1 player to watch on each team during final week of season

There’s a lot on the line before the 2026 regular season wraps up on Sunday, including postseason seeding, statistical milestones and player development. And even for the players and teams who won’t be chasing a World Series title, finishing the season strong is always important.

With the help of MLB.com’s beat writers, here is one player to watch on each team during the final week of the regular season.

Jump to: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL East | NL Central | NL West

American League East

Blue Jays: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Over and over again, the flashes we’ve seen from Guerrero have fizzled. He was the face of the Blue Jays’ run to Game 7 of the World Series a year ago, but now, he’s the face of their disappointing 2026. It’s still so easy to believe in Guerrero when you see these flashes of his incredible talent, but he’s hit just nine home runs this season and has been living with an OPS under .700, stunning numbers for someone of his stature. Still, he’s the player with the most power to change this team’s trajectory, and if anyone can help salvage this season, it’s Guerrero. -- Keegan Matheson

Orioles: 1B Pete Alonso
Who else? If the O’s are going to make an improbable push into the postseason as a Wild Card team, it will likely be because of Alonso, who has done everything in his power to keep his team in the race down the stretch. There have been only nine 40-plus-homer seasons in Orioles history (since 1954), but Alonso could join the list with a strong finish to his first campaign in Baltimore. -- Jake Rill

Rays: 3B Junior Caminero
With all due respect to Chandler Simpson’s bid for both the AL batting crown and stolen-base title, this one’s pretty simple. Caminero has established himself as a legitimate candidate for the AL MVP Award alongside Yordan Alvarez. He’s leading the AL in home runs. He’s tracking toward starting all 162 games at third base. He’s the best player on the best team in the AL. And as an opening act for his first real moment in the postseason spotlight, he hit the first two walk-off homers of his career -- including one to clinch a playoff berth. Caminero’s power and energy always make him a player to watch, and that’s especially true as the Rays work to lock down their first division title since 2021. -- Adam Berry

Red Sox: LHP Garrett Crochet
The ace lefty is in a race against time to help the Red Sox as a reliever by the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Here is what's on the docket for Crochet: at least one live batting practice session at Fenway Park early in the week. After that, he would likely throw another live BP or a simulated game. An outside possibility would be the Red Sox getting him a tune-up in a regular-season game. Crochet last pitched for the Sox on April 25 before going down with a left shoulder injury. Most players wouldn’t go cold turkey into the playoffs after not pitching for so long, but Crochet has the chance to make the type of impact that could make it worthwhile. -- Ian Browne

Yankees: RHP Cam Schlittler
No matter where you stand on the issue of a pitcher winning the MVP Award, there’s no debating that Schlittler has earned that title within the Yankees’ clubhouse, putting the finishing touches on the club’s best pitching season since Ron Guidry in 1978. Those Yankees won a championship, and now the current group will lean on the 25-year-old from Walpole, Mass., to lead them toward the Canyon of Heroes for the first time since 2009. -- Bryan Hoch

AL Central

Guardians: 3B José Ramírez
Ramírez has produced below his superstar standard this season, in which he has dealt with the aftereffects of left hamate surgery he underwent in June. It’s something he’ll have to manage the remainder of 2026, but the 34-year-old might be turning it on at the right time. Ramírez is 8-for-17 with three doubles, one home run and three RBIs in his past four games. -- Tim Stebbins

Royals: C Carter Jensen
Jensen’s breakout rookie season has cemented him alongside Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone as a core piece for a club looking to compete again in 2027. He’s already set Royals rookie records for home runs (25) and extra-base hits (60). Oh, and he’s done it while batting leadoff (he holds another record there, too) and taking over everyday catching duties from Salvador Perez. -- Jackson Stone

Tigers: SS/3B Kevin McGonigle
This could be the week that McGonigle wraps up the AL Rookie of the Year race. He’s the first rookie since Aaron Judge in 2017, and the fifth since 1990, to reach base safely 256 times in a season. He has more walks (94) than strikeouts (92) and is just the fifth rookie in the Divisional Era (since 1969) with that many walks in a season. And he joins Ted Williams as the only rookies in history to post at least 95 runs, 26 doubles, 17 homers, 70 RBIs and 93 walks. He has a chance to lead all AL position players in Baseball-Reference WAR, entering Sunday atop the AL at 6.8. -- Jason Beck

Twins: OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
Rodriguez has already shown his all-around skill set, from power to plate discipline to speed and defense. The only thing that has held him back over his pro career has been health, and now that he’s on the field, he’s hard to take your eyes off. Rodriguez is one of a slew of young Twins trying to cement their spots on the 2027 roster. -- Courtney Hollmon

White Sox: 1B Munetaka Murakami
Right-handed reliever Mike Vasil, also known as the Windy City Wizard for his dugout wand magic, said it best about Murakami: When he goes, the team goes. Murakami changed this franchise upon his arrival from Japan, taking the focus off a 6-13 team start and putting it upon his strong exploits on the field. Murakami has struggled since the start of August but showed his importance via a mammoth three-run home run in the first inning of a 3-1 victory over Detroit on Thursday. If Murakami can get hot over these final two series, the White Sox could punch their unexpected playoff ticket. -- Scott Merkin

AL West

Angels: C/1B/DH Moisés Ballesteros
Ballesteros got off to a slow start after being acquired in a trade that sent reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the Cubs at the Trade Deadline but has been heating up offensively in September. He’s also been faring better than expected defensively at both catcher and first base. The 22-year-old was ranked as a Top 100 prospect by MLB Pipeline before each of the last two seasons, and the Angels would love to see him develop into a much-needed power bat from the left side. -- Rhett Bollinger

Astros: DH Yordan Alvarez
Shortstop Jeremy Peña said it best Thursday: “Obviously, Yordan is our horse.” After a 35-game stretch (Aug. 3-Sept. 13) in which he slashed .242/.380/.383 with three homers (since Aug. 3) to loosen his grip on the AL MVP Award, Alvarez homered in two of three games against the Royals last week and is still in contention for the Triple Crown. Alvarez leads the AL in batting average (.313) and is second in homers (40) and RBIs (99). -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: OF Henry Bolte
The A’s saw a five-tool talent in Bolte when they drafted him out of high school in 2022, and that has played out this year as he’s become just the third rookie in franchise history with at least 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season and the first since Mitchell Page in 1977. Still just scratching the surface of his abilities, Bolte is building for what could be true star potential from him in 2027. -- Martín Gallegos

Mariners: INF/OF Michael Arroyo
Seattle's No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 42 overall prospect has played sparingly -- just five starts in the team’s 13 games since he made his MLB debut on Sept. 6. But that's been primarily due to a lack of positional runway. He came up as a second baseman but has transitioned more to left field this season. However, both those spots are occupied (by Cole Young and Randy Arozarena, respectively). Arroyo is a big part of the club's longer-term plans and has shown what he can do with the bat. How he's used in this final week could be a springboard for 2027. -- Daniel Kramer

Rangers: SS Corey Seager
Seager is the engine that keeps the Rangers offense going, and his absence has been felt throughout his three separate stints on the injured list this season (twice with back issues, once with a concussion). As he played sporadically in the first half, Seager hit just .182/.292/.374 as he battled injuries. Since returning from his last IL stint on July 31, he’s hitting .285 with an .837 OPS and eight homers in 45 games. The Rangers will only go as far as Seager takes them. And lately, he looks like the player who can put the team on his back. -- Kennedi Landry

National League East

Braves: RHP Robert Suarez
Suarez made a rehab appearance on Sunday with Triple-A Gwinnett, striking out one in a scoreless inning. The veteran reliever hasn’t pitched in the Majors since he was shut down in late June with a 0.56 ERA. There’s hope he will pitch in a big league game before the postseason begins, but the Braves haven’t committed to activating him before the regular season concludes. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: SS Otto Lopez
A 2026 All-Star, Lopez needs 15 hits over his final six games to become the first Marlin since Luis Arraez in 2023 to reach 200 hits. Lopez (.305) trails Arraez (.313) and D-backs catcher Gabriel Moreno (.307) for the National League batting title. If Lopez can somehow leapfrog that pair, he would be the fourth NL batting champion in franchise history, joining Arraez ('23), Dee Strange-Gordon ('15) and Hanley Ramirez ('09). -- Christina De Nicola

Mets: RHP Jonah Tong
Few Mets players have as much to prove as Tong, who spent most of this season in the Minors before recently returning and flashing some much-improved form. If Tong can finish the year with another solid start, he will position himself well for what’s sure to be a lively rotation competition next spring. If he falters, he’ll only give the Mets more reason to be wary of him. -- Anthony DiComo

Nationals: OF James Wood
Wood slugged his way into his second All-Star selection, then missed 27 games because of a left oblique strain. He returned from the IL on Sept. 2 and is batting .259 with a .698 OPS this month. Wood, who just turned 24 on Thursday, will look to make up for the time he lost to injury and close out the final week of the season strong. -- Jessica Camerato

Phillies: LHP Jesús Luzardo
Luzardo is on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his left shoulder. He’s eligible to be activated on Sunday, the final game of the regular season. It doesn’t necessarily matter if he pitches or not that day. It matters if the Phillies think Luzardo, who began throwing on Sunday, can pitch in the NL Wild Card Series, which begins on Sept. 29. If he can pitch, can he start? Or does he come out of the bullpen? He’s been arguably baseball’s best pitcher for months, so the Phillies need him one way or another. -- Todd Zolecki

NL Central

Brewers: RHP Jacob Misiorowski
Misiorowski probably has the National League Cy Young Award locked up. And his final regular-season start later this week will probably be tapered, since there’s no need to push his pitch count into dangerous territory. But the outing is still important, because it offers the Brewers’ young ace one final opportunity to build confidence going into what will surely be a Game 1 start in the NL Division Series. No club better showcases the fact that baseball is a team sport, but there’s little doubt that Misiorowski is singularly important to Milwaukee’s October hopes. -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: 1B Alec Burleson
Outfielder Jordan Walker received a lot of publicity because of his breakout season and winning the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, but Burleson is the man on the Cardinals, currently leading the Major Leagues with 111 RBIs. The last Cardinal to lead the big leagues in that department was Joe Torre (137) in 1971, and the last to lead the National League was Albert Pujols (118) in 2010. Burleson also leads the Majors with 61 hits with runners in scoring position, the most by a Cardinal since Brian Jordan (62) in 1996. -- Bill Ladson

Cubs: OF Pete Crow-Armstrong
All the “P-C-A” chants at Wrigley Field have transformed into “M-V-P” chants every time Crow-Armstrong steps to the plate for the North Siders. Crow-Armstrong is vying to become just the seventh player in MLB history to finish with at least 40 homers and 40 stolen bases. Beyond keeping an eye on how high he can get those numbers, Cubs fans want to see just how high Crow-Armstrong’s MLB-leading WAR (10.5, per FanGraphs) can get before season’s end. And then, of course, the question will be whether the star center fielder can play like an MVP in October. -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: SS Konnor Griffin
Pittsburgh fans have received small samples of what Griffin can do as baseball’s former top prospect. After missing most of the summer due to two separate IL stints, Griffin has become a regular at shortstop and in the leadoff spot to finish out his rookie campaign. To put it simply, Griffin is both the present and the future. Keep a close eye on his continued ascension in the final week. -- Aiden Stepansky

Reds: 1B Sal Stewart
Stewart will be trying to put the finishing touches on a season that should net him the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The 22-year-old is the 14th rookie since 1920 to post a 30-homer, 100-RBI season, and each of the last nine that did it since the award started in 1947 have won it, the most recent being Pete Alonso for the Mets in 2019. Stewart is currently second in MLB overall in RBIs with 110. If he can overtake Burleson, he would be the third rookie to finish a season leading in that category since RBIs became an official statistic in 1913, joining Ted Williams (1939) and Walt Dropo (1950). -- Mark Sheldon

NL West

D-backs: OF Corbin Carroll
Carroll battled a lower back issue which clearly hampered him at the plate, but after taking a couple of days off to rest, he has begun to swing the bat much better. As the D-backs have seen many times in the past when Carroll gets hot, it’s something to see. If they get his bat going and Gabriel Moreno and Nolan Arenado continue to swing it the way they have, the D-backs will have a puncher’s chance during the final week. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: TWP Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani landed on the 15-day IL for the first time as a Dodger when his ongoing right biceps and left knee issues lingered into the beginning of September. He is done for the season as a pitcher, but he's expected back as a hitter. The final week of the regular season will be important for Ohtani, whether he returns in time to play a few games or tunes up his swing behind the scenes. -- Sonja Chen

Giants: 1B Bryce Eldridge
Now that Rafael Devers is out for the season, Eldridge -- once he clears concussion protocol -- has the chance to play first base every day for the Giants. The 21-year-old rookie has made some impressive strides with his defense, but his calling card remains his big bat, which has produced several majestic homers this year, including a 461-foot blast on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. The Giants have struggled to develop star hitters in recent years, but Eldridge’s tantalizing power should give them plenty to dream on heading into 2027. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: RHP Nick Pivetta
Pivetta missed nearly five months with a flexor strain in his right elbow. His first few starts since returning have been mostly solid. The Padres have serious rotation questions heading into the postseason and will be assessing Pivetta’s final outing with a keen eye on what kind of usage might lie ahead for him in October. If they can get the dominant version of Pivetta that finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting last season, it would go a long way. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: 1B TJ Rumfield
Blocked in the Yankees organization, Rumfield flourished after being acquired in a quiet deal last offseason. His stingy at-bats -- with the patience to draw a walk, fight off tough pitches and shorten up and go the other way -- are examples of the offensive culture shift the Rockies are seeking. There is power potential. He has hit home runs in spurts this year, and a year's experience -- not just on the field, but dealing with the grind of a Major League season -- could lead to even more pop. -- Thomas Harding