In a game increasingly defined by power and strikeouts, Brice Turang<\/a> is building a different kind of r\u00e9sum\u00e9. His elite bat-to-ball skills, speed, and discipline make him one of the most consistent contact hitters<\/a> in the National League\u2014and 2026 is the year it fully translates into numbers.<\/p>\n Batting leadoff every day, Turang becomes a nightmare for opposing pitchers. He sprays line drives, beats the shift with his legs, and turns routine ground balls into singles. Over 600-plus plate appearances, he flirts with a .325 average and outpaces the league\u2019s sluggers to win the NL batting title. It\u2019s a modern throwback season\u2014high average, elite defense, and constant pressure on the bases.<\/p>\n Jacob deGrom<\/a> no longer needs to lead the league in innings to dominate conversations. When he\u2019s on the mound, he remains baseball\u2019s most overpowering pitcher\u2014and in 2026, availability finally meets excellence.<\/p>\n With a carefully managed workload<\/a>, deGrom clears the 150-inning mark while posting a sub-3.00 ERA, elite strikeout totals, and microscopic opponent batting averages. Advanced metrics love him. Hitters fear him. Voters reward the dominance. By season\u2019s end, deGrom finishes comfortably inside the top five of Cy Young voting, reigniting the debate about peak performance versus durability.<\/p>\n Mike Trout<\/a> has heard the noise. In 2026, he responds with adaptation.<\/p>\n More DH days and smarter load management keep Trout fresh throughout the season, and the bat speed remains unmistakable. He launches 35-plus home runs, posts an OPS north of .950, and once again ranks among the league\u2019s most dangerous hitters. Even if the Angels hover outside contention, Trout\u2019s production is too loud to ignore. MVP voters place him firmly back inside the top 10\u2014another reminder that greatness doesn\u2019t vanish quietly.<\/p>\n This is the true breakout prediction.<\/p>\n Geraldo Perdomo<\/a> has long been labeled \u201cunderrated,\u201d but in 2026, that label disappears entirely. The Diamondbacks<\/a> shortstop takes a massive offensive leap\u2014combining elite on-base skills with improved power and steady run production at the top of the lineup.<\/p>\n Perdomo posts a .390+ OBP, flirts with 20 home runs, steals 30 bases, and plays premium defense at one of baseball\u2019s toughest positions. His value piles up in every column, especially WAR. By September, he\u2019s no longer just Arizona\u2019s engine\u2014he\u2019s a legitimate National League MVP candidate and a top-five finisher who reshapes how fans view two-way shortstops.<\/p>\n The AL Central remains baseball\u2019s most unpredictable division, and in 2026, the Royals<\/a> capitalize.<\/p>\n Bobby Witt Jr.<\/a> performs at an MVP-caliber level<\/a>, the rotation stabilizes, and Kansas City\u2019s young core finally syncs at once. Their athleticism, defense, and aggressiveness overwhelm divisional rivals over a long season. While other teams struggle for consistency, the Royals stack wins early and never fully relinquish control.<\/p>\n By season\u2019s end, Kansas City isn\u2019t just a feel-good story\u2014they\u2019re division champions and a dangerous postseason matchup no one wants.<\/p>\n Bold predictions aren\u2019t about shock value\u2014they\u2019re about recognizing inflection points before they become headlines. The 2026 MLB season has plenty of them, and if even two of these come true, it will be remembered as a year when baseball\u2019s next wave officially arrived.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every MLB season delivers moments that flip the sport on its head\u2014unexpected stars, resurgent legends, and teams that arrive earlier than planned. The 2026 season feels especially ripe for that kind of shake-up. These five bold predictions aren\u2019t just hot takes. They\u2019re rooted in player development curves, evolving roles, and trends that are already quietly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5710,"featured_media":95351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"724","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1071,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-mlb","category-news"],"modified_by":"Eddie Lennon, Staff Writer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113104"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113107,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113104\/revisions\/113107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Jacob deGrom Finishes Top 5 in Cy Young Voting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26571176-300x187.jpg\")
Mike Trout Finishes Top 10 in AL MVP Voting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/02\/USATSI_20964280_168403884_lowres-300x200.jpg\")
Geraldo Perdomo Finishes Top 5 in NL MVP Voting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26269597-300x200.jpg\")
The Kansas City Royals Win the AL Central<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Last Word<\/strong><\/h3>\n