Here are the 2026 Silver Slugger Award finalists

The Silver Slugger Award is presented to the best hitter at each position in each league annually, and it is voted on by MLB managers and coaches (who are not allowed to vote for players on their own teams). The coveted honor was established in 1980, with new categories for best-hitting utility player (2022) and best offensive team (2023) added in recent years.

• All-time Silver Slugger Award winners

This year’s Silver Slugger finalists were announced by Louisville Slugger on Thursday, and the winners will be announced on Nov. 17. There is a great mix of established household names and rising young stars among the 2026 finalists:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Catcher

Dillon Dingler, Tigers
Carter Jensen, Royals

Dingler was putting together a huge season for the Tigers through early August. Over his first 106 games, he owned an .877 OPS with 26 home runs. But from there, his bat cooled off considerably -- he produced a .149/.195/.203 slash line with one homer the rest of the way. Still, his season at the plate was impressive overall -- his 27 homers were tied with his Silver Slugger co-finalist for most among AL backstops.

Jensen finished his first full Major League season with a .790 OPS and 27 homers of his own. His 12.7% barrel rate placed him in the 85th percentile among qualified batters last season, according to Statcast.

First base

Pete Alonso, Orioles
Willson Contreras, Red Sox

Alonso’s first season in an Orioles uniform couldn’t have gone much better. The hulking slugger led the AL with 43 home runs and 113 RBIs, and his 149 OPS+ was a career best. His .402 expected weighted on-base average was second in the AL only to MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez’s .442.

Contreras, who began his big league career behind the plate, was moved to first base full-time by the Cardinals in 2025, before he was dealt to Boston prior to last season. He put together a career year in his first season with the Red Sox, finishing with a .901 OPS and 27 home runs. With ferocious bat speed (an average of 77 mph, 96th percentile among qualified batters), he finished second in the league to Alvarez with a Statcast batting run value of +41.

Second base

Kody Clemens, Twins
Chase Meidroth, White Sox

Clemens also turned in a career year for the Twins, leading all AL second basemen with 27 homers and an AL-high seven triples to go along with a .758 OPS. He had several big hits for Minnesota in 2026, highlighted by an ultimate grand slam to walk off the Royals on July 30.

The White Sox were the biggest surprise team in baseball this past season, and Meidroth contributed in big ways to get the South Siders to the playoffs just two years after they lost an MLB-record 121 games. In his second big league season, Meidroth delivered a .765 OPS with 16 home runs.

Shortstop

Kevin McGonigle, Tigers
Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
Zach Neto, Angels

McGonigle had a stellar rookie campaign for Detroit, making him a leading AL Rookie of the Year candidate. He produced a .278/.376/.430 slash line with 18 homers in an AL-high 707 plate appearances. His 19.6% chase rate ranked in the 98th percentile among qualified batters, and his 13.4% walk rate ranked in the 94th percentile.

Witt, an AL MVP finalist for the second time in three years, had another tremendous offensive campaign, one in which he posted an .800 OPS with 18 homers and 45 steals. His .302 expected batting average was second only to Alvarez (.318), and the 63-point difference between his xSLG (.504) and his actual SLG (.441) was tied for third-highest among all qualified batters in 2026. He’s seeking his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award.

Neto connected for more than 20 homers for the third straight season, belting 27 this year to go along with a .766 OPS. His home run total was second among AL shortstops only to Colson Montgomery’s 31.

Third base

Junior Caminero, Rays
Miguel Vargas, White Sox

For the second time in as many seasons, Caminero smashed more than 40 homers (42) and drove in more than 100 runs (101) for Tampa Bay, enough to secure a spot as an AL MVP finalist. His MLB-best 79.4 mph average bat speed is his calling card, and it resulted in a sensational age-22 campaign for the rising superstar.

Vargas enjoyed a breakout season for the upstart White Sox, belting 33 home runs with an .837 OPS for the South Siders, earning his first career All-Star selection.

Outfield

Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox
Randy Arozarena, Mariners
Cody Bellinger, Yankees
Jac Caglianone, Royals
Chase DeLauter, Guardians
Riley Greene, Tigers
Tristan Peters, White Sox
Chandler Simpson, Rays
Mike Trout, Angels

The AL outfield finalists for the Silver Slugger Award mirror the rest of the league’s finalists in the sense that a majority of them are seeking to win their first career Silver Slugger honor: Abreu, Arozarena, Caglianone, DeLauter, Peters and Simpson would all be first-time winners.

Known primarily for his sterling defense in right field -- he’s won the last two Gold Glove Awards at the position in the AL -- Abreu had a career year at the plate in 2026, leading the league with 38 doubles to go along with 24 homers for Boston. Arozarena earned his third All-Star nod in his age-31 campaign, pacing the junior circuit with 113 runs scored and posting an .865 OPS. DeLauter (.820 OPS) and Peters (.774 OPS) are each looking to capture a Silver Slugger honor as a rookie, whil Caglianone hit 23 homers and slugged .494 in his sophomore year.

Trout is looking to become just the third player to earn 10 Silver Slugger wins (Mike Piazza, 10; Barry Bonds, 12) after posting an .803 OPS in 142 games, his most in 10 years. Bellinger, a two-time winner, was an All-Star after belting 17 homers with a .768 OPS.

Simpson would be an unorthodox winner -- the speedster hit .306 and led the AL with 46 steals but hit zero home runs. Only two non-pitchers have taken home a Silver Slugger Award after finishing the season in the no homers club -- Ozzie Smith (1987, NL SS) and Pete Rose (1981, NL 1B).

Designated hitter

Yordan Alvarez, Astros
Ben Rice, Yankees

Alvarez, the favorite to win the AL MVP Award, played in 150 or more games in a season for the first time, and showed just how good he can be when healthy. He hit a career-high 42 homers and led the Majors in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432), slugging (.601) and walks (109).

Rice, meanwhile, followed up a strong 2025 campaign with a huge ’26, connecting for 41 homers while producing an .897 OPS for the Bronx Bombers, earning his first All-Star selection.

Utility

Sam Antonacci, White Sox
Ezequiel Duran, Rangers
Kevin McGonigle, Tigers

Antonacci delivered a strong rookie showing for the White Sox, hitting .277 with a .370 on-base percentage, thanks in part to a league-high 29 times being hit by a pitch, while playing left field (121 games) and second base (32). Duran hit a career-best 17 home runs while appearing at every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher in 2026. And McGonigle wasn’t merely a shortstop -- the AL Rookie of the Year candidate also played third base in 94 games for Detroit.

Offensive Team of the Year

Astros
Rays
Twins
White Sox

Led by Alvarez, the Astros hit more homers (226) than any team in MLB last season. The Rays, meanwhile, owned the AL’s best team batting average, at .258. Runs scored are the name of the game, and the White Sox led the league in that category, with 776. Right behind them? The Twins, with 739 (tied with the Yankees).

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Catcher

Hunter Goodman, Rockies
Gabriel Moreno, D-backs

Only two players in the NL hit more homers than Goodman’s 41 -- the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (45 each). And, remarkably, the Rockies’ backstop belted more home runs away from Coors Field (25) than at the hitter-friendly venue (16). He’s seeking his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award.

Moreno enjoyed a breakout offensive season with the D-backs, becoming the first catcher since Buster Posey in 2012 to win a batting title by hitting .311 with an .874 OPS. His 6.7 bWAR ranked fourth among all NL players.

First base

Jake Bauers, Brewers
Alec Burleson, Cardinals
Rafael Devers, Giants
Matt Olson, Braves

Bauers introduced himself to the wider baseball world with a stellar postseason performance for the World Series champion Brewers -- particularly in the NL Championship Series, when he took home MVP honors. But even before his postseason heroics, Bauers had the best regular-season campaign of his career, posting an .874 OPS with 26 homers.

Burleson is looking to win his second straight Silver Slugger honor after leading the Majors with 116 RBIs for St. Louis. Devers, seeking his third career Silver Slugger Award, caught fire at the plate in May and never looked back for San Francisco, slugging .525 with 37 homers -- each his best figure in the respective category since 2021. And Olson slugged .502 with 41 homers for Atlanta.

Second base

Brandon Lowe, Pirates
Brice Turang, Brewers

Lowe continues to be one of the more underrated stars in the game, and he delivered another prolific offensive season in 2026, his first with the Pirates. The 32-year-old second baseman hit 35 home runs, drove in 96 runs and posted an .824 OPS.

Turang had a big 2026 campaign, both during the regular season -- for which he was named an NL MVP finalist -- and in the playoffs, when he helped lead the Brewers to their first World Series title. He finished the regular season with an .816 OPS, 21 homers and 100 RBIs, before posting an .817 OPS with a homer during the postseason.

Shortstop

CJ Abrams, Nationals
Elly De La Cruz, Reds
Otto Lopez, Marlins

Abrams found his power stroke in 2026, launching a career-high 33 home runs for a Nationals lineup that proved to be one of the most potent in the game. He also drove in 106 runs and was an All-Star for the second time. De La Cruz, healthy after playing through injury in 2025, put together his finest campaign yet, joining the 30-30 club with 30 homers and 30 steals. Lopez had a breakout year for the Marlins, batting .305 and leading the Majors with 191 hits.

Third base

Alex Bregman, Cubs
Max Muncy, Dodgers

Looking to win his first Silver Slugger Award since finishing runner-up in AL MVP voting in 2019, Bregman put together his best slugging season since then, hitting 28 homers with a .464 slugging percentage in his first season with the Cubs.

Muncy, despite owning 243 career home runs, is still seeking his first Silver Slugger honor. He was selected as an All-Star for the third time in his career in 2026, when he connected for 29 homers with an .837 OPS for the Dodgers.

Outfield

Corbin Carroll, D-backs
Jackson Chourio, Brewers
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
Seiya Suzuki, Cubs
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
Jordan Walker, Cardinals
James Wood, Nationals

The theme of first-time award seekers continues with the NL outfield finalists -- Chourio, PCA, Suzuki, Walker and Wood would all be first-time winners.

Before his postseason heroics in the Brewers’ run to a championship, Chourio turned in the best regular-season campaign of his young career, hitting 25 homers and slugging .487. He also became the only player in Major League history to record three 20-homer/20-steal seasons before turning 23.

PCA, of course, had a season for the ages and is the favorite to win the NL MVP Award. Suzuki, his teammate, posted an .841 OPS and hit 20 or more homers for the fourth straight year (26). Walker, a highly touted prospect who struggled from 2024-25, broke out in a big way in ’26, launching 29 homers and driving in 102 runs for the Cards. And Wood, despite missing time due to an oblique strain, still finished with 30 homers and an .891 OPS.

Designated hitter

Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies

Ohtani remains the class of the field in this category, though injuries slowed him in 2026. Nevertheless, the four-time MVP and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner slugged .512 with 30 homers last season, surpassing the 300-homer milestone along the way.

Schwarber, who is seeking a second career Silver Slugger honor, finished tied with Crow-Armstrong for the Major League home run title by smashing 45. It marks the first time he has had at least a share of the MLB home run title after he led the NL with 46 in 2022 and 56 in '25.

Utility

Jake Bauers, Brewers
Sal Stewart, Reds
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres

Bauers not only appeared at first base in 119 games this past season, but he also played in the corner outfield positions in 46 games. Stewart, an NL Rookie of the Year finalist following his 32-homer campaign, saw time at both corner infield spots for Cincinnati, and even a little at second base. And Tatis, who made a beautiful transition from shortstop to right field earlier in his career, saw time in both right and at second base for San Diego in 2026.

Offensive Team of the Year

Brewers
Cubs
Dodgers
Nationals

The Brewers, indeed, won it all “their way,” particularly when it came to how they scored. The NLCS -- in which they slugged seven homers to sweep the Dodgers -- notwithstanding, Milwaukee’s offense relied on patience and timely hitting rather than the long ball. Only the Blue Jays (152) hit fewer homers last season than Milwaukee’s 154, but the Crew nonetheless finished tied with the Rays for highest team batting average (.258).

The Cubs, led by PCA, paced the NL in homers (220) and led the Majors in OPS (.767), while the Dodgers were right behind the North Siders in the OPS department, finishing second in MLB at .762. And the Nats slugged .423 as a team, just behind Chicago and L.A. (.428 and .424, respectively).