AL and NL MVP watch: Could a teammate dethrone Yankees' Aaron Judge? And is Shohei Ohtani's top competition the Braves' Matt Olson?
Judge and Ohtani are off to solid starts in their quests for a three-peat as the best players in their respective leagues.
With April officially behind us, MLB announced its first batch of monthly awards, celebrating the individuals in each league who have gotten off to the fastest starts in 2026. This week, we’re taking stock in the three major awards races, acknowledging who has performed the best in the early going while also recognizing who is in the strongest position to remain relevant in the push for these accolades throughout the duration of the season. First up, a look at the Most Valuable Player landscape, and whether the first month-plus of action has given us any reason to believe Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani won’t three-peat as the best players in their respective leagues.
It’s not just that these two megastars have claimed MVP honors in each of the past two seasons, but at least one of them has won the award in each of the past five seasons. Will that finally change in 2026? Let’s get to it.
AL MVP The contenders Aaron Judge The standard Judge has set as Maybe The Best Right-Handed Hitter Ever invites a level of scrutiny that no one else could possibly be held to, but it is worth noting that his OPS merely starts with a 1. 0 (1. 057) instead of a 1.
1 as it has over the previous three seasons (1. 117). By this point last year, Judge’s offensive output was already miles ahead of the rest of the league, setting the tone for another historic season culminating in his third AL MVP award.
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