually winning MVP as many expect he will at some point, that will certainly require an uptick in offensive output and a Kansas City surge up the standings. There’s still time for both to happen, but right now, another strong placement on the ballot looks likelier than Witt claiming the award.

Shea Langeliers

Langeliers has been by far the most consistent and productive player for a first-place A’s team looking to make some noise after a multi-year rebuild and move to a new city. He’s not quite on a Cal Raleigh-esque pace, but Langeliers leads all catchers in homers with 10, and his 176 wRC+ ranks fourth in the American League behind only Rice, Alvarez and Judge. The pure power isn’t anything new — Langeliers’ 82 long balls from 2023-2025 ranked second among backstops behind only Raleigh’s 124 — but the overall production has taken an impressive leap, which could thrust him into MVP consideration rather than just the “you know who’s pretty underrated?” discussions he has occupied for years.

Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda

If the Rays maintain their unexpected push toward being one of the teams to beat in the AL, one of their top hitters could become the face of their surprising success. That could be a familiar veteran like Díaz, whose batting title earned him a sixth-place MVP finish in 2023, and who is again hovering near the top of the AL leaderboards in batting average and on-base percentage. Perhaps Aranda, a first-time All-Star last year and current RBI leader in the AL, continues to prove the potency of his left-handed bat. Or maybe it’s Caminero, the electric 22-year-old who mashed his way to 45 homers and a ninth-place MVP finish last season. All three have a path toward being in the discussion if the Rays keep winning, but their current numbers pale in comparison to the competition, so there’s also a lot of work to do.

Kevin McGonigle, Munetaka Murakami

We’ll talk more about these two when we dive into the Rookie of the Year races later this week, but both merit a brief mention here. McGonigle already looks like the Tigers’ best all-around player, and if he is the driving force behind Detroit’s first division title since 2014, expect him to be in the MVP discussion as well. As for Murakami, the strikeouts may soar to stratospheric levels, but if the Japanese sensation can challenge for the home run title as the star slugger on a notably more competent White Sox club? That could carry a sizable narrative heft that propels Murakami into MVP conversations.

(Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)

NL MVP

The contenders

Shohei Ohtani

With four MVPs already in his trophy case, Ohtani appears to be more focused on claiming the elusive Cy Young Award for the first time. A side effect of the quest may be lesser production offensively, but even if Ohtani’s bat declines to a more mortal level of good, that production combined with a Cy Young-caliber season would still make him the MVP favorite, barring some historic showings from his competition.

That said, it will be interesting to see who else in the loaded Dodgers lineup could vie for MVP votes, especially with prior winners Freddie Freeman (.754 OPS) and Mookie Betts (on IL) not exactly at the forefront, and a slow start from lucrative free-agent addition Kyle Tucker (.711 OPS). The first few weeks introduced a stunning possibility in Andy Pages, but he has cooled off dramatically, with a .556 OPS and zero home runs over his past 19 games. Instead, the most dependable offensive engine has been mainstay Max Muncy, who received down-ballot votes in 2018, 2019 and 2021, but has fallen behind his more famous peers in the lineup in terms of MVP recognition in recent years. That could change in 2026, as Muncy’s .969 OPS ranks third in the NL.

Matt Olson

To some degree, Olson has become more synonymous with his streak of consecutive games played (818 and counting) than his actual performance. His start to 2026 should serve as an emphatic reminder that he is not just an ironman, but one of the best power hitters of his generation. Olson reached 300 career home runs Monday in Seattle, launching his NL-leading 12th of the season in a rare loss for the MLB-best Braves (25-11). Atlanta’s resurgence has been one of the biggest stories of the season and Olson has been at the center of it, leading MLB in RBI, runs scored, doubles and total bases, looking more like the version of himself that finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2023 when he led MLB with 54 homers. If the Braves keep thriving to this degree, this could be Olson’s best chance to break into the inner-circle of MVP candidates, perhaps even pushing Ohtani if Atlanta can seize the top seed in the NL away from the defending champs.

Olson has not been alone in Atlanta’s efforts to build an early cushion atop the NL East, and several other Braves bats deserve acknowledgement. Second-year backstop Drake Baldwin has been fabulous in his follow-up to his Rookie of the Year campaign, Ozzie Albies is delivering quite the bounceback and Michael Harris II is hitting the ball harder than ever while playing excellent defense in center field. Olson is the lock, but the Braves are trending toward several MVP vote-getters — and that might not even include former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., who has yet to heat up. Good times in Atlanta.

Elly De La Cruz

After finishing eighth in NL MVP voting in his second major-league season, De La Cruz trended in the wrong direction in Year 3, which is a hilarious thing to say about someone who played all 162 games and hit 22 home runs while stealing 37 bases as a shortstop. But that was a fair assessment considering what De La Cruz had demonstrated early in his career, which hinted that he could make a run at multiple MVP awards rather than settle for down-ballot consideration. This season has been a positive step back toward fulfilling the enormous hype, as De La Cruz looks better at the plate than ever before while continuing to play outstanding defense. The switch-hitter’s dramatic improvement batting right-handed this season could be the key to unlocking his MVP potential, as De La Cruz is now dangerous no matter who he is facing, affording ample more chances to change the game with his power and/or speed. A 30 HR/30 SB season seems all but certain — if not 40/40 — and from a possible Gold Glove shortstop? Sounds like an MVP candidate to me.

Nico Hoerner

The Cubs are another team off to a blistering start with multiple position players who could claim to have the most compelling MVP case on the roster, but we’ll give Hoerner the nod here for now. Strictly offensively, Seiya Suzuki (173 wRC+) and Ian Happ (146 wRC+) have been more impactful. But Hoerner too is swinging a hot bat (career-high 135 wRC+) while providing unrivaled defense at second base and outstanding baserunning, amounting to an all-around package of skills that have him ranked fourth in the NL in fWAR behind only Olson, De La Cruz and Brice Turang. A crucial component of Chicago’s success on both sides of the ball, Hoerner is validating Chicago’s decision to sign him to a $141 million extension before he could reach free agency this coming winter.

Brice Turang

Turang had Team USA players and coaches buzzing during the World Baseball Classic, and he’s continued to shine in the early going for the Brew Crew. A speedster with strong contact skills but minimal pop earlier in his career, Turang has found his power stroke in a big way, and is suddenly a full-blown wrecking ball in the batter’s box. He ranks in the upper echelon in xwOBA, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, and has a ridiculous 18.8% walk rate, all while playing wonderful defense at the keystone. Milwaukee (18-16) may not be off to as strong of a collective start as it would like, but Turang’s continued ascent toward superstardom should not be ignored. This guy is outrageously good.

In the hunt

Corbin Carroll

It’s been a safe bet in recent years that a D-backs hitter or two will be involved in the periphery of the MVP discussion, with Carroll and second baseman Ketel Marte the most frequent candidates. While Marte has been one of the bigger disappointments thus far, Carroll has been outstanding as hoped, all the more impressive considering he missed nearly all of spring training due to hamate surgery. Carroll’s strong start and prior track record of elite play earns him the official mention here among the Snakes’ MVP candidates over April’s NL Player of the Month Ildemaro Vargas, the 34-year-old utilityman enjoying the hot steak of his life. I don’t think Vargas is going to win NL MVP, but I would be delighted to be wrong.

CJ Abrams

Like De La Cruz, Abrams is another shortstop on pace for a 30 HR/30 SB season, but he ranks on the opposite end of the defensive spectrum, with abysmal advanced metrics punishing his WAR totals and hampering his overall value added. Both Abrams and James Wood are remarkable talents headlining the Nationals’ lineup, but both have serious volatility in their profiles (the whiffs, in Wood’s case) that are likely to limit their chances at being in MVP discussions until those shortcomings in their games are cleaned up.

Jordan Walker

Now this is the Walker a lot of us hoped he could be after his stellar showing as a 21-year-old rookie in 2023. But Walker was so bad the past two seasons that it felt increasingly unlikely that he was going to live up to the sky-high promise from his prospect days. Instead, Walker has burst back on the scene as a bona fide slugger for St. Louis in Year 4, pummeling the baseball with authority, ranking in the 95th percentile or above in xwOBA, average exit velocity, barrel rate and bat speed. Even if the strikeouts are elevated, this is the kind of right field power bat Walker was supposed to be, and his re-emergence has changed the complexion of the Cardinals’ lineup for the better.

Mickey Moniak

Cool, a former No. 1 overall draft pick is leading the NL in OPS (min. 100 plate appearances) — what’s the big deal?

It’s been a winding road for Moniak since being taken with the top pick out of a San Diego high school a decade ago, but he’s found a home in Colorado, where he has maximized his left-handed swing to tap into some serious power. He’s doing almost all of his damage against right-handers and mostly at altitude, but he’s been so incredibly productive in those opportunities that he deserves a shoutout here, even if he is the least likely within this article to actually receive votes by the end of the season.