There's a lefty slugger not named Ohtani atop latest Hitter Power Rankings

2:30 PM UTC

There's a left-handed slugger atop our latest Hitter Power Rankings, but it's not the one that you're used to seeing at No. 1.

has occupied the top spot in each of our first two Hitter Power Rankings of the year. That's not the case this time, amid somewhat of a slump on the hitting side for the generational two-way superstar.

We asked a group of MLB.com experts to cast their votes for the best hitters in baseball, a month into the 2026 season. Here are our third Hitter Power Rankings of the year.

All statistics through Tuesday's games unless otherwise noted.

1. , Astros (Previously: 2)
Pick a statistic out of a hat, and there's a pretty good chance Alvarez leads it. The left-handed slugger leads the Majors in batting average (.355), on-base percentage (.463), slugging percentage (.736) and weighted runs created plus (219), meaning he's been 119% better than a league-average hitter. If you prefer evaluating a hitter based on Statcast metrics, well, Alvarez paces the field in those, too: His .823 expected slugging percentage is nearly 100 points higher than the second-place qualifier, Mike Trout. Last season, while limited by injuries, Alvarez slugged just six home runs in 48 games. He already has 11 homers this year, in part because he's pulling the ball in the air at the highest rate of his career.

2. , Yankees (3)
In our last edition of the Hitter Power Rankings, we wrote that Judge was off to a bit of a pedestrian start. That's not the case anymore. Right now, the three-time MVP is on one of those rolls in which he reminds us why he's one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time. He's tied for the MLB lead with 12 home runs after going deep in three consecutive games this week -- something that, rather surprisingly, he hadn't done since last June. These aren't cheap shots, either. His last two home runs each had an exit velocity of 112.0+ mph; Judge is one of just four players this season with three home runs hit at least 112 mph, along with James Wood, Munetaka Murakami and Luke Raley.

3. , Yankees (7)
Rice is the lesser-known half of the Bombers' powerful duo, but he's quickly becoming a household name -- and for good reason. When Judge calls his teammate "must-watch TV," he has a point: Rice's 1.145 OPS is the second-best mark in the Majors and over 100 points better than Judge's 1.037 OPS. Rice is a difficult out because he doesn't leave the strike zone -- his chase rate is in the 94th percentile of MLB -- and his .877 slugging percentage on pitches in the zone is fourth highest in the Majors (min. 40 PA ending on pitches in the zone). He's making a pretty good case for more playing time, too: He's slashing .346/.433/.808 in left-on-left matchups.

4. , Angels (unranked)
In Spring Training, there were signs that the 34-year-old Trout might be primed for a vintage season. So far, it's playing out that way. The big key here is that Trout's power is back. Last season, his .439 SLG was his lowest single-season slugging percentage since 2011, when he broke into the Majors with a 40-game cameo. This year, he's slugging .569 after hitting his 10th home run on Wednesday. He also had a memorable home run barrage earlier this month at Yankee Stadium. Trout's quality of contact points to even more success: His .726 expected SLG (which is primarily formulated based on exit velocity and launch angle) is second highest among qualified hitters.

5. , Dodgers (unranked)
For all of the star power that the Dodgers have added to their lineup over the last several years, their best hitter right now is actually their longest-tenured player. The 35-year-old Muncy is off to a scorching start, slashing .286/.375/.592 with nine home runs. Just as we all predicted, Muncy has as many homers as Shohei Ohtani (six) and Kyle Tucker (three) combined.

6. , White Sox (unranked)
Murakami arrived stateside with a reputation as a prolific slugger, and he's wasted no time showing everyone why. Of Murakami's 26 hits, 12 have been home runs, tying him with Judge for the Major League lead. In fact, each of Murakami's first 12 extra-base hits have been long balls -- the longest such streak to start a player's career since at least 1900. Murakami's home runs seem to come in all shapes and sizes. The latest? A towering shot with a 48-degree launch angle and 6.1 seconds of hang time to flip the game in Chicago's favor on Monday.

7. , Braves (unranked)
Atlanta has the best record in the Majors, and Olson is driving the club's resurgence. The left-handed slugger leads the Majors with 21 extra-base hits, while his 72 total bases are second most behind Alvarez. By OPS+ -- which attempts to standardize OPS, where 100 is league average -- Olson (176 OPS+) has been the best hitter in the National League. How important is Olson to the Braves' success? He's posting a 1.112 OPS in wins compared to a .692 OPS in losses.

8. , Tigers (unranked)
One of three rookies in these rankings, McGonigle has burst onto the scene, slashing .327/.417/.518 in his first 29 big league games. The 21-year-old has a combination of bat-to-ball skills and power that few players can match. He is one of just 16 qualified hitters with a whiff rate in the 95th percentile or better; of that group, only Miami's Liam Hicks has a higher slugging percentage than McGonigle. Right now, he's the best hitter on a team with legitimate World Series aspirations. His 162 wRC+ is comfortably above Riley Greene's 140 wRC+, which is the second highest among qualified Tigers hitters.

9. , Reds (unranked)
Since Stewart's MLB debut on Sept. 1, 2025, only four players have a higher barrel rate than his 22.9% clip. What's unique about Stewart is that his average bat speed (71.2 mph) is in the 36th percentile of MLB, while the four players ahead of him all boast bat speed in the 88th percentile or better. That certainly hasn't stopped Stewart from crushing the ball. His .979 OPS is sixth highest in the Majors, and he leads all hitters with 29 RBIs. The 22-year-old has answered the call for a Cincinnati lineup that desperately needed some thump.

10. , Nationals (unranked)
Wood has always hit the ball exceptionally hard, but the difference in a fast start this season -- his .953 OPS is ninth best in the Majors -- is that he's cut back on his ground balls. At six-foot-six, Wood has silly raw power: He launched 31 homers last season despite running a ground ball rate that ranked as one of the highest in baseball. This year, for the first time in his career, Wood's ground ball rate is below league average. Sure enough, Wood's barrel rate -- which measures how often a player hits a hard-hit ball in the air -- is tops in the Majors and up 13.1% from last year, the largest improvement among 195 qualified hitters.

Also receiving votes: Elly De La Cruz (Reds), Drake Baldwin (Braves), José Ramírez (Guardians), Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Corbin Carroll (D-backs), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Michael Harris II (Braves), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), Nick Kurtz (Athletics), Andy Pages (Dodgers), Josh Jung (Rangers)

Voters: David Adler, Theo DeRosa, Jason Foster, Jared Greenspan, Brent Maguire, Max Ralph, Manny Randhawa, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon