Hot bats bring new faces, major shakeup to Hitter Power Rankings

Memorial Day has passed and the air is getting warmer, which means summer is fast approaching. Or maybe it's just the heat from the bats featured in the latest Hitter Power Rankings.

Our latest poll of MLB.com experts produced a major shakeup, with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge making a significant drop from the top spot, other guys climbing upward and some previously unranked hitters surging onto the list.

Here are the results of the fifth Hitter Power Rankings of the 2026 season.

All stats are through Tuesday.

1. Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks (Last poll: not ranked)

Carroll, King of Triples, lands in this spot not just because of his extreme prowess with three-baggers but because he's been red-hot overall since our last ranking. The lefty swinger hit .400 with a 1.226 OPS over his past 11 games through Tuesday, with four triples and two homers. He's also had six multi-hit games, including a 4-for-4 performance against the Rockies on Sunday, when he collected two more of his MLB-leading eight triples for the season. Because of the scorching hot bat, Carroll's OPS has jumped by 86 percentage points since our last ranking and was at .964 entering Wednesday, the third-best mark in MLB.

2. Yordan Alvarez, Astros (4)

After dropping from No. 1 to 4 in the last ranking, Alvarez has slugged his way upward again. This happened on the strength -- literally -- of five homers and a 1.122 OPS over his past 11 games. He reminded everyone how dangerous his bat can be with a two-homer, four-RBI performance on Tuesday against the Rangers. For the season, Alvarez's 1.045 OPS is tops in baseball, while his 18 homers are the second-best mark in the AL.

3. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (3)

Schwarbs maintains his spot on this list thanks to his usual consistent power numbers. He had four homers in his past nine games through Tuesday -- bringing his season total to an MLB-best 21 dingers -- including a two-homer game against the Pirates that helped fuel a major Phillies comeback against the Pirates after being down 6-0. Schwarber's .956 OPS for the season ranks as the fifth-best mark in baseball.

4. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (not ranked)

Kurtz hasn't quite matched the power pace from his AL Rookie of the Year campaign last season (36 homers), but he's still proving himself to be an elite hitter. His 48-game on-base streak was snapped Tuesday, but his .437 on-base percentage entering Wednesday led baseball by a wide margin. And though most of that OBP comes from his MLB-leading walk total, it's not like Kurtz's power has vanished. He's on pace for a homer total in the mid-20s, while also on track to drive in more than 100 runs.

5. James Wood, Nationals (not ranked)

Wood's Baseball Reference page has a surprising amount of black ink this season as he's somewhat quietly putting together a monster campaign for the upstart Nationals. He led MLB in runs scored entering Wednesday, while also leading the NL in walks, on-base percentage and OPS+. He's hit .426 with a 1.207 OPS over his past 12 games though Tuesday, and he's on pace for 40-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs for the season. Wood's .964 OPS entering Wednesday was tied with Carroll for the third-highest mark in baseball.

6. Jordan Walker, Cardinals (9)

Walker continues to build a case as one of baseball's premier hitters, even if he remains underrated among the masses. He's having the breakout season that the Cardinals have long expected, with his slugging stats ranking among the best in the league. His 15 homers are tied for the second-most in the NL, while his .943 OPS ranks fourth. Entering Wednesday, Walker was on pace for 45 home runs and 128 RBIs. That's MVP-level stuff.

7. Aaron Judge, Yankees (1)

Judge can still mash, obviously, but he's cooled down a bit by his standards. He'd hit just one homer over his past 14 games through Tuesday, which dropped his OPS from 1.035 to just .949. But he's still among the league leaders in homers and OPS, so this likely represents only a small blip. Judge also had five hits over his past three games entering Wednesday, so don't be surprised to see him back in the top half of the list next time.

8. Juan Soto, Mets (not ranked)

Soto missed a big chunk of time in April with a right calf strain, so his overall numbers aren't where we've come to expect them at this point of the season. But they're not far off, either. He doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify, but if he did, his .958 OPS would rank fifth-best in baseball. Meanwhile, he's still on pace for more than 30 homers. Since the last ranking, Soto has hit .366 with seven homers and a 1.336 OPS. So, he'll likely stay on this list for a while.

9. Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (not ranked)

One could argue that Marte should be ranked No. 1 after his past two weeks. Over his past 10 games entering Wednesday, he ranked first among all qualified MLB hitters in average (.524), hits (22), extra-base hits (10), OPS (1.506) and RBIs (17). He hit safely in all 10 of those games and collected seven multi-hit games, including four games with three or more hits. The hot stretch raised his season OPS from .637 to .802 and earned him NL Player of the Week honors.

10. Byron Buxton, Twins (not ranked)

Buxton is another guy who's turned it on of late. Entering Wednesday, he had a 1.054 OPS over his past seven games, with three homers and three doubles. His .567 slugging percentage through Tuesday ranked third in the AL, while his 16 homers were tied for fourth. Meanwhile, he's raised his OPS by more than 40 points in May to sit at .886 OPS through Tuesday, the eighth-best mark in the AL.

Others receiving votes: Ben Rice (Yankees), Munetaka Murakami (White Sox), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), Shea Langeliers (Athletics), Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Brice Turang (Brewers), CJ Abrams (Nationals), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Cody Bellinger (Yankees), Michael Harris II (Braves), Randy Arozarena (Mariners), Jonathan Aranda (Rays), Drake Baldwin (Braves), Casey Schmitt (Giants), Willson Contreras (Red Sox)

Voters: David Adler, Jason Catania, Jared Greenspan, Thomas Harrigan, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Manny Randhawa, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon