NEW YORK — Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong are the clear frontrunners in MLB.com's final 2026 MVP poll entering the last week of the regular season. Alvarez leads the American League with 181 total points and 29 first-place votes, while Crow-Armstrong swept all 38 first-place votes in the National League for 190 points. Thirty-eight MLB.com experts cast ballots, with 32 players receiving at least one vote on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale based on results so far and expected finish to the season. All stats are through Sunday unless otherwise noted.
Alvarez remains well out in front in the AL despite a relative dip. Over his past 41 games he is hitting .264 with an .840 OPS, below his AL-leading .313 average and 1.027 OPS for the season. He has three homers and five RBIs through 16 games this month, leaving him tied with the Orioles' Pete Alonso and one home run behind the Rays' Junior Caminero for the AL lead, and nine RBIs behind Alonso. His 179 wRC+ is at least 27 points better than any other qualified hitter. Caminero is second with 149 points and seven first-place votes, finishing his second straight 40-homer season while improving his walk rate from 6.3% to 11.5% in the 80th percentile and maintaining an 18.5% strikeout rate. The 23-year-old carries a .363 on-base percentage, 52 points better than last season, with an .892 OPS that ranks third in the AL.
Bobby Witt Jr. is third in the AL with 62 points and one first-place vote, posting 18 homers, 43 steals and a 119 wRC+ in 137 games. His +16 fielding run value is tied for third in the Majors and his 22 outs above average tops the AL, with a +8 baserunning run value one behind the Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll for the MLB lead and 6.6 FanGraphs WAR atop the AL. Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler is fourth with 60 points and one first-place vote, pacing the AL in ERA (1.94), WHIP (0.91) and FanGraphs pitching WAR (6.1) while ranking second in opponents' batting average (.182) and strikeout-minus-walk rate (25.0%). He has allowed one or zero runs in 21 starts, a Yankees franchise record and a feat only two other pitchers age 25 or younger have accomplished in the Live Ball Era since 1920: Blake Snell in 2018 and Dean Chance in 1964. Ben Rice is fifth with 40 points, ranking third in the AL in homers (39) and runs scored (100), fourth in RBIs (95) and OPS (.888), and tied for fourth in batting run value (+34). With two more homers he would become just the second non-Aaron Judge Yankee in the past decade to hit at least 41 in a season, joining Juan Soto in 2024.
In the National League, Crow-Armstrong jumped over Shohei Ohtani last month and has now run away from the field. The Cubs center fielder is tied with Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead with 45 home runs and leads the Majors in runs (118), extra-base hits (83) and total bases (351), with 38 steals putting him on the verge of becoming the seventh member of the 40-40 club. He is also regarded as arguably the best defensive player at any position. Ohtani is second with 135 points despite playing in just three games this month due to nagging left knee and right biceps injuries. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said "there's a good chance" Ohtani will be activated from the 15-day injured list Wednesday after a minimum stint. He will not pitch for the rest of the season, leaving him with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3 innings.
Others receiving votes in the AL included Willson Contreras of the Red Sox, Pete Alonso of the Orioles, Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers, Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox, Randy Arozarena of the Mariners and Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays. With one week remaining, the poll suggests little suspense remains, though final-week performance could still influence unanimous considerations and down-ballot order.