10 MLB Players I'm Excited to Watch This Season 2026: Awards Odds, Projections

With spring training games nearly here, and the World Baseball Classic rapidly approaching, I'm officially in baseball mode. I've started my fantasy baseball prep, and I'm looking through the futures markets - with my first bets coming in MLB projected win totals and Over/Under wins odds market.

Now, I'm narrowing my scope from all 30 teams to 10 MLB players to watch this season 2026. I previously took a look at MLB rookies to know before spring training 2026, but now it's time for the proven stars to shine.

👑 Dodgers

I'm starting this list by cheating. Yes, I understand that the Dodgers aren't one singular player, but as a team, they're appointment viewing. Four bona fide aces and potentially two more in the making, a lineup that strikes fear into any opposing pitcher, and they're just cool (write your "stop glazing the Dodgers" comments now).

The Dodgers are so exciting because we're all eager to see what they do this year with the 3-peat on the line. Does Yoshinobu Yamamoto take another leap after his incredible World Series performance and cement himself among the Cy Young odds favorites? Can Shohei Ohtani somehow be even more valuable than he's been during his first two years with the team?

Much to the chagrin of baseball fans everywhere, Kyle Tucker now joins the fray, which leaves the Dodgers with four potential MLB MVP odds contenders.

Additionally, I'm very curious to see how L.A. approaches Roki Sasaki this year. The Dodgers signed him to be part of the rotation, but he ended last year as an elite closing option. As it stands, he's likely only the sixth best starting pitching option for the Dodgers, but his ceiling is potentially their SP1. 

This team is utterly ridiculous. PECOTA projects them to win an absurd 104 games, and despite the fact that I don't want to pay the +230 price on the Dodgers to win it all - which I outlined in my World Series odds and value picks - I still want to watch them every step of the way.

🏆 Ronald Acuna - OF, Braves

Best bet: To win NL MVP (+1200 via DraftKings)  

Unless Juan Soto can once again steal nearly 40 bases while also hitting even more home runs, I believe a healthy Ronald Acuna still remains the greatest challenge to Shohei Ohtani's NL MVP throne.

I was also very interested in Corbin Carroll and had included him in this list alongside Acuna, but a broken hamate is a quick and easy way to lose a ton of power at the plate. 

Acuna and the Braves are the ultimate bounce-back candidates after being brutalized by injuries last year. This is the same team that won 100-plus games in 2022 and 2023, and the player who went 40-70 in that latter season. 

And, to be frank, that's the kind of season it will take for someone to beat a full pitching-hitting unicorn campaign by Ohtani. The best sports betting sites know this, too, as Acuna is priced as the third-biggest favorite in the NL MVP odds at DraftKings despite playing only 144 games during the last two years.

Acuna looked pretty ridiculous at the plate in his abbreviated 2025 campaign, and he still stole nine bases in 95 games despite all of his knee issues. With a full, healthy offseason under his belt, I think we see Acuna get back to his base-stealing ways this season, and he's absolutely a candidate to go 40-40 or better when his body cooperates.

💪 Gunnar Henderson - SS, Orioles

Best bet: To win AL MVP (+1600 via DraftKings)    

I'm counting down the days until the WBC and spring training ends so I can confirm Gunnar Henderson is healthy and bet on him to win AL MVP. The Baltimore Orioles look like a team on the rise, and Henderson will be the driving force behind their success this year.

Henderson missed the end of spring training and the first seven games of the 2025 regular season with an intercostal strain, and he reportedly played through the majority of the season with a shoulder issue. Nevertheless, he accrued 4.8 fWAR and managed a 120 wRC+. He also racked up a career-high 30 stolen bases.

If Henderson continues to steal bases at that rate and gets back to crushing the ball, he could potentially go 40-40. As it stands, Steamer projects Henderson to be the fourth-most position player in the AL this year just behind Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., and Cal Raleigh. However, the gap in WAR is much smaller than the one between them on DraftKings' MVP oddsboard.

💣 Nick Kurtz - 1B, Athletics

Best bet: To lead MLB in home runs (+1000 via DraftKings)      

Here are the top three batters by wRC+ in 2025:

1. Aaron Judge - 204
2. Shohei Ohtani - 172
3. NICK KURTZ - 170

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year was truly absurd last year, as he crushed 36 home runs in just 117 games. He was in the 90th percentile or better in: average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit percentage, bat speed, walk rate, xwOBA, and xSLG, and despite playing only a portion of the season, he was in the 98th percentile in Statcast's batting run value.

This is already one of the best hitters in baseball, and by Steamer600 projections (which projects player stats based on the idea that they all accumulate exactly 600 plate appearances), he's only two home runs behind Judge and Ohtani this season. 

Kurtz also plays half of his games in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in MLB. I don't know that I'd bet on him to win MVP at relatively short +1500 odds because he doesn't provide any defensive value, but I am interested in him to lead the majors in home runs at +1000.

⚡ Jazz Chisholm Jr. - 2B/OF, Yankees

Best bet: To steal 40-plus bases (+290 via DraftKings)        

Somehow, Jazz Chisholm has gone from one of the most overrated, glazed players in baseball - remember when he inexplicably got the MLB The Show 23 cover? - to the most underrated and overhated players. I don't really understand what's not to like about Jazz, and I'm a Boston Red Sox fan.

He plays an electrifying brand of baseball, hitting home runs and stealing bags for fun, and he was lowkey ridiculous in 2025. In just 130 games, he swatted 31 home runs and stole 31 bases. And for those who will say, "oh well he plays his home games in a joke of a stadium;" sure, but the baseball record books don't punish players for that. So if he goes 40-40 this year, he will simply be remembered forever as being part of the 40-40 club.

Additionally, as much as I hate them, the Yankees are one of the biggest clubs in baseball, and I'm sure New Yorkers would argue they're still the biggest. So, naturally, I want to watch the most exciting players on the biggest teams, and Jazz fits the bill.

⭐ Zach Neto - SS, Angels

Best bet: To steal 40-plus bases (+400 via DraftKings)          

I think the Angels are going to stink this year, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to watch plenty of their games this season. Of course, we get excited each year to watch Mike Trout play baseball, even if lasts only half of the summer. Then, Jo Adell was actually great last year, and I'm also excited to see Josh Lowe in a new setting where he should get regular playing time. But, the real reason I'm going to watch the Angels is because Zach Neto rocks.

He's quickly established himself as one of baseball's premier shortstops. He hit 26 homers and stole 26 bases last year in only 128 games after beginning the season on the IL, and he's easily a candidate to go 30-30 this year. Also, I know I'm getting repetitive, but ... maybe a candidate to go 40-40?

As a dad of a toddler, I don't stay up as late as I used to, but MLB's pitch clock has made watching West Coast games easier. I'll naturally be drawn to the Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and even the Athletics, but I like to throw in an Angels game every now and then, and Neto will surely influence my decision to do so this season.

🎯 Bryan Woo - SP, Mariners

Best bet: To win AL Cy Young (+2000 via DraftKings)            

Speaking of the Mariners, they might feature the best starting rotation in the American League. And in a group featuring George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Luis Castillo, I think the best of the bunch of Bryan Woo.

Baseball fans were robbed of the real Woo in the 2025 postseason due to an unfortunately timed injury that limited him to bullpen duties. However, he was having a brilliant campaign before that, limiting walks with the best of them and increasing his strikeout totals. Woo looks poised to serve as one of the best pitchers in baseball this year, especially based on the pitching projections at THE BAT.

Yes, you read that correctly. Woo is ranked third among AL pitchers by fWAR and is tied as the seventh-biggest favorite at DraftKings. In fact, he's tied with his teammate, Gilbert, who ranks fourth in projected fWAR. This Mariners rotation is full of studs, which means you can tune in to basically any game and watch someone absolutely dealing on the mound.

🪃 Cole Ragans - SP, Royals

Best bet: To win AL Cy Young (+1300 via DraftKings)              

Along with Woo, Cole Ragans serves as one of my favorite Cy Young bets that I'll be tracking throughout spring.

Ragans dealt with a ton of injury issues last year, and his surface stats look hideous. A bloated 4.67 ERA is nothing to write home about, but what if I told you he was actually elite?

This is very much one of the top five starters in the AL, and I think due to his ability to rack up strikeouts and the fact that he pitches in one of the 10 most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball, he's my favorite to win AL Cy Young this year.

The best sports betting apps know this, too, as he's tied for the third-shortest odds at DraftKings despite most casual baseball fans either not knowing who he is or thinking he was awful last year. I want to make sure he emerges from the spring in good health, but as long as long as that happens, I'll 100% be betting on him before the start of the regular season.

👀 Roman Anthony - OF, Red Sox

Best bet: To win AL MVP (+2000 via FanDuel)                

Well, you surely expected this once I said I was a Red Sox fan. 

Roman Anthony is him. All you had to do was watch one of his plate appearances last season, and you knew you were witnessing a star in the making. He exercises a level of patience at the plate that even the most seasoned veterans struggle with. 

He takes walks, crushes the baseball, and plays very solid defense in the outfield. Despite playing only 71 games last year, Anthony accrued 2.7 fWAR. That was the fourth-most in the AL, and those above him all played well above 100 games.

Non-Boston fans could get a taste of Anthony at the WBC, as he's set to replace the injured Carroll for Team USA. For everything you need to know about the tournament, check out my World Baseball Classic betting guide. 

I think Anthony will establish himself as one of the best pure hitters in baseball this season, and don't you want to tell your friends you witnessed the rise of a superstar?

👨‍⚖️ Aaron Judge - OF, Yankees

Best bet: To win AL MVP (+225 via DraftKings)                  

It's my duty as a Red Sox fan to put Judge last, but of course I'm excited to watch him. Ohtani is my GOAT, but Judge is the best baseball hitter on planet Earth. He managed his third season of a wRC+ of at least 200 in the last four years, and among players with at least 5,000 plate appearances, Judge owns the third-best wRC+. That's right, the third-best ever, behind only Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.

You can be a fan of whatever MLB team you want, but if you don't appreciate Judge's greatness, you're just foolish. Of course, I'll be rooting for him to strike out in embarrassing fashion any time he faces Boston, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to watch him continue to shatter our expectations of how good a hitter can be in an era when pitchers are throwing 100-plus mph with regularity.