The American League OPS leaderboard looks about right. Sure, Ben Rice leading is a surprise, but we saw his breakout coming. In second and third are a pair of generational sluggers, Yordan Alvarez and Aaron Judge.
The National League? Well, that’s a different story entirely.
Highest OPS in NL, 2026
Min. 100 plate appearances
1. Mickey Moniak, Rockies: 1.098
2. Ildemaro Vargas, D-backs: 1.063
We’d like to say we have some kind of explanation for this, but we really don’t.
In honor of iconic Yankees broadcaster John Sterling, who has passed away at the age of 87, let’s just say it: “That’s baseball, Suzyn.”
The NL OPS leaderboard serves as a reminder of why this sport is so wonderful. You see something crazy almost every day.
Sometimes, it’s a game-ending robbery of a would-be walk-off homer. Other times, a ball gets stuck in someone’s glove and he has to improvise to get the out.
And sometimes, the two leading hitters in the NL more than a month into a season are Mickey Moniak and Ildemaro Vargas.
(It's worth noting that you won't actually see Moniak's name on the actual NL OPS leaderboard just yet; he's a mere two plate appearances shy of reaching qualified status as of Monday after he missed the Rockies' first six games with a sprained finger, but he should get there in the next day or two.)
So who are these guys, and how did they end up here? Their starting points couldn't have been more different -- Moniak as the first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Phillies, Vargas as a little-known international amateur free-agent signing by the Cardinals in ’08. But their journeys since have been quite similar.
Moniak appeared in parts of four Minor League seasons before making his MLB debut with eight games for Philadelphia during the shortened 2020 campaign. The following year, he was back in the Minors for most of the season, appearing in just 21 games with the Phillies. His tenure with the club came to an end in 2022, when he was traded to the Angels for Noah Syndergaard.
His final line as a member of the Phillies: 47 games, one home run, a .386 OPS and -0.8 WAR (per Baseball-Reference).
Moniak received more of a chance to play with the Halos, but his performance with the team was nothing to write home about (.709 OPS) and he was released before Opening Day in 2025.
Moniak, though, has found a home with Colorado. The 27-year-old outfielder recorded 24 home runs with an .824 OPS for the Rockies in 2025, one of the lone bright spots in a 119-loss season. He’s taken his game to another level in 2026, going deep 11 times -- including an MLB-best four multihomer games -- while slashing .327/.374/.724.
For Moniak, this surge really started last May, as he homered 21 times in his final 87 games. He’s slugging .621 going back to May 25, 2025, second only to Judge during that time (minimum 400 PAs).
Highest SLG since May 25, 2025
Min. 400 PAs
1. Aaron Judge: .642
2. Mickey Moniak: .621
3. Shea Langeliers: .603
4. Nick Kurtz: .600
5. Shohei Ohtani: .577
In general, the first round of the 2016 Draft hasn’t produced many notable names. Forty-one players were selected across the first round proper, the compensatory round and Competitive Balance Round A that year, and Dodgers catcher Will Smith (23.2 bWAR) is the only one who has produced more than 8.5 bWAR to date.
Moniak himself has recorded just 1.3 bWAR -- including 1.0 bWAR in 2026 alone -- but he’s making a late bid to shed the bust label.
Vargas took even longer than Moniak to reach the Majors, spending a decade in the Minors -- including a brief stint in independent ball with the Bridgeport Bluefish -- before making his MLB debut for the D-backs in 2017.
Arizona signed Vargas two years earlier after he was released by the Cardinals, marking the first of eight times he’s changed organizations. Vargas has had three separate stints with the D-backs (not counting times he reached free agency but re-signed with Arizona), also making appearances with the Twins, Cubs, Pirates and Nationals.
His transaction log is absurdly long (deep breath):
- June 2008: Signed with the Cardinals as an international amateur free agent
- November 2014: Granted free agency
- January 2015: Signed a Minor League deal with the Cardinals
- March 2015: Released by the Cardinals
- May 2015: Signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs
- August 2020: Traded from the D-backs to the Twins for cash
- September 2020: Claimed off waivers by the Cubs
- May 2021: Claimed off waivers by the Pirates
- June 2021: Traded from the Pirates to the D-backs for cash
- October 2021: Elected free agency after being outrighted by the D-backs
- December 2021: Signed a Minor League deal with the Cubs
- May 2022: Elected free agency after being outrighted by the Cubs
- May 2022: Signed a Minor League deal with the Nationals
- November 2024: Granted free agency
- January 2025: Signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs
- May 2025: Released by the D-backs
- May 2025: Signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs
- November 2025: Granted free agency
- January 2026: Signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs
On the heels of a strong spring as a non-roster invitee, Vargas earned a spot on Arizona's Opening Day roster in 2026 and basically hasn't stopped hitting since then.
The 34-year-old utility man hit safely in each of his first 24 games this season and 27 total going back to last year, marking the longest streak by a Venezuelan-born player in MLB history. He was named the NL Player of the Month for March/April on Monday.
Overall, he's slashing .382/.406/.657 with six homers and 21 RBIs over 26 games. That might seem fluky, and perhaps it is, considering Vargas entered 2026 with a lifetime .646 OPS. However, in terms of the contact quantity and quality that he's produced so far, he's largely earned it.
Among hitters with at least 100 PAs, only Alvarez has a higher expected batting average, a Statcast metric that takes quality of contact into account along with a hitter's strikeout totals.
Highest xBA, 2026
Min. 100 PAs
1. Yordan Alvarez: .360
2. Ildemaro Vargas: .350
3. Michael Harris II: .343
4. Ben Rice: .319
5. Liam Hicks: .318
Of course, baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. By October, the NL OPS leaderboard will probably look a lot more familiar -- some combination of Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, etc. As for Moniak and Vargas? Who knows.
But right now, on May 4, 2026, the two best hitters in the National League are a pair of journeymen no one saw coming. That's baseball.