2026 MLB Awards Tracker: Power Rankings, betting odds for MVP, Cy Young: Misiorowski, Schlittler lead the way

With the All-Star Weekend a few weeks away, the jockeying for MVP and Cy Young pole position in the second half of the season has begun. Shohei Ohtani continues to runaway with NL MVP, but for the other three awards, the race is far from over.

National League Cy Young Poll

2026 Stats: 93.0 IP, 8-3, 1.45 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 138 K, 23 BB, .146 OBA

In Jacob Misiorowski‘s latest start, he allowed two earned runs versus Boston, which resulted in his third loss of the season, but it was still one for the record books. Misiorowski tossed 47 pitches of at least 101 mph, which was a stat cast record and he recorded 54 pitches of 100-plus mph.

The 24-year-old leads the MLB in ERA (1.45), WHIP (0.75), strikeouts (138), OBA (.146), and shutouts (1). He’s allowed three earned runs over the last nine starts and 60.1 innings to go along with 87 strikeouts to 10 walks. As long as he stays healthy in the second half of the season, Misiorowski could absolutely win this award, but he’ll have competition.

2026 Stats: 105.0 IP, 9-3, 1.80 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 121 K, 20 BB, .234 OBA

Since Christopher Sanchez had his scoreless inning streak broken to start June, the lefty has a 2.85 ERA, a .216 OBA, plus a 3-1 record with 26 strikeouts to four walks (four starts). Philadelphia has won eight of his last 10 starts and 11 out of 15 on the season.

Per MLB.com, Sanchez joins an elite group of pitchers to have 120-plus strikeouts, an ERA of 1.80 or better over 105 innings and their first 16 starts to a season. He became the 11th pitcher to accomplish the feat. Eight of the other pitchers won a Cy Young in the same season.

2026 Stats: 88.0 IP, 6-7, 2.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 107 K, 18 BB, .199 OBA

Paul Skenes has back-to-back losses on two runs allowed in each of those games. The Pirates offense has reverted back to not giving Skenes run support as he sports a 6-7 record despite a 2.86 ERA. Skenes now has two or fewer earned runs in five straight games and 12 out of 16 on the season.

In June, Skenes has 32 strikeouts to six walks over 22.2 innings and four starts. Skenes has a 0-2 record though with seven earned runs on 20 hits. Last year’s Cy Young winner ranks top 10 in the MLB for strikeouts (6th), OBA (7th) and WHIP (5th). Skenes is a distant third-place behind Misiorowski and Sanchez, while Shohei Ohtani and Chase Burns aren’t far behind Skenes.

Long Shot: Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds (+2800)

2026 Stats: 85.2 IP, 9-1, 2.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 102 K, 29 BB, .197 OBA

Chase Burns has been on a tear over May and June. The Reds have won seven of his last eight starts as Burns has recorded a win in six of those contests. The 23-year-old has permitted two or fewer earned runs in 12 consecutive games. That is the longest since in Reds franchise history since Edinson Volquez in 2008.

If you go back 15 games, Burns has allowed two or fewer runs in 14 of them. No Reds pitcher has done that since at least 1900. Burns has seven or more strikeouts in seven-straight games, something that only one Reds pitcher has done more times since 1900 (Jim Maloney, 8 games in 1963).

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American League Cy Young Poll

2026 Stats: 95.0 IP, 8-3, 1.71 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 109 K, 18 BB, .194 OBA

Cam Schlittler is coming off a career-high 13 strikeouts in his last game versus the Reds, a shutout win with four hits and zero walks. The second-year pro became the youngest Yankee (25) to record 13 strikeouts with no walks in a game. Next up for Schlittler off his historic start — a trip to Fenway to face the rival Red Sox.

2026 Stats: 78.2 IP, 4-3, 2.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 118 K, 35 BB, .206 OBA

The strikeout train is still rolling and Dylan Cease has a first row seat. In June, Cease has a 1.62 ERA, .169 OBA, 26 strikeouts to nine walks and 10 hits allowed over 16.2 innings. Despite only reaching six or more innings in five of his 14 starts, Cease is third in strikeouts (118) and allowed four or fewer hits in six consecutive games (9 out of 14).

2026 Stats: 86.0 IP, 6-4, 2.62 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 89 K, 15 BB, .194 OBA

Drew Rasmussen is starting to heat up in June with a 1.00 ERA, .141 OBA, and 34 strikeouts to three walks over four starts. Rasmussen has gone 27.0 innings in those four starts and has three earned runs, which has resulted in a 2-2 record due to lack of run support.

The 30-year-old recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts versus Boston on June 10 and pitched six-plus innings in four straight games. Rasmussen is pitching better than Jacob deGrom lately, so Rasmussen gets the nod in the third spot.

Long Shot: Tarik Subal, Detroit Tigers (+3500)

2026 Stats: 53.2 IP, 3-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 57 K, 8 BB, .235 OBA

Tarik Skubal has returned and faced two AL Central opponents, the Guardians and White Sox. Skubal struck out 12 and walked two over 10.1 innings. The issue in both starts was home runs allowed. Skubal gave away three home runs in two games and five earned runs allowed. If he finds his dominant form soon and Detroit climbs to .500 soon after the All-Star break or makes the postseason this year, expect Skubal to earn consideration for a three-peat.

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American League MVP Poll

2026 Stats: .323 BA, 25 HR, 56 RBI, 55 R, .431 OBP, 1.070 OPS

It was hard to imagine Yordan Alvarez playing any better than he has this season, but he continues to rake in June. Alvarez is hitting .391 (4th) with the second-best OBP (.481), 27 hits (3rd), 17 RBI (T-8th), 16 runs scored (T-11th), and five home runs (T-18th).

At home, Alvarez is hitting .349 (6th) with 12 home runs (5th), and top five ranks in OBP, SLG, and OPS. He’s on pace to shatter all his career-highs and be the frontrunner for MVP as long as he stays healthy.

2. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (+250)

2026 Stats: .290 BA, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 56 R, .439 OBP, .995 OPS

Nick Kurtz is eating this month. The second-year pro has nine homers and a .296 BA in June, to go along with a 1.156 OPS (4th) and top 10 marks in OBP (.438) and SLG (.718). He has 21 hits, 20 RBI, and 17 runs scored, plus 27 strikeouts and 18 walks.

No one is calling Kurtz a generational prospect or player, but what he’s doing belongs in the history books. Kurtz is the third left-handed hitter since 1920 with 30+ home runs, 100+ RBI, and 100+ walks in his first 162 games — joining Juan Soto and Ted Williams.

3. Ben Rice, New York Yankees (+550)

2026 Stats: .288 BA, 22 HR, 53 RBI, 55 R, .607 SLG, .989 OPS

Ben Rice has four home runs on nine hits over his last eight games as he starts to heat up. Rice has the second-best SLG in the MLB (.607) and his 22 homers are fourth overall and third in the AL. Rice is doing his best Aaron Judge impression with the former MVP out on IL and even sports an impressive hard hit percentage of 47.4.

Defensively, Rice has a lot of room to grow with a -9 DRS and -4 OAA. That’s where a player like Bobby Witt has an edge. Witt missed the last three games and is in danger of missing more with a knee injury. That has caused Witt’s MVP odds to drop, but there is also no telling how this will affect him moving forward, so Ben Rice and Nick Kurtz move up for the time being.

2026 Stats: .275 BA, 25 HR, 41 RBI, 53 R, .596 SLG, .929 OPS

Byron Buxton is performing at a en elite clip this year and it’s kind of going under the rug. Buxton hit a career-high 35 homers last season in 126 games and already has 25 (3rd-most) over 68 games. The 32-year-old ranks top 10 in runs scored (53), SLG (.596) and OPS (.929). Buxton’s career-high for games played is 140 (2017) and he’s only exceeded 100 games played three times. If he does 100-plus games this year, Buxton will break all his career-highs.

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National League MVP Poll

2026 Stats: .296 BA, 17 HR, 44 RBI, 54 R, .418 OBP, .976 OPS

Shohei Ohtani is in a little bit of slump on the mound with seven earned runs and 13 hits allowed over the last two starts. Ohtani did have a 0.74 ERA before his last two starts, which is now a 1.47. However, in his last 10 games, Ohtani has hit six home runs, seven RBI, nine runs scored, and nine walks. An injury is the only way he doesn’t win his fifth MVP trophy.

2. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies (+3000)

2026 Stats: .252 BA, 29 HR, 52 RBI, 51 R, .594 SLG, .959 OPS

Kyle Schwarber was all of our social media feeds for a three-home run night against the Mets and he followed that up with another the following night. Schwarber hit two home runs in the same inning against the Mets that traveled a combined 913 feet. It was the same game that his teammate Bryce Harper became the 11th Phillies player to hit for the cycle.

Despite leading the MLB with 29 bombs this season, Schwarber would have to break the all-time record and then some to catch Ohtani for MVP consideration.

2026 Stats: .287 BA, 18 HR, 58 RBI, 46 R, 10 SB, .864 OPS

Jordan Walker is really taking off in his fourth year as a pro. The 24-year-old already has a career-high in home runs (18), RBI (58), stolen bases (10), and he’s not even halfway through the season. Walker is becoming the face of the franchise and with the Cardinals positioned fairly comfortably in the NL Central, Walker is in a good spot to receive some third, fourth, and fifth-place votes for MVP this season with Juan Soto and James Wood.

2026 Stats: .273 BA, 20 HR, 49 RBI, 70 R, 13 SB, .401 OBP

The Nationals are 41-38 and James Wood still has the hot bat. Wood reached 20 home runs (T-6th), leads the MLB in runs scored (70), and ranks top 20 in WAR (3.4), RBI (49), steals (13), OBP (.401), SLG (.537), and OPS (.938). If he continues cranking in runs and scoring them, Wood can quitely finish top five in MVP voting.

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