On the field, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has it all. He’s a rare breed, a true five-tool player who excels at arguably the toughest defensive position. Over his young career, Witt has already established himself as one of the game’s biggest names and a perennial MVP candidate.
But if Witt could inhabit the body of any other major-league player, he would choose one that allowed him to turn the sliders — to put it in video-game terms — all the way up.
Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season
“I think there’s an obvious answer of Aaron Judge just because of how big he is … his style of play,” Witt told Yahoo Sports. “But I would also want to have the speed. So a player like Elly De La Cruz would be kinda cool just because he’s got it all.”
That concept is pretty familiar to Witt, who grew up playing MLB The Show like most other baseball fans. Before Witt became the MLB icon he is today, he spent his childhood playing countless games of MLB The Show at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field — some of his favorite ballparks. And taking Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout into the Home Run Derby.
When it did come time to fire up a game, though, Witt wasn’t taking any prisoners.
“I always like to win in a video game,” Witt said. “So I always turn up the sliders, put it on rookie level and just dominate teams.”
Now, of course, Witt doesn’t have to play video games to have that power fantasy. He’s played real-life games at Fenway and Wrigley, and he’s become actual friends with Trout.
It’s been quite a surreal experience.
“It’s pretty cool to like go full circle with playing the game as a kid and then growing up and getting to meet the guys and then playing against them in my job and everything,” Witt said. “And then getting to know them, building relationships. And now playing as myself in the video game, it’s a really cool full-circle moment.”
Witt is about to begin yet another MLB season, one in which his Royals face heightened expectations. After getting his feet wet in the World Baseball Classic, Witt will gear up for a grueling 162-game schedule that he hopes will involve a lot of winning and the hoisting of a World Series trophy.
But if you’re not Bobby Witt Jr., you could always try and replicate that experience in MLB The Show 26. Yahoo Sports did just that, simulating the entire 2026 MLB season in the video game.
Some of its predictions, including its World Series winner, were shocking.
Bobby Witt Jr. can make every play in MLB The Show 26. (Image via San Diego Studio)
(San Diego Studio)
MLB The Show 26 predicts the 2026 season
2026 World Series winner: Cincinnati Reds over the New York Yankees
World Series MVP: Tyler Stephenson
Congrats, Reds fans, because your team is going to win it all in 2026. While the Reds made the playoffs last season, this would be unexpected, especially considering they got in thanks to the final wild-card spot.
But Cincinnati emerged in the season-long projection. They didn’t win the National League Central, though. That honor belonged to the 97-win Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pitching wound up leading the way for Cincinnati, with Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Chase Burns leading the way. That proved to also be the case in the World Series, as Stephenson won MVP after hitting .437 with one home run and two RBI.
All-Star Weekend results
Home Run Derby winner: Ketel Marte over Kyle Schwarber
All-Star Game starters: Garrett Crochet and Paul Skenes
All-Star Game result: NL defeats AL 5-1, Francisco Lindor is the player of the game
Futures Game: NL wins 2-0
It wound up being the year of Ketel Marte in the simulation and this was the first major sign that would be the case, as he triumphed over Kyle Schwarber to be the Home Run Derby champion. Schwarber hit just eight home runs in the final round, leading to Marte winning with nine. Do virtual baseball players get tired? Cause it sure looked like that was the case here.
End of season awards
NL MVP: Ketel Marte, who hit .329 with 48 home runs and 119 RBI
AL MVP: Kerry Carpenter, who hit .247 with 46 home runs and 118 RBI
NL Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who went 20-4
AL Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
NL batting title: Ketel Marte
AL batting title: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who led baseball with a .349 average
NL reliever award: Dennis Santana
AL reliever award: Jhoan Duran, who was traded to the Athletics
AL ROY: Munetaka Murakami, who hit .275 with 26 home runs
NL ROY: Nolan McLean, who beat out Konnor Griffin
Marte got some surprising company for the MVP award. Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter clubbed 46 home runs en route to the AL MVP. He beat out Vladimir Guerrero, who hit an astounding .349 on the season.
Despite posting the lowest ERA among starters, Pirates ace Paul Skenes lost out on the NL Cy Young award to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who went 20-4 for the 110-win Los Angeles Dodgers.
Strikeouts weren’t a major issue for Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami, who hit .275 and won the Rookie of the Year award in the AL. Over in the NL, New York Mets prospect Nolan McLean claimed the award over Konnor Griffin.
Oh, and you’ll notice Jhoan Duran won the AL reliever year. About that …
Unexpected trades
• The Tampa Bay Rays sent Drew Rasmussen to the San Francisco Giants
• The Texas Rangers dealt ace Jacob deGrom to the Chicago Cubs
• The Baltimore Orioles engaged in a fire sale, sending Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley to the Kansas City Royals
• The Orioles then sent Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish to the Athletics
• The Houston Astros shipped Josh Hader to the Cincinnati Reds
• The Philadelphia Phillies sent Jhoan Duran, Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmuto to the A’s
The Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles surprisingly sold at the trade deadline. The O’s flipped Kyle Bradish, Ryan Helsley, Trevor Rogers and Taylor Ward in two separate deals. They did not make the playoffs.
The Phillies included Duran, Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmuto in a single deal to the Athletics, who also acquired Rogers and Bradish. Those acquisitions paid off, as the A’s claimed the final wild-card spot in the American League before losing in the playoffs.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 23: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds smiles as he waits for a pitch to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)
(Jess Rapfogel via Getty Images)
Most unlikely thing predicted by MLB The Show 26
The Phillies’ weird give-up trade is up there, as Philadelphia enters the 2026 MLB season as one of the top NL contenders for the World Series title.
The Pirates’ 97-win season is also up there. Skenes was as good as expected, but the team’s offense performed much better than you might think. Marcell Ozuna, in particular, proved to have one more great season left in his bat. And the bullpen was lights out, as Dennis Santana took home the NL reliever award. Griffin didn’t play that well in his rookie season and the team still earned the No. 2 seed in the NL.
And then there’s the Reds winning it all. It wouldn’t be the most unlikely thing to happen during the 2026 MLB season, but it would be unexpected. While the Reds have plenty of talent, especially in the rotation, the team is projected to win just 77.2 games, per Baseball Prospectus.
Projections aren’t everything, of course, but they do provide a nice snapshot of how teams are viewed coming into the year. If the Reds exceed all expectations and make a shocking World Series run in 2026, remember that “MLB The Show 26” believed in them first.
(Yahoo Sports received an advanced copy of MLB The Show 26)
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