Triple Crown candidate a unanimous No. 1 atop Hitter Power Rankings

It’s hard to stay on top of the Hitter Power Rankings for an extended period of time. Even great hitters slump, right?

Well, don’t tell that to the man in our No. 1 spot -- yet again. He’s become a regular there and is showing no signs of slowing down, perhaps on his way to making some serious history.

Here are the latest Hitter Power Rankings, as decided by a panel of MLB.com voters.

All statistics are through Tuesday’s games unless otherwise noted.

1. Yordan Alvarez, Astros (Previous poll: 1)

Alvarez is holding strong, in our top spot for the fourth straight poll -- and by unanimous decision. Triple Crown watch is very much on in Houston, with Alvarez holding similar command over the AL batting leaderboards. Through Wednesday's games, his .328 average was 20 points ahead of the Rays’ Yandy Díaz; his 34 home runs were four ahead of the Yankees’ Ben Rice; and his 77 RBIs were six ahead of Rice.

2. Junior Caminero, Rays (2)

Caminero is one big threat to Alvarez, both in these rankings and for that Triple Crown. It’s hard to believe Caminero is just 23, because he’s already one of the most fearsome power hitters in the sport. Caminero ranks in the 100th percentile of Major League hitters in bat speed, 93rd percentile in hard-hit rate and 94th percentile in expected slugging. That’s no surprise to anyone who watched him in last week’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

3. James Wood, Nationals (6)

Wood’s Baseball Savant page is perhaps even more impressive than Caminero’s. He ranks in the 100th percentile -- that’s as good as it gets, of course -- in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, expected slugging and expected wOBA. To sum that all up: He frequently makes ideal contact. That’s just one reason that Wood has a shot at an ultra-rare 150-run season.

4. Ben Rice, Yankees (not ranked)

A regular in our rankings for much of the season, Rice dropped out after a tough June (.657 OPS). However, he has rallied in July, batting .317/.411/.714 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs in his first 17 games of the month -- including his 30th home run on Wednesday afternoon, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Pirates. The resurgence couldn’t come soon enough for a Yankees lineup trying to muddle through without the services of Aaron Judge.

5. Juan Soto, Mets (5)

One of the things that makes Soto (or any great hitter) so special is that he’s never satisfied -- always making adjustments and tinkering to try to find the best formula for success. MLB.com’s David Adler spoke with Soto about the latest of those changes: a switch to a bat with a “hockey puck” knob. Naturally, it’s had its intended effect on Soto’s two-strike production.

6. Willson Contreras, Red Sox (10)

Despite plenty of boos from the Philly crowd, Contreras put on a pretty good show in the Home Run Derby. He might have played the villain role there, but he’s been a hero to Red Sox fans in his first season in Boston as by far the best hitter in what’s generally been quite a disappointing lineup. In fact, Contreras’ 156 wRC+ is tied with Caminero for fifth among qualified hitters, behind only Alvarez, Rice, Wood and Soto. Now a revived Sox team is right back in the playoff race, and Contreras is a major reason why.

7. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (6)

Defense in center field continues to be PCA’s calling card, but the offensive strides have been extremely impressive to behold. He is responsible for MLB’s largest increase in walk rate from 2025 to ’26, and his quality-of-contact metrics are way up, as well. PCA’s xwOBA has leapt from the 44th percentile a year ago all the way up to the 86th percentile. He now looks like an elite player in every phase of the game.

8. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (3)

Some lingering left knee soreness might be hindering Ohtani a bit of late (aside from just affecting his pitching schedule). He has a .771 OPS in July and .766 over his past 22 games. Of course, it speaks to the sky-high expectations for Ohtani that we look at a .283/.392/.525 batting line from a guy who also is an elite pitcher and ask: “Is he OK?”

9. Jordan Walker, Cardinals (not ranked)

The fourth 2026 Home Run Derby competitor on our list also happens to be the champion. It might feel like we’ve been waiting for this Walker breakout for a long time -- he was drafted in 2020 and debuted on Opening Day 2023 -- but he’s also just turned 24 on May 22. That makes him younger than 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Award winner Drake Baldwin, among many others. It’s all coming together for Walker in 2026, though, with his 76 RBIs (one behind Alvarez for the MLB lead) just one example of that.

10. Esmerlyn Valdez, Pirates (not ranked)

When Valdez was recalled to Pittsburgh on June 11, there was no reason to think he’d be here, in the Hitter Power Rankings, just six weeks later. Valdez wasn’t a Top 100 prospect, and while he was having a strong season at Triple-A, one previous callup to the Pirates in May had yielded a .125 average and nine strikeouts in five games. (Albeit, both of his hits were homers.) Brought back a couple of weeks later, however, Valdez has blitzed Major League pitching: .337/.404/.793 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 27 games. The strikeouts are still plentiful, but it doesn’t matter when you’re crushing the ball like Valdez.

Others receiving votes: Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), Hunter Goodman (Rockies), Otto Lopez (Marlins), Riley Greene (Tigers), Luis García Jr. (Nationals), Ty France (Padres), Luis Arraez (Giants), Chase DeLauter (Guardians), Drake Baldwin (Braves)

Voters: David Adler, Theo DeRosa, Jason Foster, Jared Greenspan, Brian Murphy, Max Ralph, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon