The BBWAA has its three finalists for the 2026 American League MVP Award: Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros), Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays) and Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals). The announcement came on November 2nd, and it confirms what the season had been drawing up all along — two Latin stars and an infielder who turned Kansas City into a real contender. The winner will be revealed in the coming days.
Yordan Alvarez: The Favorite Who Never Goes Away
Few debates have had more staying power in the American League than Yordan Alvarez’s MVP case. The Venezuelan outfielder has spent years as the gold standard for right-handed impact bats in the AL — he drives in runs, he drives extra bases, and he drives fear into opposing pitching staffs. Seeing him on this list isn’t a surprise. What would be surprising is if he weren’t on it.
The Astros finished as one of the most productive offenses in the AL, and a significant chunk of that runs through Alvarez’s bat. His presence in this trio validates the BBWAA’s standard: sustained offensive impact across 162 games, not just a hot August.
Bobby Witt Jr.: The Year Kansas City Started Mattering Again
Bobby Witt Jr. isn’t just a shortstop with a good average — he’s the player the Royals built their AL comeback around. Speed, defense, offensive production and a knack for showing up in big moments make Witt Jr. the most complete argument for voters who weigh total team impact above everything else.
His MVP candidacy also carries a narrative: if Kansas City competed in 2026, it was largely because Witt Jr. turned every at-bat and every grounder at short into a reason to pay attention to a franchise many had written off during the rebuild years.
Junior Caminero: The Numbers Are Getting Hard to Argue With
The name that turns the most heads on this list is Junior Caminero. Not because he’s out of place — but because getting here at his age, with a full season on a Rays roster, is exactly the kind of story baseball takes its time telling.
Caminero played all 162 games of the 2026 season, hit 42 home runs, and drove in 101 runs. His .884 OPS puts him among the league’s true impact hitters, and his xwOBA of .364 — Statcast’s estimate of what he should be producing based on contact quality — ranks him in the 91st percentile across all of MLB. This isn’t a hot streak. It’s the real thing.
What sets Caminero apart in this MVP conversation is that his contact metrics are in a different category entirely. With an average exit velocity of 92.7 mph (95th percentile) and a bat speed that Statcast places in the 100th percentile — literally the fastest average bat speed in all of professional baseball — the Dominican third baseman isn’t just among the best. He’s among the hardest hitters on the planet.
Caminero’s 2026 Numbers at a Glance
- Plate appearances: 702
- Home runs: 42
- RBI: 101
- AVG: .276
- OPS: .884
- xwOBA: .364 — 91st percentile (elite)
- Exit velocity: 92.7 mph — 95th percentile (elite)
- Barrel rate: 13.1% — 89th percentile
- Hard-hit rate: 49.7% — 91st percentile (elite)
- Bat speed: 79.3 mph — 100th percentile (elite)
The Rays’ third baseman is leaving a mark on every Statcast radar in the building. And in MVP races, it’s the numbers — not the opinions — that ultimately make the case for greatness.
