Brewers lead the way as MLB reveals 2026 All-MLB First and Second Teams presented by MGM Rewards

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Major League Baseball revealed the 2026 All-MLB First and Second Teams presented by MGM Rewards on Wednesday night, with the announcement delivered as part of the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards festivities at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and aired on MLB Network. Now in its eighth season since being established in 2019, the All-MLB program recognizes the best players from each MLB regular season through a combined voting model in which 50% of the vote comes from fans and 50% comes from a panel of experts.

MLB said the 2026 All-MLB teams were determined by considering performance during the regular season only. Each All-MLB side is structured with one selection apiece at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and designated hitter, along with three outfielders, five starting pitchers and two relievers. In total, MLB listed 32 players across the league’s First and Second Teams.

Among clubs, the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers led with four All-MLB selections in 2026. The Rays, who advanced to the Fall Classic, were next with three selections, according to MLB’s announcement.

For the 2026 All-MLB First and Second Teams, Gabriel Moreno of the D-backs was named at catcher, Pete Alonso of the Orioles earned first base, and Brice Turang of the Brewers was selected at second base. MLB named Junior Caminero of the Rays at third base and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals at shortstop, while the outfield selections went to Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres and Jackson Chourio of the Brewers.

Yordan Alvarez of the Astros was selected as designated hitter, and MLB named the five starting pitchers as Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers, Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, Chris Sale of the Braves, Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays and Cristopher Sánchez of the Phillies. The relievers selected were Mason Miller of the Padres and Louis Varland of the Blue Jays.

MLB also named William Contreras of the Brewers at catcher, Willson Contreras of the Red Sox at first base, Brandon Lowe of the Pirates at second base, and Alex Bregman of the Cubs at third base. Elly De La Cruz of the Reds was selected at shortstop for the 2026 group, with outfield spots going to James Wood of the Nationals, Randy Arozarena of the Mariners and Jordan Walker of the Cardinals.

At designated hitter for the remaining All-MLB spot, MLB selected Ben Rice of the Yankees, while the starting pitchers named were Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers, Sonny Gray of the Red Sox, Tarik Skubal of the Dodgers/Tigers, Drew Rasmussen of the Rays and Jesús Luzardo of the Phillies. The relievers named were Bryan Baker of the Rays and Cade Smith of the Guardians, completing the All-MLB lineup across positions.

Alongside the player list, MLB’s release highlighted several specific regular-season milestones and roles used to frame the selections. Moreno was described by MLB as winning his second Gold Glove Award and becoming just the fifth catcher to win the batting title, while Alonso was noted for leading the American League with 43 home runs and 113 RBIs and for setting career highs in walks and on-base percentage.

For the infield and outfield choices, MLB’s announcement pointed to Turang’s personal-best totals, including 21 home runs and 19 stolen bases, as well as his second Gold Glove Award. MLB also cited Caminero’s 42 home runs in 2026 and cited Elly De La Cruz’s first 30-30 season. In the outfield, MLB’s release credited Crow-Armstrong for leading Major League Baseball with 10.6 WAR and a 45-home-run, 41-steal stat line, while also noting Tatis Jr.’s final-season surge and Chourio’s continued 20-20 production.

At designated hitter, MLB’s release positioned Alvarez as a leading qualified hitter in 2026, listing a .316 batting average, .432 on-base percentage and .601 slugging percentage, alongside an MLB figure for weighted runs created plus. For pitchers, MLB’s announcement described Misiorowski’s 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts, Schlittler’s 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts, and Sale’s 2.16 ERA and 200 strikeouts, while also highlighting Cease, Sánchez and the relievers’ strikeout and run-prevention marks.

The announcement concluded by naming the All-MLB selections as regular-season honors from MLB’s 2026 Awards programming, with the Brewers’ four-player total and the Rays’ three-player total underscoring the impact of both clubs’ seasons on the league-wide recognition.

With MLB’s All-MLB teams now set, the league-wide roster of recognized players spans teams that finished at multiple postseason levels, but the voting criteria remained consistent: MLB said ballots accounted only for regular-season performance and were generated through the established split between fan voting and a panel of experts.