2026 MLB Power Rankings: Week 12 Update

The AL and NL MVP awards have run through two names the past couple seasons: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

But with Judge hurt in the AL, a new name has emerged as a favorite for the 2026 adaptation.

Ben Rice has dominated the majors this season. And sure, we’ve highlighted the first baseman numerous times through the power rankings on Metsmerized.com. But it’s June. This is officially “for real” territory.

Rice enters Saturday with 21 homers and a 1.005 OPS. He’s slugging .613. The production has been necessary for a club that is missing their best bat and trying to stave off the Rays, who are three games behind them in the standings. And Friday’s homer off Rice’s bat in the second blew the game open for the Yankees in their 5-0 win against the Reds.

Right now Rice is only second to Yordan Alvarez in OPS, homers, RBIs, and walks. Yet, despite being marginally worse than his AL counterpart, it feels as if what Rice is doing has that MVP factor. Maybe it’s just because the Yankees are in a race for the AL East.

Carchietta-Imagn Images

1. Dodgers

It seems like the Dodgers just spawn major league talent.

Ryan Ward is the most recent version of “who is that? And what is he doing?” prospect for Los Angeles. The 28-year-old has appeared in 16 games this season for the Dodgers, and is already slugging .513 with three homers.

Ward has impressed in a small sample size. And had a massive at-bat in the Dodgers’ comeback win Friday over the Orioles, where he drew a four-pitch walk against Ryan Helsley.

Production from Ward and the staples of this back-to-back championship roster resulted in a four-game winning streak entering Saturday. The Dodgers swept the Rays then defeated the O’s Friday night. The club is rolling and on the precipice of hitting the 50-win plateau before July.

2. Yankees

Who needs Judge?

Seriously, the Yankees are rolling. Like Sisyphus’s boulder down the hill.

The club is 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have an AL-best +123 run differential. An AL best 46-win mark.

Everything is clicking for the Bronx Bombers. As highlighted earlier, Rice is having an MVP season and carrying the offense with help from Cody Bellinger. But Cam Schlittler developing into an AL Cy Young candidate has evolved an already stacked rotation.

Schlittler enters Saturday with an AL-best 1.71 ERA, 2.12 FIP, 247 ERA+, 6.3 H/9, and 95 IP. He’s coming off six scoreless innings Friday against the Reds where he punched out 13. Yeesh.

3. Braves

Atlanta hit their first speed bump of the season last week.

They lost a series to the last-place Mets, then dropped two to the Giants. Overall, the club is just 2-6 in their last eight games.

A lot of the struggles have been players regressing to their mean. Bryce Elder had a sparkling low two ERA before allowing six earned runs to the Mets. The Ronald Acuña Jr.-less offense has averaged 3.12 runs over the eight-game stretch.

There’s still no concern for a team that looks poised to make a run at a 2026 NL Pennant. Atlanta still holds a healthy 7.5 game lead over the Phillies and the lineup has been rejuvenated with Drake Baldwin returning from the IL. Chalk it up to a bad week.

4. Brewers

Jacob Misiorowski could be in the midst of the greatest pitching season of all time. Seriously.

The Miz set another record in Friday’s start against the Braves, throwing 47 pitches of at least 101 miles per hour in a loss. The righty allowed two earned runs, struck out seven, and his ERA actually rose to 1.45. Still a major league best.

He’s been a buzz saw. And if you’re picking names out of a hat for who you want to start a postseason game, you’re praying his name is on the piece of paper.

Jackson Chourio has also been spectacular. Maybe because he plays in Milwaukee Chourio doesn’t get proper admiration, but the future top-prospect has a .918 OPS and 10 homers in just 39 games played.

5. Rays

Last week wasn’t pretty for Tampa Bay.

They dropped a series to the Angels in Anaheim, then were swept by the Dodgers in Los Angeles. I think the Rays are sick of LA.

Still, the club was such a force in May that they’re holding on to a 42-30 record. If they played .500 ball the rest of the season they’d finish with 87 wins and most likely a playoff berth.

But can this team tread water? They have the talent to. But their outfield offense continues to hinder them. Jake Fraley leads their outfield with a .690 OPS and he’s on the 10-day IL right now. The next highest is Chandler Simpson with his .600 OPS. Trading for a couple of league-average bats would transform this team.

6. Mariners

The last couple rankings we’ve been making the patience case with the M’s. Well, it’s time to act for Seattle.

Julio Rodriguez returned to the lineup after missing the past couple games with hamstring spasms. Cal Raleigh returned a couple days ago after missing a full month with an oblique injury. Getting both those catalysts back in the lineup should result in the team exploding offensively.

Which, by the way, is exactly what Seattle needs. The club enters Saturday 20th in the league in OPS. 17th in runs scored. It’s a stark contrast from the team that finished 9th in runs and 10th in OPS in 2025

Barring future injury, June 20 could be the inflection point of the Mariners season. They’re 39-38, hold a half-game lead for first over the .500 Athletics, and are getting their guns back. Buckle up.

7. Cubs

Chicago is starting to stabilize.

A 6-2 stretch last week helped the Cubs to a 40-36 record. Two series against the Rockies will help with that.

Pete Crow-Armstrong slashing .538/.567/1.154 over his last seven games will also help win games. His homer Thursday was a driving force in the Cubs 8-6 win over the Rockies, and helped raise his NL-leading bWAR to 4.6.

Ben Brown has also been instrumental for this team. He’s got a sparkling 1.85 ERA and has made eight starts since being inserted into the rotation. We’ll see if he and the ragtag team of names making starts for this club can sustain a winning pace.

8. Cardinals

Have you heard of the 15-year-old phenom prospect Blaze Jordan? Well, he’s actually 23 now. And he’s producing for the Cardinals.

In eight games, Jordan has an .856 OPS. He drove in two runs for the Cardinals Friday in their 6-5 loss to the Royals. Just another young bat producing for the Cardinals.

Still, St. Louis stumbled last week. They dropped three games. Their record sits at 40-34, respectable, but now have the Cubs in their rear view mirror. The pitching continues to be a problem, which gave up 26 runs in the last three games.

At least the rotation is starting to produce. Dustin May, Andre Pallante, and Michael McGreevy have ERAs that start with three. Baby steps.

9. Phillies

Philadelphia’s turnaround is quite impressive. They’re 40-35 despite suffering a 10-game losing streak earlier in the season.

Don Mattingly is now 31-16 as interim manager. And despite the recent two-game skid they enter Saturday with, the Phillies hold the second wild card.

It’s too bad Ohtani is in the NL now. At least for Kyle Schwarber‘s sake. The DH could have won the MVP award last season, and is already on pace to finish in second place again.

Schwarber is slashing .245/.361/.558 with a major league-leading 25 homers. This team would have been lost if he left in free agency.

Also, this has nothing to do with the Phillies’ season, but Schwarber is such an interesting case for the Hall of Fame. The 33-year-old is sitting on 365 career homers. If his season ended today, Schwarber would only need to average 33 homers over the last four years of his contract to hit the 500 mark. He’s averaged 46.75 in a season in a Phillies uniform.

10. White Sox

The White Sox ran into a bit of a reality check last week against the Yankees.

They salvaged the series, but got bullied the first two games. Their ace Davis Martin got whalloped for nine earned runs across 3 1/3 innings.

Outside the Andrew Benintendi grand slam in the final game of the series, there weren’t a lot of positives for the team facing off against the AL’s best. But, the White Sox are still a top-10 team in baseball and are currently tied for first in the Central with the Guardians.

It’s also an incredibly exciting time to be a White Sox fan. Outside the complete 180 this season has been from 2025, all the young bats are producing. They’re 10th in the majors in OPS, 12th in runs, and will be getting Munetaka Murakami back in the near future.

Plus, the subpar rotation could get a jolt as soon as this season. Top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith are both in Triple-A, and could contribute for a club trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Rest of the Field

11. Pirates
12. Guardians
13. Nationals
14. Diamondbacks
15. Marlins
16. Padres
17. Athletics
18. Blue Jays
19. Mets
20. Rangers
21. Orioles
22. Twins
23. Astros
24. Tigers
25. Red Sox
26. Reds
27. Giants
28. Royals
29. Angels
30. Rockies