By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
There are many breakout players in this year’s 2026 MLB season. Here are some of the top candidates for breakout player of the year.
Otto Lopez
One of the biggest reasons the Miami Marlins are over .500 is Otto Lopez. In mid-July, Lopez led many categories. Lopez is one of the best hitters in the National League this season.
He’s in the top 10 categories in batting average, doubles, hits, and extra-base hits. Lopez can also beat you with his legs. He has 25 stolen bases this season.
Lopez is batting .309 with 157 hits and 30 doubles. He also made his first All-Star Game.
Miguel Vargas
Vargas is one of the hottest hitters in the American League. He’s been an effective hitter at the third base position.
The Chicago White Sox are playing great baseball. Vargas has been dominant in the last 15 games. Vargas has hit five home runs, seven RBIs, and is slashing .321/.471/1.169 OPS during that stretch.
Vargas has 29 home runs and 74 RBIs this season.
Jordan Walker
The Home Run Derby champion! What a player the Cardinals have in their organization.
Walker is emerging as one of baseball’s premier young hitters. There will come a time when pitchers will start walking him. That’s how good Walker has been this season.
The right fielder is batting .289 with 27 home runs, 96 RBIs and 144 hits. Walker made his debut in 2023, but 2026 is the season where he put the league on notice.
Ben Rice
When Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are out of the lineup due to injuries, Rice is the guy the Yankees look at and want to carry the offense.
Rice had an MVP-caliber season in the first half. In the second half, his performance did take a nosedive, but he’s still a dynamic hitter, especially in Yankee Stadium.
Rice has 34 home runs and 82 RBIs with a .870 OPS.
Liam Hicks
He was one of the best hitters in the first half for the Miami Marlins. Hicks plays first base, catcher, and sometimes DH.
When the Marlins traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays, it gave Hicks more breathing room because the Rays needed a catcher. Since joining the Rays, Hicks has gone 14-for-48 with three homers (ties 7th in MLB), 10 RBI and a .292/.433/.975 OPS.
Nick Gonzales
The 27-year-old third baseman is having a stellar season. He has tremendous bat speed. Gonzales is slashing .308/.366/.763 with 144 hits.
A few days ago, in his first career game as a DH, he went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI singles off Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Pirates drafted Gonzales as the seventh overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of New Mexico State.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
