We’re nearing the official halfway point of the 2026 MLB season, meaning we’re getting a pretty good idea of which players are at the top of their games this year.
But we’ve also seen some major developments on that front, like Aaron Judge’s long-term injury and the elbow surgery that held Tarik Skubal out for weeks. Will developments like those impact the end-of-season results for who is seen as MLB’s best?
In the latest vote predicting the 2026 All-MLB Team presented by MGM Rewards, our panel of MLB.com experts tried their hands at putting together the All-MLB First and Second teams at the end of the year.
Ballots were based on results to this point in the season and what voters expect to happen going forward. Each team features one selection at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and designated hitter, as well as three outfielders (regardless of specific outfield position), five starting pitchers and two relievers.
Here are the results of MLB.com’s latest All-MLB poll:
CATCHER
First team: Dillon Dingler (DET)
Second team: Shea Langeliers (ATH)
It happened fast, but Dingler is turning into one of the game’s best catchers. The 2025 Gold Glove Award winner has already whacked 16 home runs in 2026, surpassing his 13 from a season ago -- all while playing elite defense. Dingler’s 134 wRC+ entering Monday was third among qualified catchers, behind only the other name on this list and the Cardinals’ Iván Herrera.
Langeliers was pegged as our panel’s first-teamer in mid-May, thanks to a rip-roaring start to the 2026 campaign after being one of the best hitters in baseball in the second half last year. Even after he endured a bit of a cold streak over the past month or so, “Bangeliers” is still sporting a strong .879 OPS with 18 home runs.
Others receiving votes: Drake Baldwin (ATL)
FIRST BASE
First team: Ben Rice (NYY)
Second team: Nick Kurtz (ATH)
First base -- a position long known for its power-hitting stars -- is living up to its history this season. Rice and Kurtz earned the designations, as the youngsters are both blossoming superstars.
Entering Monday, Rice was behind only standout Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez in wRC+ (172) and OPS (.998) while crushing 19 homers. While the Yankees try to deal with Judge’s absence, Rice has become the star bat they need.
Kurtz, meanwhile, shook off a bit of a slow start to get right back to where he was in his excellent rookie season. The Big Amish is slugging over .800 in his last 16 games, helping push his season slash line to .293/.443/.563. His .443 on-base percentage is leading the Majors.
Others receiving votes: Matt Olson (ATL)
SECOND BASE
First team: Brice Turang (MIL)
Second team: JJ Wetherholt (STL)
Turang is becoming the driving force behind the NL Central-leading Brewers, boasting a complete package that is quietly making him one of the game’s best players. He owns an .835 OPS in 2026 after posting a career-high .794 last season, and he was also tied for sixth among second basemen in Fielding Run Value with four entering play Monday.
Wetherholt led the position with 11 FRV, and the breakout rookie -- who also has a .751 OPS with 10 homers -- has been one of the biggest reasons the Cardinals have surprised and currently hold a Wild Card spot.
Others receiving votes: Luis Arraez (SF), Xavier Edwards (MIA), Brandon Lowe (PIT)
THIRD BASE
First team: Max Muncy (LAD)
Second team: Junior Caminero (TB)
Muncy is still finding new highs at 35 years old. The two-time All-Star has boosted an already potent Dodgers lineup with a 151 wRC+ entering Monday, best in MLB at third base, while recording the second-highest hard-hit rate of his career at 48.4%. He’s already tallied 16 home runs after hitting 19 in 100 games in 2025.
Caminero, the Majors’ fastest swinger, is among the most exciting young hitters in the game. He’s behind only Muncy at third base with an .864 OPS. He’s also cut down on his strikeouts a bit, continuing to look like he can be a superstar for years to come.
Others receiving votes: Josh Jung (TEX), Miguel Vargas (CHW)
SHORTSTOP
First team: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)
Second team: CJ Abrams (WSH)
Another year, another superstar statline for Witt. He entered Monday leading MLB with 4.0 fWAR, in part because of his status as the league leader in Outs Above Average (16), but also because his bat has started to come along. Witt has a .284 average and an .807 OPS. A huge May with seven long balls has him just a touch below most of his career averages at the plate, though he’s taking walks at an all-time high (10%).
Abrams is providing the kind of star production the Nationals had in mind when they acquired him in the Juan Soto blockbuster years ago. The 25-year-old’s 147 wRC+ entering Monday and 53 RBIs lead all shortstops.
Others receiving votes: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), Otto Lopez (MIA)
OUTFIELD
First team: Corbin Carroll (AZ), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC), James Wood (WSH)
Second team: Byron Buxton (MIN), Juan Soto (NYM), Jordan Walker (STL)
Carroll produced a strong bounceback campaign in 2025 following a down season the prior year, but he’s taken it to another level so far in ’26. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star is putting together the finest season of his career with a .907 OPS and an MLB-leading eight triples. With his tremendous speed and elite defense in the outfield, he’s the complete package.
Crow-Armstrong got off to a slow start this year but he’s been heating up lately, looking more like he did in the first half of the 2025 campaign, when he was an early NL MVP candidate. On May 29, PCA had a slash line of .224/.314/.362. Since then, he’s hitting .453 with seven homers to go along with his elite defense in center. And, oh yeah, he just hit for the cycle.
Wood, meanwhile, has been arguably the most fearsome offensive force in the NL, right up there with the likes of Shohei Ohtani. Wood has a .975 OPS with 20 homers, entering Monday ranked among the top 1% of qualified batters in expected slugging percentage (.634), expected weighted on-base average (.438), hard-hit rate (58.5%) and walk rate (17.3%).
Buxton, Soto and Walker comprise quite a Second Team here, considering each has been one of the very best offensive performers in the game so far in 2026.
Buxton has been going on home run binges this season -- of his 23 homers, 17 came in a 33-game stretch from April 13-May 27, and the other six have come in his last nine games, including a solo shot in the sixth inning on Monday at Globe Life Field. And Walker has been demonstrating why he was such a heralded prospect despite struggling from 2024-25. He's tied with the Dodgers' Andy Pages for the NL lead with 56 RBIs to go along with a .903 OPS.
Others receiving votes: Randy Arozarena (SEA), Michael Harris II (ATL), Andy Pages (LAD), Mike Trout (LAA)
DESIGNATED HITTER
First team: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
Second team: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
It’s hard to top Ohtani in anything, but Alvarez is doing so thus far. Alvarez’s 193 wRC+ entering Monday led all hitters -- and by a wide margin. He is first in OPS (1.087), first in slugging (.653), tied for first in homers (24), second in on-base percentage (.434) and fourth in RBIs (54). A healthy and resurgent “Air Yordan” is doing all he can to keep the struggling Astros afloat.
Many wondered if Ohtani’s emphasis on pitching this year meant his bat would take a backseat. But after a sluggish start, the two-way superstar is now carrying a .961 OPS. Ohtani has also hit four home runs in June. So much for that backseat.
Others receiving votes: Kyle Schwarber (PHI)
STARTING PITCHERS
First team: Jacob Misiorowski (MIL), Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Cristopher Sánchez (PHI), Cam Schlittler (NYY), Paul Skenes (PIT)
Second team: Chase Burns (CIN), Dylan Cease (TOR), Chris Sale (ATL), Tarik Skubal (DET), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
What can be said about Misiorowski that hasn’t been said? Are there words sufficient to do justice to what we’ve seen from the 24-year-old phenom? In his last start, he threw the fastest pitch recorded in the pitch-tracking era (104.5 mph, breaking his own record from his prior start) while striking out 15 in a shutout, he has an absurd 0.17 ERA over his last eight starts and he’s making a serious bid for the NL Cy Young Award amid a loaded field.
That field includes Sánchez, Ohtani and Skenes, also projected here to be first-teamers. Sánchez set an MLB record for left-handed pitchers with 50 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched earlier this season. While he doesn’t have as many innings, Ohtani has been phenomenal on the mound, posting a 1.06 ERA over 11 starts. And Skenes, though he’s had some hiccups this year, still has a 30.4% strikeout rate and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.2.
In the AL, Schlittler has been setting the pace among starting pitchers. The 25-year-old right-hander leads the league with a 1.82 ERA and 89 innings pitched, making him the man to beat in the Cy Young race.
Given the aforementioned five hurlers, it’s going to be tough to make the First Team among starting pitchers, but cracking the Second Team is no small feat, either.
In his first full season, Burns has been a revelation in Cincinnati, helping fill the void with Hunter Greene on the injured list by posting a 2.01 ERA over 14 starts, including five scoreless frames on Monday vs. the Mets. Cease has been excellent so far in his first season with the Blue Jays, pitching to a 2.91 ERA over 12 starts, including an AL-leading 103 strikeouts.
Now in his third season of a late-career resurgence, Sale continues to dominate. His 2.30 ERA ranks fifth in the Majors among qualified starters. Skubal just returned from injury, but he’s too good not to be projected as one of the best starters of the season when it’s all said and done. And Yamamoto continues to amaze after winning the 2025 World Series MVP Award, as evidenced by his near-perfect game his last time out.
Others receiving votes: Jacob deGrom (TEX), Davis Martin (CHW), Drew Rasmussen (TB), Zack Wheeler (PHI), Gavin Williams (CLE)
RELIEF PITCHERS
First team: Jhoan Duran (PHI), Mason Miller (SD)
Second team: Cade Smith (CLE), Louis Varland (TOR)
Duran has been his ever-dominant self for the Phillies, with a 1.90 ERA to go along with a 38.5% strikeout rate and 18 saves. With a blazing fastball that averages 100.2 mph and a devastating splitter, the “Durantula” has held opponents to a .209 batting average against him.
No closer conversation is complete -- or ever gets started, really -- without mention of Miller, who continues to be a nightmare for opposing batters. As of Monday, he ranked in the 100th percentile in expected ERA (1.15), expected batting average against (.106), average fastball velocity (101.3 mph), whiff rate (50.4%), strikeout rate (51.8%), barrel rate (zero -- he hasn’t given up a single barrel) and hard-hit rate (14%).
Smith, much like his Guardians club, is quietly impressing. The right-hander leads the Majors with 23 saves and also owns a 2.48 ERA over 31 appearances for Cleveland. And Varland was good for the Twins and Blue Jays last season, but he’s taken it to a different level for Toronto this year -- the right-hander has a 0.96 ERA over 37 2/3 innings so far in 2026.
Others receiving votes: Aaron Ashby (MIL), Bryan Baker (TB), Aroldis Chapman (BOS), Raisel Iglesias (ATL), Dylan Lee (ATL)