The All-Star break is a week away and we’ve settled on the fact that Shohei Ohtani and Jacob Misiorowski are the runaway favorites for MVP and Cy Young in the National League as we conclude the first half of the season.
For the American League, well, that is still up in the air. Cam Schlittler and Yordan Alvarez may be leading for now, but there are a pair of teammates making a run for each award. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings.
National League Cy Young Poll
2026 Stats: 111.0 IP, 10-4, 1.62 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 167 K, 27 BB, .150 OBA
Jacob Misiorowski became the seventh pitcher in the NL to reach 10 wins after another dominating outing (4-3 win over St. Louis). Misiorowski has back-to-back games with double-digit strikeouts (10, 11) to widen his lead over the rest of the MLB by 30 Ks. There hasn’t been a better pitcher in all of baseball as he enters the All-Star break as the only pitcher with a sub 2.00 ERA.
2026 Stats: 120.1 IP, 10-4, 2.62 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 137 K, 24 BB, .248 OBA
Cristopher Sanchez all but lost the Cy Young in his last start. While there is another half to the season, his showing against the Royals in a 15-1 loss was one he likely wishes everyone would forget about. Sanchez allowed nine earned runs on 12 hits over 3.1 innings (83 pitches), which all were season-worsts, along with one strikeout. The 29-year-old lefty has a 8.22 ERA over his last three starts and a .328 OBA. The All-Star break couldn’t come at a better time for Sanchez.
2026 Stats: 95.0 IP, 9-6, 2.27 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 112 K, 24 BB, .230 OBA
Chris Sale had himself a July 4th off with a 14-3 win versus the Mets. Sale allowed three earned runs on seven hits and gave up two homers. His three strikeouts were tied for a season-low. Overall, Sale is having a great year. The 37-year-old has 13 games with two or less earned runs out of 16 and the same with walks, plus he’s reached at least six innings in 10 starts.
2026 Stats: 97.2 IP, 10-1, 2.40 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 116 K, 31 BB, .207 OBA
Chase Burns has one start remaining in the first half of the year versus Philadelphia then he will be pitching in his first-ever All-Star game. Only five pitchers all-time have been drafted and made an All-Star game within two years of being drafted. Paul Skenes was the most recent before Burns achieved this. The 23-year-old is being slept on for Cy Young, but could easily be the No. 3 on this list and soon No. 2 if he keeps stacking wins as the ace for one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
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American League Cy Young Poll
2026 Stats: 112.0 IP, 9-5, 2.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 131 K, 21 BB, .201 OBA
After giving up a season-high six runs against the Tigers, Cam Schlittler bounced back with one of his best outings of the season. Schlittler tossed 101 pitches over 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts to no walks, one earned run and four hits against the Rays (5-1 win). Schlittler enters his last start before the All-Star break leading the AL in ERA (2.01), and second in WHIP (0.93), OBA (.201), strikeouts (131), innings pitched (112.0), and wins (9).
2026 Stats: 90.1 IP, 5-4, 2.79 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 137 K, 41 BB, .201 OBA
Dylan Cease recorded his fourth game with no runs allowed this season and totaled nine or more strikeouts for the eighth time. Cease went 7.0 innings versus Seattle in a 2-0 win and gave three hits and zero walks. Cease leads all of baseball in strikeouts (137) and hasn’t given up a home run in five straight games (5 on the year).
2026 Stats: 97.0 IP, 7-4, 2.78 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 96 K, 17 BB, .197 OBA
After having a terrific June with a 0.82 ERA, Drew Rasmussen allowed a season-high five runs and a season-low two strikeouts against the Astros. Rasmussen allowed three total runs over five games, so his recent performance came at a bit of a surprise. Rasmussen draws one more start before the break and it will come against the Yankees. In two starts versus New York, Rasmussen has a 0.00 ERA, .143 OBA, and 13 strikeouts to one walk over 13.0 innings.
2026 Stats: 65.2 IP, 4-4, 3.15 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 75 K, 8 BB, .216 OBA
Tarik SKubal might have turned the corner after his last start against the Yankees. Skubal tossed 87 pitches over 6.0 innings and recorded nine strikeouts, zero walks, one hit, and one earned run. Skubal now has 30 strikeouts to two walks in his four starts back from injury, but he’s surrendered seven home runs and 17 hits over 22.1 innings.
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American League MVP Poll
1. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros (-160)
2026 Stats: .318 BA, 29 HR, 67 RBI, 62 R, .426 OBP, 1.056 OPS
Yordan Alvarez is picking right up where he left off. In June, Alvarez hit .344 with 20 runs scored, 21 RBI, and six home runs. To start July, Alvarez is hitting .381 with three homers, seven RBI, and a 1.201 OPS through five games. If the Astros can nab a Wild Card or playoff spot, that would solidify his case, but as of now, Alvarez enters the break as the MVP candidate.
2026 Stats: .284 BA, 26 HR, 56 RBI, 57 R, .554 SLG, .928 OPS
No one is hitting better than Junior Caminero right now. Caminero is hitting .309 with 11 home runs, 22 RBI, and 13 runs scored over the last 13 games. Caminero’s climbed into the MVP conversation and with Tampa Bay in first place of the AL — Caminero is the hottest name in the MVP race.
3. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (+450)
2026 Stats: .275 BA, 20 HR, 66 RBI, 61 R, .415 OBP, .928 OPS
Nick Kurtz is coming off his roughest month of the year. Kurtz hit .250 in June and had as many strikeouts (41) as walks (21) and runs (20) combined. The 23-year-old has struggled with a .178 batting average over his last 45 at-bats opening the door for Bobby Witt and others to creep back into the MVP race. Kurtz will need a big second-half to stay in consideration with how Alvarez and Caminero are playing.
Long shot: Ben Rice, New York Yankees (+2000)
2026 Stats: .267 BA, 25 HR, 57 RBI, 59 R, .565 SLG, .925 OPS
Ben Rice and the Yankees are in a slump. Rice was once the second favorite in terms of odds for MVP, but he’s started to fall off a cliff. Rice hit .196 in June and had 30 strikeouts to 11 walks. Without Aaron Judge, Rice has the opportunity to be the short-term face of the New York offense, but it hasn’t worked out so far — Rice has been better with Judge.
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National League MVP Poll
2026 Stats: .295 BA, 19 HR, 55 RBI, 61 R, .410 OBP, .946 OPS
Shohei Ohtani had his best month as hitter in June. Ohtani batted .333 and he finished top five in the NL for OBP (.435), SLG (.656), and OPS (1.091). He hit eight homers, scored 23 runs, and knocked in 19 runs, which were all highs for a month this season.
As a pitcher, Ohtani had his worst month of the season, which wasn’t saying much. He posted a 3.28 ERA, .222 OBA, and 25 strikeouts to seven walks over four starts (24.2 innings) — so not bad at all. Ohtani had a 3-0 record as well and no losses, so still a pretty dominant month overall.
2026 Stats: .292 BA, 19 HR, 49 RBI, 57 R, 23 SB, .910 OPS
On Rotoworld’s Instagram, people were clamoring for Pete Crow-Armstrong to get some MVP love and they’re getting it two weeks straight. PCA has climbed to my No. 2 spot as he continues to rake in July.
PCA hit .381 in June with 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 40 hits, and 21 runs scored over 26 games. Over the four games played in July, PCA has six hits, three RBI, three runs scored and batting .500. With how hot he is playing, PCA might be a sleeper to win the All-Star Game MVP.
3. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies (+4000)
2026 Stats: .252 BA, 30 HR, 55 RBI, 55 R, .561 SLG, .930 OPS
Kyle Schwarber‘s main calling to win MVP is hitting home runs and he’s slowed down in that department. Schwarber has one homer in the last 13 games and has gone seven consecutive games without a home run. To start July, Schwarber is batting .176 with three hits over five games, 10 strikeouts, and five walks with no runs or RBI — not exactly MVP-like numbers.
2026 Stats: .268 BA, 24 HR, 60 RBI, 81 R, 14 SB, .398 OBP
James Wood leads a list full of hopefuls for MVP that you could consider a long shot — Juan Soto, Jordan Walker, Bryce Harper, and Corbin Carroll — but the truth is, not of them will likely catch Ohtani, not this year at least.
As we close the chapter that was the first half of the MLB season, it’s safe to Wood would have finished top five in voting for first half MVP. Washington is above .500 through 92 games and he’s proving to be a franchise player worth building around. His 81 runs scored leads all of baseball (second closest is at 62) and his 24 home runs is tied for seventh. Wood was deservingly selected to his second consecutive All-Star Game, which will captivate the success he had in the first half of the season.
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