2026 Silver Slugger Award finalists announced by Louisville Slugger across MLB

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The 2026 Silver Slugger Award finalists have been announced by Louisville Slugger ahead of the awards reveal on Nov. 17, with Major League Baseball managers and coaches serving as voters under MLB rules that prohibit them from selecting players on their own teams. The Silver Slugger is awarded annually to the top hitter at each position in each league, with the award first established in 1980 and expanded in recent years to include a best-hitting utility player category (2022) and an Offensive Team of the Year award (2023).

In the AL, the catcher finalists are Dillon Dingler of the Tigers and Carter Jensen of the Royals. Dingler entered early August with power production for Detroit, producing a .877 OPS with 26 home runs over his first 106 games before his numbers cooled late in the season to a .149/.195/.203 line with one homer in the remainder of the year; even so, his total of 27 homers tied him with Jensen for the most among AL backstops. Jensen, finishing his first full Major League season, posted a .790 OPS and hit 27 home runs.

Also in the AL, first base/designated-infield slugging recognition includes Pete Alonso of the Orioles and Willson Contreras of the Red Sox. Alonso’s first season in Baltimore translated into a league-leading 43 home runs and 113 RBIs, along with a 149 OPS+ and a career-best mark by his .402 expected wOBA. Contreras, moved to first base full-time by the Cardinals in 2025 before being dealt to Boston prior to last season, put together a .901 OPS and 27 home runs in his first year with the Red Sox, and Statcast measures his bat speed at an average of 77 mph, in the 96th percentile among qualified batters.

For the AL infield, the second base finalists are Kody Clemens of the Twins and Chase Meidroth of the White Sox. Clemens led AL second basemen with 27 homers and an AL-high seven triples, finishing with a .758 OPS, and was responsible for a walk-off grand slam against the Royals on July 30. Meidroth helped drive a major turnaround for Chicago, which reached the playoffs two years after an MLB-record 121-loss season; in his second big league season, he recorded a .765 OPS with 16 home runs.

The AL shortstop category features Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals, and Zach Neto of the Angels. McGonigle, in a rookie campaign, posted a .278/.376/.430 line with 18 homers across 707 plate appearances, while his chase and walk rates stood at 19.6% and 13.4%, respectively, among qualified batters. Witt, an AL MVP finalist for the second time in three years, delivered an .800 OPS with 18 home runs and 45 steals, while his expected batting average (.302) ranked behind only Yordan Alvarez (.318) and his xSLG minus SLG gap tied for third-highest among qualified batters at 63 points. Neto extended a pattern of 20-plus power seasons with a third consecutive year of more than 20 homers, landing on 27 for the season and a .766 OPS.

At third base/designated in the AL, the finalists include Junior Caminero of the Rays and Miguel Vargas of the White Sox, joined by the utility/designated positions depending on category presentation. Caminero, for a second time in as many seasons, hit more than 40 home runs (42) and drove in more than 100 runs (101) for Tampa Bay, with an MLB-best average bat speed of 79.4 mph, and he earned a spot as an AL MVP finalist. Vargas delivered a breakout for the upstart White Sox with 33 home runs and a .837 OPS and earned his first career All-Star selection.

The AL outfield includes Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox and Randy Arozarena of the Mariners, plus Cody Bellinger of the Yankees, Jac Caglianone of the Royals, Chase DeLauter of the Guardians, Riley Greene of the Tigers, Tristan Peters of the White Sox, Chandler Simpson of the Rays, and Mike Trout of the Angels. The finalists include several first-time Silver Slugger candidates, as Abreu, Arozarena, Caglianone, DeLauter, Peters and Simpson are all seeking their first career win in this award category. Abreu led the league with 38 doubles alongside 24 home runs for Boston, and Arozarena paced the junior circuit with 113 runs scored while posting an .865 OPS. DeLauter and Peters are each listed among their rookie/first-attempt finalists, while Caglianone slugged .494 with 23 homers as a sophomore. Trout’s candidacy is shaped by a power profile of 30 homers and an .803 OPS across 142 games, and Bellinger, a two-time winner, comes off an All-Star season with 17 homers and a .768 OPS. Simpson is noted in the finalists list for pairing 46 stolen bases with a .306 average and no home runs, a rare profile referenced in the source as only Ozzie Smith and Pete Rose having won Silver Slugger awards after finishing their seasons with zero home runs.

For the AL designated hitter, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and Ben Rice of the Yankees are the finalists. Alvarez, identified in the announcement as the favourite to win the AL MVP Award, played in 150 or more games for the first time and produced career-highs including 42 home runs, a .316 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage, a .601 slugging percentage and 109 walks. Rice followed a strong 2025 with 41 home runs and a .897 OPS in 2026 and earned his first All-Star selection.

Rounding out the AL utility/other infield outfield structure, Sam Antonacci of the White Sox and Ezequiel Duran of the Rangers are named among the finalists, along with Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers. Antonacci’s rookie season is highlighted by a .277 batting average and a .370 on-base percentage, including 29 times being hit by a pitch, while splitting time at left field (121 games) and second base (32). Duran is listed with a career-best 17 home runs after appearing at every position except pitcher and catcher. The list also notes McGonigle’s versatility, including third base work in 94 games for Detroit.

In the AL Offensive Team of the Year category, the finalists are the Astros, Rays, Twins and White Sox. The source credits the Astros with MLB’s most home runs at 226, while the Rays posted the AL’s best team batting average at .258. Runs production factors are credited to the White Sox, who led the league with 776 runs, followed by the Twins with 739 runs, tied with the Yankees in that context.

The NL positional finalists begin with catcher Hunter Goodman of the Rockies and Gabriel Moreno of the D-backs. Goodman’s season is described through a 41-homer total, and the source also notes a split between away and home power of 25 home runs away from Coors Field compared with 16 at the hitter-friendly venue, and Moreno’s batting title performance with a .311 average and .874 OPS after becoming the first catcher since Buster Posey in 2012 to win such a title.

At first base, the NL finalists include Jake Bauers of the Brewers, Alec Burleson of the Cardinals and Rafael Devers of the Giants, along with Matt Olson of the Braves. Bauers’ regular-season power is cited at a .874 OPS and 26 homers, while Burleson is noted for leading the Majors with 116 RBIs and seeking a second straight Silver Slugger honor. Devers is described as slugging .525 with 37 homers, and Olson as posting .502 slugging with 41 homers for Atlanta.

Second base finalists in the NL include Brandon Lowe of the Pirates and Brice Turang of the Brewers. Turang is framed by a season that included an NL MVP finalist nod, regular-season production of a .816 OPS with 21 homers and 100 RBIs, and an additional .817 OPS and a homer in the postseason. Shortstop finalists in the NL include CJ Abrams of the Nationals, Elly De La Cruz of the Reds and Otto Lopez of the Marlins, each credited with key production and, in Lopez’s case, a breakout total of 191 hits.

At third base for the NL, the finalists are Alex Bregman of the Cubs and Max Muncy of the Dodgers. Bregman’s candidacy is connected to his 28-homer power with a .464 slugging percentage for his first season with the Cubs, while Muncy is described as seeking his first Silver Slugger honor after recording 29 homers and a .837 OPS for the Dodgers.

The NL outfield finalists include Corbin Carroll of the D-backs, Jackson Chourio of the Brewers, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs, Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres, Jordan Walker of the Cardinals and James Wood of the Nationals. The source highlights multiple first-time award seekers among this group and credits Carroll with 25 homers and .487 slugging, Chourio with 25 homers and a note about three 20-homer/20-steal seasons before turning 23, and PCA with an MVP-favourable profile referenced in the announcement.

The NL designated hitter/outfield/batting categories also include Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, with Ohtani listed for a .512 slugging line and 30 home runs last season, and Schwarber for matching the Major League home run title lead with 45 while seeking a second career Silver Slugger.

For the NL Offensive Team of the Year category, the finalists are the Brewers, Cubs and Dodgers, along with the Nationals. The source notes that Milwaukee won the category “their way,” including that it relied on patience and timely hitting, while also describing a team batting profile that finished tied for the highest team batting average at .258. It further states the Cubs paced the NL in home runs at 220 and led the Majors in OPS (.767), the Dodgers finished second in MLB in OPS at .762, and Washington slugged .423 as a team.

Winners across both leagues are scheduled to be announced on Nov. 17 following the Louisville Slugger announcement of finalists, with MLB’s manager and coach voting serving as the deciding process under the organization’s rules that prevent voting for players on one’s own team. For readers looking ahead, the date and format of the final announcement are set, but the specific winners are still to come after Nov. 17. (Finalists listed as announced Nov. 5, 2026.)