An immediate impact from a newcomer. A bona fide star back from injury and looking like his old self. A young player making the best of an expanded opportunity. Those are a few examples of how teams can turn a weakness into a strength.
The eight teams below really scuffled offensively at a certain position in 2025, but thanks to the contributions of one of those aforementioned player types, they are excelling at that spot in '26. Let's spotlight who and why.
For each team, we'll present its 2026 wRC+ at the featured position, its increase in wRC+ from '25, and the player(s) most responsible for the turnaround. We'll also address whether this success can persist through the summer.
All stats updated through Thursday
White Sox first base: Munetaka Murakami
2026 wRC+: 150 (+67 points)
You could put the Reds' Sal Stewart here -- he's the chief reason why Cincinnati's wRC+ at first base has increased by 57 points from last year -- but let's lead with another rookie, one who entered Friday tied for the Major League lead with 12 home runs. Last year, all White Sox first basemen combined for 19 dingers.
Everyone knew about Murakami's power when he signed a two-year deal to come stateside this winter. But there was real concern about whether he could handle big league pitching well enough to fully tap into that pop.
The results have been ... a little complicated. The Japanese slugger's batted-ball metrics are near the top of the scale. But so is his strikeout rate (33.8%) and whiff rate (43.2% -- the highest in MLB among qualified hitters).
Can this continue?: We shouldn't expect Murakami to keep up his 62-homer pace. But he's not going to finish the year with zero doubles either. All of those whiffs will keep his average down, but his 18.4% walk rate and a low chase rate mitigate the possibility of a prolonged slump. His raw power is very real, so 50 homers seems within reach. That would set a single-season White Sox franchise record.
Tigers third base: Kevin McGonigle and Colt Keith
2026 wRC+: 148 (+72 points)
McGonigle, another standout rookie, is now seeing the bulk of his playing time at shortstop in place of the injured Javier Baez, but look at what he and Keith have done when at the hot corner this year:
McGonigle: .327/.441/.531 slash line with a 172 wRC+ in 59 plate appearances
Keith: .400/.442/.475 slash line with a 161 wRC+ in 43 plate appearances
Their individual on-base and slugging percentages at that spot are at least 135 points better than what Detroit got from its third basemen last year (.288 OBP, .340 SLG).
Keith is hitting the ball with more authority this year and is squaring up pitches better than anyone. But the real story here is the 21-year-old McGonigle. Entering the season as the No. 2 prospect in the game, he has more than lived up to the hype. McGonigle has more walks than strikeouts, a healthy 13.3% barrel rate and is tied for fifth in MLB with 1.6 FanGraphs WAR.
Can this continue?: As McGonigle plays more games at short and Keith's unsustainable .411 BABIP falls, Detroit will see a dip in third-base production. But overall, the rook already looks like one of the most well-rounded hitters in the sport, while Keith, who's just two years removed from being a top prospect himself, has made encouraging strides with his plate discipline during his age-24 campaign.
Angels center field: Mike Trout
2026 wRC+: 142 (+57 points)
All it took for the Angels to have baseball's best wRC+ in center field is ... move Trout back there. After one season in right field, Trout has returned to center for 2026. And at the age of 34, he is proving that he is still one of the best players in the world when healthy. The three-time MVP has actually been better than ever in some aspects. His 25.3% barrel rate and 22.2% walk rate would be career highs, while his 20.8% strikeout rate would be an eight-year low. He leads the AL in runs scored (29) and is on pace for a 50-homer, 25-steal season. That second number is good evidence of Trout's health. He stole a total of 14 bases from 2020-25.
Can this continue?: Far be it from us to doubt Trout, and his numbers provide little room for doubt. If he stays on the field -- and that's a huge "if" for someone who has missed nearly 40% of all possible Angels games since the start of 2017 -- he seems destined to add another MVP-level season to his already-storied career.
Astros designated hitter: Yordan Alvarez
2026 wRC+: 178 (+95 points)
Let's just keep it 100 and say this: Alvarez is the best hitter in MLB right now. He's at the top of our most recent hitter power rankings. He is the game's most valuable hitter according to Statcast's batting run value metric. His expected results sit in the 100th percentile. He is the big league leader in OBP (.462), SLG (.737), total bases (87) and wRC+ (220), and his 12 homers are tied for the lead.
Alvarez is so locked in, he can do damage on just about anything pitchers give him. This looks nothing like the hitter who dealt with a right hand injury for the bulk of last season and posted a 79 wRC+ in 136 plate appearances out of the DH spot.
Can this continue?: Much like with Trout, we should expect big things from Houston's big man for as long as he's in the lineup. That's not something to be taken for granted, especially after he played in just 48 games last season. But right now, Alvarez is playing like he wants to join Shohei Ohtani and become just the second DH to earn MVP honors.
Cardinals right field: Jordan Walker
2026 wRC+: 149 (+60 points)
Walker's first month of 2026 was one of the feel-good stories of the season. A former top-five prospect, he was very unproductive over the past two seasons, putting together a .211/.270/.324 slash line with a dreadful 68 wRC+. Now the right-handed slugger owns a 151 wRC+, with his slash line elevated to .284/.354/.552 through 30 games. With nine homers already, Walker is close to matching his 2024-25 total of 11, which took 527 at-bats. And the 6-foot-6 athlete has five steals, putting him on track to become the first Cardinal in the 30-30 club.
Can this continue?: While his overall numbers still look nice, some old flaws have appeared in Walker's game over the past couple of weeks. His barrel rate, which was at 26.2% entering April 14, is 14.7% since. That's still very good, but also quite a reduction. That drop is partly due to Walker hitting more ground balls, which were a problem for him before this season. His grounder rate on April 14 was just 33.1%. It's 47.1% since. He's been whiffing and striking out more often and has a .321 slugging percentage through his previous 14 games.
Baseball, as they say, is a game of adjustments. Walker made many this offseason with the hopes that he'd get off to the kind of hot start he enjoyed through mid-April. Now we'll see if he can continue to adjust and pull himself out of this mini-slump before it becomes a major issue.
Pirates second base: Brandon Lowe
2026 wRC+: 146 (+66 points)
The Pirates hoped that offseason additions such as Lowe would provide a jolt to what was MLB's lowest-scoring offense in 2025. So far, so good. Entering Friday, the Bucs were tied for ninth in runs scored, and the nine-year veteran has been instrumental to that improvement. Last season, Pittsburgh had fewer home runs by second basemen (eight) than the number of players who played there for the club (nine). In his first 27 games with the Bucs, Lowe has already equaled that homer total and has registered a .551 slugging percentage.
That would be the best slugging percentage by a Pirates primary second baseman since at least 1900. Lowe is also well on his way to breaking the franchise's single-season record for home runs by a second baseman. It's currently held by Neil Walker, who hit 23 long balls in 2014.
Can this continue?: Lowe's slugging number will probably come down a little; he has a .479 expected slugging percentage. He's not hitting the ball quite as hard as in seasons past, and his bat speed has decreased by about 1 mph. However, he is also walking more and striking out less, and other contact-quality stats such as barrel rate and hard-hit rate are right in line with his career norms.
Lowe launched 31 homers in 134 games last season with Tampa Bay and hit 21 homers in fewer than 110 games in 2023 and '24. At the very least, he should continue to give the Pirates the power they have lacked for many years at second base.
Orioles left field: Taylor Ward
2026 wRC+: 154 (+60 points)
Patience has been a virtue for Ward in his first season with the O's. Although he has just one home run after bashing 36 last year with the Angels, Ward has been a better offensive performer because of drastic changes in his swing choices. His 18.8% walk rate -- 7.5 points better than 2025 -- has been the main component in his .438 on-base percentage, which trails only Alvarez and Ben Rice among qualified hitters.
Ward's strikeout rate has been almost cut in half, from 26.4% to 14.6%. His nearly 10-point drop in chase rate ranks as the second-largest decrease. So, even without a lot of power, Ward has upped his wRC+ from 117 to 155 and is the main reason why the Orioles' wRC+ in left field is the best in the sport.
Can this continue?: It likely will as long as Ward is committed to this new approach. His swing has become significantly shorter and slower. He appears to be sacrificing extra-base potential for better bat and strike zone control. He may struggle to reach 15 homers, but the Orioles won't quibble with that if he keeps getting on base at such a lofty rate.
Marlins catcher: Liam Hicks
2026 wRC+: 151 (+69 points)
Among the Marlins' catchers, Agustín Ramírez was supposed to be the offensive force, not Hicks. Yet as Ramírez has just two homers and a .664 OPS through his first 28 games, Hicks has become a total revelation for Miami. The 2025 rookie -- who has never hit more than seven home runs in any season, dating back to his college days at Arkansas State -- has already gone deep seven times this year. He is tied with Matt Olson with 28 RBIs, second-most in MLB. Hicks' .576 SLG and .941 OPS are nowhere close to what he achieved in the Minors (.374 SLG, .779 OPS).
The 26-year-old succeeds because of tremendous plate discipline, highlighted by extremely low K and whiff rates. He's gotten the most out of his power by pulling the ball in the air much more often, and he is absolutely feasting on non-fastballs. Hicks has 17 hits -- including five home runs -- in 39 at-bats ending on breaking or offspeed pitches this season.
Can this continue?: Is Hicks going to keep up his pace of 37 home runs and 146 RBIs? No. His knack for contact is legit, however, so the .315 hitter should maintain a high average. And if he keeps pulling balls in the air at his current 23% clip, he could end up around 20 dingers. That would have seemed unfathomable at the season's outset.