The midpoint of the 2026 MLB season arrived with a clear consensus. Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. are the runaway favorites for their respective Most Valuable Player awards. ESPN released its comprehensive midseason evaluation of all 30 teams this week. The report locked in All-Star projections and updated playoff odds as the league pauses for the break. A major focal point? Pete Alonso. The veteran slugger is now playing for the Baltimore Orioles and has emerged as their standout midseason anchor in the AL East race.
Ohtani is operating on his own historical tier. He currently leads the National League with a 156 AXE rating and sits as the top vote-getter for the All-Star Game with over 2.3 million tallies. But his trajectory goes deeper. Ohtani is on track to become the first player in MLB history to post more than 5.0 WAR as both a hitter and a pitcher in the exact same season. Arizona’s Corbin Carroll remains his closest statistical competitor following a torrid surge in May.
Over in the American League, Witt controls the narrative. The Kansas City shortstop boasts a 140.5 AXE rating and a league-leading 28 stolen bases. That performance keeps him ahead of surprising breakout campaigns from Oakland Athletics players Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers. However, Witt’s immediate status is clouded by a recent right knee sprain. His health remains a major question mark heading into the second half, according to recent statistical breakdowns of the AL hardware races.
Down ballot, historical pitching metrics are surfacing in Milwaukee. Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski is putting up absurd strikeout numbers. His strikeout-minus-walk percentage currently sits at 32.5%. That figure ranks third all-time among qualifying pitchers, trailing only Pedro Martinez in 1999 and Gerrit Cole in 2019.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.