Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs has been selected Baseball Digest’s 2026 MLB Player of the Year. Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers has been named MLB Pitcher of the Year while the San Diego Padres’ Mason Miller has been voted MLB Relief Pitcher of the Year.
Crow-Armstrong received 21 first-place votes, two second-place votes and one third-place vote from the independently submitted ballots of a 24-member blue-ribbon panel of longtime baseball observers, which included writers, broadcasters, former players, managers and executives. Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros received two first-place votes, 16 second-place votes and five third-place votes while the Tampa Bay Rays’ Junior Caminero got one first-place vote, three second-place votes and nine third-place votes.
This is Baseball Digest’s 58th MLB Player of the Year Award (1969-2026) and its 33rd MLB Pitcher of the Year Award (1994-2026). The MLB Relief Pitcher of the Year Award was first presented by Baseball Digest in 2012 and annually since 2015.
Pete Crow-Armstrong became just the seventh player in MLB history with a 40-home-run, 40-stolen-base season in 2026, joining Shohei Ohtani (2024), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and Jose Canseco (1988). His 45 homers were tied with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber for the most in the majors and, with 31 doubles, he became the first center fielder in MLB history to have at least 40 home runs, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in a season. Crow-Armstrong is the seventh Chicago Cubs player to be voted MLB Player of the Year by Baseball Digest in the 58-year history of the award, joining Billy Williams (1970), Ryne Sandberg (1984, 1990), Andre Dawson (1987), Sammy Sosa (1998) and Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo (co-recipients in 2016).
Jacob Misiorowski led all MLB pitchers in 2026 with a 1.80 earned run average and 252 strikeouts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of just four pitchers in the last 50 seasons (1977-2026) to record at least 15 wins, 200 strikeouts and ERA under 2.00, joining Ron Guidry (1978), Dwight Gooden (1985) and Pedro Martinez (1997 and 2000). Misiorowski threw 1,172 pitches at 100-or-more miles per hour this season, 499 more than any pitcher in any season since pitch speeds started being tracked in 2015. He is the first Milwaukee Brewer to be named MLB Pitcher of the Year by Baseball Digest in the award’s 33-year history.
Mason Miller compiled a career-high 38 saves in 2026 which were tied for first in the National League (with Riley O’Brien, Cardinals) and tied for third in the majors (behind the Rays’ Bryan Baker and the Guardians’ Cade Smith). He also set career highs with 66 appearances and 70.0 innings-pitched, surpassing his 60 appearances in 2025 with the Athletics/Padres and 65.0 innings-pitched in 2024 with the A's. Miller is the second San Diego Padres’ pitcher to be voted MLB Relief Pitcher of the Year by Baseball Digest since the award was first presented in 2012, joining Kirby Yates (2019).