The early races for AL and NL Rookie of the Year have seen a slew of candidates making compelling cases. And though two clear favorites have emerged over the first six weeks of the season, the competition is fierce enough that we could see tight races in both leagues by season's end.
That's the takeaway from our first Rookie of the Year poll for 2026. We surveyed 39 MLB.com experts to see which players will be serious candidates for hardware at the end of the season, with voters asked to base their picks not only on results so far but also on how things are expected to play out the rest of the season.
Voters ranked their top five picks in each league on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on. Here are the results.
All stats are through Sunday
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Nolan McLean, Mets (23 first-place votes)
McLean made his MLB debut last August and was quite impressive: 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA in five starts. He threw just 48 innings, keeping his rookie eligibility intact through this season. And, so far, he's looked a lot like the guy we saw at the end of 2025. Through Sunday, McLean led all qualified NL rookie pitchers in strikeouts (57), K/9 ratio (11.32), WHIP (0.90) and opponents' average (.180). Meanwhile, his 2.78 ERA ranked second. He's been a very bright spot for the Mets in a season that, so far, hasn't had many.
2. Sal Stewart, Reds (six first-place votes)
Stewart is another rookie who had an impressive debut in 2025 (five homers in 18 games) and is living up to those first impressions in 2026. He led all NL rookies outright in homers (10) and RBIs (30) entering play Monday, and was tied for the rookie lead in doubles (seven), while his .812 OPS ranked second. Stewart has been a major reason why the Reds are helping make the NL Central the best division in baseball this season.
3. JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals (five first-place votes)
Wetherholt led all qualified NL rookies with a .350 on-base percentage and 30 runs scored entering Monday and ranked second in homers (seven) and third in hits (36) and RBIs (20). He also led all qualified NL rookies with a 118 OPS+ and a 2.0 bWAR. On defense, his 6 Outs Above Average rank third among all MLB second basemen, thanks in large part to range that ranks in baseball's 99th percentile.
4. Konnor Griffin, Pirates (two first-place votes)
Through Sunday, Griffin's nine stole bases were most among NL rookies, while he was tied for first in triples (two) and tied for fourth in hits (32) and RBIs (19). He was hitting .316 with a .913 OPS over his past 10 games through Sunday. This included a four-hit game against the Reds on May 2. Overall, he's his safely in 11 of his past 12 games.
5. Moisés Ballesteros, Cubs (two first-place votes)
Like others on this list, Ballesteros made noise in his initial callup last season, posting an .868 OPS in 20 games for the Cubs. And like the others, he's back at it this season. The lefty swinger leads all qualified NL rookies with a .500 slugging percentage and an .827 OPS, while his six homers rank third among the group.
Others receiving votes: Foster Griffin (one first-place vote), Nationals; Carson Benge, Mets; Owen Caissie, Marlins; Bubba Chandler, Pirates; Joe Mack, Marlins; Jose Fernandez, D-backs; Nathan Church, Cardinals; TJ Rumfield, Rockies
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Munetaka Murakami, White Sox (20 first-place votes)
Murakami has been exactly as advertised early in his rookie campaign. The 26-year-old first baseman has been a pure slugger so far, leading all MLB rookies in homers (15), slugging percentage (.556), OPS (.920) and total bases (79) entering play Monday. But he's had a good eye, too, as evidenced by 30 walks (tops among all rookies) and his .364 on-base percentage through Sunday, which ranked fourth among MLB rookies.
2. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers (14 first-place votes)
The fun thing about this list of rookies is that almost all of them lead their peer group in something, illustrating the depth of the class. In McGonigle's case, he led all MLB rookies in on-base percentage (.395), hits (43) and doubles (11) entering Monday, and was tied for the lead in triples (two). He hit .327 with a .946 OPS in April, collecting 32 hits along the way. That was tops among MLB rookies in all three categories.
3. Chase DeLauter, Guardians (three first-place votes)
DeLauter led AL rookies with a .299 average and 17 extra-base hits entering Monday, both of which were also good for the MLB rookie lead (he was tied with Stewart in XBH). Meanwhile, his .379 on-base percentage ranked second among all MLB rookies, as did his .522 slugging percentage. DeLauter was batting .404 with a 1.004 OPS over his past 15 games entering Monday.
4. Kazuma Okamoto, Blue Jays (one first-place vote)
Since changing where he stands in the batter's box, Okamoto has become a new hitter. In the 21 games since he made the move, he was batting .303 with eight homers, 22 RBIs and a 1.049 OPS entering play Monday. He definitely unlocked something, and if he keeps up this level of production, don't be surprised if he climbs this list in the coming months.
5. Parker Messick, Guardians (one first-place vote)
Messick is only the second pitcher on this list, but he's been just as impressive as McLean on the NL side. He leads all qualified AL rookie pitchers with four wins, a 2.30 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 47 innings pitched. Meanwhile, his 0.98 WHIP ranks second. He's allowed more than three earned runs in a start only once this season and has held opponents to a .208 average.
Others receiving votes: Trey Yasavage, Blue Jays; Payton Tolle, Red Sox; Samuel Basallo, Orioles; Travis Bazzana, Guardians; Connelly Early, Red Sox; Carter Jensen, Royals