With just under five weeks left in the 2026 regular season, Yordan Alvarez is still in pole position to win the American League Triple Crown.
But his contemporaries are not making it easy. Alvarez holds slim leads atop the leaderboard in home runs (36) and is tied for the AL lead in RBIs (91) as the season enters the final stretch run.
These are not the only stat races worth monitoring. Here's a look at 10 exciting races that you'll want to follow closely over the next few weeks.
All stats are through play on Wednesday.
1) AL home runs
Contenders: Yordan Alvarez, 36 (HOU); Junior Caminero, 35 (TB); Ben Rice, 35 (NYY)
Alvarez has a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Entering play on Thursday, the Astros slugger leads the American League in home runs and average and is tied for first in RBIs. But accomplishing the feat won't be easy, especially as he fights his way through a dry spell in the power department. Alvarez has only hit one home run in August, leaving the door ajar for a pair of young boppers. The 23-year-old Caminero might surpass the 45 home runs he hit last season, while the 27-year-old Rice has already set a new single-season career high with 35 long balls.
2) AL RBI
Contenders: Alvarez, 91 (HOU); Pete Alonso, 91 (BAL)
If Alonso has a say, Alvarez isn't going to win the AL Triple Crown. The Polar Bear has been white hot for a while now, and he's turned things up a notch over the last few weeks. Alonso's 22 RBIs since Aug. 1 are the most in the American League, and he tied Alvarez by having a 4-RBI game on Tuesday and 2-RBI game on Wednesday. Alvarez is wading into uncharted territory here -- he's only had one 100-RBI season, back in 2021 -- but this is nothing new for Alonso, who has four seasons of 100-plus RBIs.
3) NL RBI
Contenders: Sal Stewart, 100 (CIN); Alec Burleson, 98 (STL); Jordan Walker, 97 (STL); CJ Abrams, 92 (WSH)
Let's switch over to the National League for a second, where a quartet of unheralded sluggers are competing to lead the senior circuit in RBIs. No one has driven in more runs this season than Stewart, who is vying to become the third rookie -- and the first in 76 years -- to lead the Majors in RBIs, since it became an official statistic in 1920. The NL Central rivalry is alive and well here, though, with a pair of unsung Cardinals sluggers hot on Stewart's heels. Don't sleep on Abrams, either, who powers the second-highest scoring offense in the Majors.
4) AL strikeouts
Contenders: Dylan Cease, 209 (TOR); Gavin Williams, 204 (CLE); Cam Schlittler, 193 (NYY)
Cease is making a bid for the AL Cy Young Award in large part because of his ridiculous strikeout totals. This is already his sixth consecutive 200-strikeout season, and he's recorded nine double-digit strikeout games this year. But so has Williams, who is suddenly punching out hitters at a historic rate. He's closed the gap since the All-Star break, with nine more strikeouts than Cease in that span. Schlittler is a bit in the periphery here, but we'll include him anyhow, because the fireballing righty has the fourth-highest strikeout rate among qualified MLB starters.
5) AL ERA
Contenders: Schlittler, 2.16 (NYY); Cease, 2.37 (TOR); Parker Messick, 2.50 (CLE)
While Cease has the upper hand in strikeouts, Schlittler is in the driver's seat for the ERA title -- among the reasons why, at least according to our latest poll, he is the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award. His 2.16 ERA would be the lowest by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in which they qualified for the ERA title since Ron Guidry posted a 1.74 ERA in his Cy Young-winning season in 1978. Messick, the rookie left-hander, has been especially impressive, with the fourth-best ERA in the Majors since July 1.
6) AL batting average
Contenders: Alvarez, .322 (HOU); Chandler Simpson, .308 (TB)
This one isn't all that close, but it's worth mentioning for a few reasons. First, it's the last statistical category relevant to Alvarez's pursuit of the AL Triple Crown. Second, it's a fun juxtaposition. Alvarez is a do-it-all hitter with few weaknesses, but his power is truly what stands out. He leads the Majors with a .614 slugging percentage for a reason. Simpson, on the other hand, is the only qualified hitter without a home run this season. They are so different, and yet, here they are, sitting together atop the AL batting title race. At the least, Simpson is applying some pressure on Alvarez thanks to a .373 batting average since July 1. It's just hard to gain ground when Alvarez is hitting .337 in that same span.
7) NL doubles
Contenders: Burleson, 33 (STL); Matt Olson, 32 (ATL); Bryan Reynolds, 32 (PIT); Rafael Devers, 31 (SF); Freddie Freeman, 31 (LAD); Otto Lopez, 30 (MIA); Michael Harris II, 30 (ATL)
Talk about a crowded field. Seven players in the NL have between 30 and 33 doubles on the season, and a lot of these names are familiar. Since the start of the 2021 season, only three players have more than 210 doubles: Freeman (235), Olson (216) and Devers (211). They're the kings of doubles, and yet they're all looking up to Burleson, whose 33 doubles are the most in a single season in his career.
8) NL hits
Contenders: Luis Arraez, 161 (PHI); Lopez, 160 (MIA)
In addition to making a bid for his fourth batting title, Arraez is looking to lead the NL in base hits for the third consecutive season. This year, Arraez is actually coming from behind -- he has 25 hits in August, leaping ahead of Lopez, who has just 22 base knocks this month. Arraez would become the first player to lead his league in hits in at least three consecutive seasons since Jose Altuve, who led the AL in hits in four straight years from 2014-2017.
9) AL stolen bases
Contenders: Jazz Chisholm Jr., 36 (NYY); Simpson, 35 (TB); Bobby Witt Jr., 35 (KC)
After a 30-game stretch earlier this season in which he did not steal a base, Simpson is off and running again. His 13 stolen bases since the All-Star break are the most in the Majors. Can he run his way to the AL stolen base crown? Witt has 183 stolen bases since the start of the 2022 season (his rookie year), 20 more than any other player in that span. But he has never led the AL in steals. Meanwhile, Chisholm had notions of a 50-50 season in Spring Training, and while he sure won't hit 50 homers, he may very well swipe 50 bags and took the AL lead on Wednesday.
10) NL saves
Contenders: Riley O'Brien, 33 (STL); Mason Miller, SD (32)
You probably thought that Miller led the NL in saves, didn't you? Not so fast. O'Brien, a 31-year-old journeyman and first-time All-Star, has found a niche at the backend of the Cardinals' bullpen. He entered the season having made only 52 big league appearances, and his save total may wind up pretty close to that number. Miller's 32 saves are already his most in a single season, and he's likely to get plenty more chances down the stretch as the Padres fight for a postseason berth.