play2:34Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani: Who is No. 1 in ESPN’s MLB rank?Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan debate whether Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani belong at the top spot in their MLB rankings.
play3:15Who is too high and too low on ESPN’s top 100 MLB rankings?Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan discuss which players were placed too high or too low on the MLB top 100 rankings.
ESPN’s top 10 players in the MLB this season (2:07)Check out ESPN’s top 10 MLB players for the 2026 season. (2:07)
Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani: Who is No. 1 in ESPN’s MLB rank?Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan debate whether Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani belong at the top spot in their MLB rankings.
Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan debate whether Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani belong at the top spot in their MLB rankings.
Who is too high and too low on ESPN’s top 100 MLB rankings?Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan discuss which players were placed too high or too low on the MLB top 100 rankings.
Dave Schoenfield and Jeff Passan discuss which players were placed too high or too low on the MLB top 100 rankings.
Opening Day is just a few weeks away, which means it’s time to ask the question that’s on everyone’s mind as the new MLB season approaches: Who will be the best player in 2026?
To answer that question, we created our annual MLB Rank list of the top 100 players in baseball. More than two dozen ESPN baseball experts sent in their top 100 rankings, which we averaged to create the final list.
Our top 100 list features a huge variety of players, from MVP and Cy Young Award winners to veterans filling out Hall of Fame résumés to young megastars who could dominate MLB for years to come, building their own cases to be enshrined in Cooperstown. But who’s No. 1? And where does the best player on your team rank?
ESPN MLB experts Jeff Passan, Alden Gonzalez, Buster Olney, Jesse Rogers, Jorge Castillo, Bradford Doolittle, David Schoenfield, Kiley McDaniel, Eric Karabell and Tristan Cockcroft broke down why each player is ranked where he is and what to expect from each this coming season.
American League ATH | BAL | BOS | CLE | DET HOU | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY SEA | TB | TEX | TOR (No top 100 players: CHW)
National League ARI | ATL | CHC | CIN LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI PIT | SD | SF | WSH (No top 100 players: COL, MIA, STL)
It almost seems unfair to include Ohtani on this list. At times, it feels as if he belongs in a category all his own. He has claimed four MVPs in the past five seasons, all of them unanimously. And now, somehow, the thought is that Ohtani can elevate to an even higher level.
After recovering from a second elbow surgery to pitch down the stretch and in the postseason, Ohtani will return to full-time two-way duties for the first time in three years. He’ll do so atop the game’s best lineup and within its deepest rotation. Two words continue to hover over Ohtani as he ventures into his age-31 season: Cy Young. It’s the only major award he has not won, and many around him believe he’s motivated to earn it.
Ohtani is undoubtedly the best player in the world. There is no arguing that. But Judge, not Ohtani, is the best hitter in the world. The Yankees captain has ascended to all-time great status with historic production in three of his past four seasons — and he was on pace for another round in 2023 if not for a fluke toe injury.
Judge says he wants to steal more bases this year after watching speed-challenged runners rank among the league leaders last season. His flexor strain from last summer remains a concern in the field, but nothing suggests Judge will slow down if he stays healthy.
Season prediction: With half his games in the smaller K, Witt enters his career prime poised for a monster season. A 40-40 season supported by elite defense and a WAR in the 9-to-10 range will land him his first MVP. — Doolittle
Since May 11, 2004, the day he arrived in the big leagues, Skenes has found himself squarely in the conversation for “Best Pitcher in the World.” And the numbers back Skenes’ claim to that title.
Rodriguez plays the game with energy and enthusiasm, always smiling and always playing hard. While he has flaws in his game — he doesn’t walk much, he gets off to slow starts — focusing on what he has already accomplished tells the picture of one of the game’s brightest young stars: three top-10 MVP finishes, two 30/30 seasons, 10th all time in WAR among center fielders through age 24.
He hit .290/.341/.560 in 65 games in the second half last year, once again leading to the belief that there is still room for improvement with more consistency.
Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani: Who is No. 1 in ESPN’s MLB rank?
Those who regard Ramirez as one of baseball’s most underrated superstars have a valid case, as his 54.9 WAR over the past 10 seasons trails only Mookie Betts (66.9) and Judge (62.3), yet wasn’t enough to qualify him for our top 10.
Season prediction: Expect him to bounce back to close to his 2024 levels, even if predicting a 7.9 WAR-season would be a high bar for most any player. — McDaniel
Season prediction: Tatis has predominantly hit cleanup this spring after leading off in 150 of his 155 starts in 2025. We’ll see if that carries over into the regular season, but if it does, Tatis should top 100 RBIs for the first time in his career. That is, of course, if those hitting ahead of him get on base as often as he does. — Doolittle
Season prediction: There are two: a healthy, full year in the Dodgers’ lineup and he’ll produce an 8-WAR season — or higher. If Tucker is banged up, just cut that number in half. A 4-WAR season is good — but he can do a lot better. — Rogers
For all of his talent, and he has plenty, Lindor’s greatest attribute might be his durability. The shortstop has not landed on the injured list since 2021. He has played at least 160 games in three of the past four seasons. He played 152 in 2024 — his best season with the Mets — despite dealing with a back injury in September, and then returned to lead New York to the NLCS.
The Dodgers lavished Yamamoto with the largest contract ever given to a starting pitcher, then watched him struggle through both injury and inconsistency as a rookie during the 2024 regular season. But then he stepped up in the playoffs, approached 2025 with noticeable conviction and ultimately showed why he is among the world’s greatest pitchers.
In 30 regular-season starts in 2025, Yamamoto put up a 2.49 ERA. In 37⅓ playoff innings, he gave up only six earned runs — including none when he entered out of the bullpen on zero days’ rest in a heroic Game 7 performance.
Yamamoto’s command of six different pitches is legendary. The way he leverages his body to exert velocity and maintain stamina is seen by many — including recently retired ex-teammate and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw — as revelatory.
Season prediction: The Dodgers will give Yamamoto a break at some point, given his workload in the postseason and his presence on Team Japan in the WBC this March. He’ll be limited to 20 starts, but he’ll once again warrant Cy Young consideration. — Gonzalez
The broken hamate bone in Carroll’s right hand will keep him out of spring training and could affect his Opening Day status. Even if he’s back, though, the power surge he experienced last season, with a career-best .541 slugging percentage, could see a regression.
Hamate bone injuries take time for full recovery, and as hard of a worker as Carroll is, few are immune to the waiting game. Regardless, he is among the game’s most well-rounded players: strong, extraordinarily fast, intelligent in all phases. And he’s still only 25 years old, smack dab in his prime and eminently capable of finding himself in the top 10 next year.
A year after his surprising breakout, lanky left-hander Sanchez continued to ascend, finishing second to Skenes in NL Cy Young award voting. Philadelphia’s emergent ace was one of three pitchers to surpass 200 innings (Logan Webb and Garrett Crochet were the others) and one of 12 to reach 200 strikeouts. No pitcher — not even Skubal — posted a higher bWAR (8.0).
Season prediction: Thanks to better bullpen performance, Sanchez becomes the Phillies’ first 20-game winner since … Roy Halladay in 2010, and only the second since Steve Carlton in 1982. — Karabell
Season prediction: He starts his fourth All-Star Game and third in a row — and then, with Arizona’s pitching in a free fall and the Diamondbacks under .500, gets traded in a blockbuster deadline deal. — Schoenfield
Caminero delivered on being one of the top prospects in baseball quite quickly, posting 4.6 WAR last year in his first full MLB season.
At 24 years old, he has plenty of time to find them, and when he does, the entire package — a 6-5, switch-hitting shortstop with otherworldly power and speed — won’t look like anything the game has ever seen.
Season prediction: He’ll have a better offensive season, with an adjusted OPS of 135 (his average from 2019 to 2024: 142). He’ll also be a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop again, the type of feat we haven’t taken enough time to appreciate. And he’ll be good for 5 fWAR. — Gonzalez
Season prediction: Once a paragon of durability, Turner has averaged 131 games over the past two seasons. His 141 games in 2025 were enough to get him 5.4 bWAR, his second batting title and a fifth-place finish in the NL MVP race. Expect the quality of Turner’s play to continue even as the quantity begins to wane a bit. — Doolittle
Season prediction: He leads the league again in innings pitched, wins 15 games and his improved strikeout rate from 2025 holds as he once again tops 200 K’s. — Schoenfield
Season prediction: Brown is as good a bet for 30-plus starts and a sub-three ERA as there is (we’ll say 31 starts, 2.98 ERA, 196 K’s). He’s a shoo-in to start any playoff Game 1, should his Astros qualify. — Cockcroft
Season prediction: He’ll still post a 5-WAR season in 2026 and be the fifth-best shortstop in baseball by that measure. — McDaniel
Who is too high and too low on ESPN’s top 100 MLB rankings?