Many of the best hitters on Earth have already taken their cuts this year in games that matter, thanks to the World Baseball Classic. You had Aaron Judge going deep for Team USA, Shohei Ohtani launching a grand slam at Tokyo Dome for Japan, Juan Soto crushing a run rule game-ender for the Dominican Republic and Ronald Acuña Jr. leading the charge for tournament champion Venezuela. And that was just the beginning.
In fact, nine of the top 11 finishers (including a tie) in this preseason edition of the Hitter Power Rankings participated in the Classic – just one sign of the immense talent that has helped push the event to new heights.
Now, though, with the WBC behind us, it’s time for these premier sluggers to turn their attention to the regular season. That gets underway with Judge’s Yankees visiting the Giants on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET on Netflix), while the other 28 teams start their seasons on either Thursday or Friday.
2026 Opening Night presented by Adobe on Netflix
• Yankees vs. Giants, Wednesday March 25, 8 p.m. ET
• Set a Netflix reminder to watch the game
To help get prepared, we asked a group of 14 MLB.com experts to cast their votes for the most elite bats in baseball entering 2026. Here are our first Hitter Power Rankings of the year.
1) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
“Ohtani or Judge?” has been a running theme of the Hitter Power Rankings in recent seasons, and things are no different as we open 2026. Our voting panel was almost exactly split on which one to put first, and while Judge actually got one more first-place vote than Ohtani – Soto got one as well – it was Ohtani who came out one point ahead in the overall tally.
After a carefully managed return to the mound in 2025 that resulted in just 47 regular-season innings, Ohtani will be back to being a full-fledged two-way player this year. That could create some challenges, but then again, we’ve seen Ohtani carry that burden quite successfully before. At this point, it’s hard to say there’s anything he can’t do.
2) Aaron Judge, Yankees
If Judge is a little bit sore at missing out at No. 1, that would be reasonable. After all, in each of his past three healthy seasons (2022, ’24 and ’25), he’s posted an OPS+ of 210 or better. All other right-handed batters in modern AL/NL history have just five such qualified seasons, combined. Two of those came in the 1994 strike year (Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas), two came in the 1920s (both by Rogers Hornsby) and the other was by Mark McGwire in 1998.
Basically, there’s never been a hitter like Judge. He will turn 34 on April 26, however, so keeping up that level of performance is only going to get tougher.
3) Juan Soto, Mets
Sometimes you can predict baseball: Soto led the Majors with 127 walks in 2025. (It was his fourth time doing so.) Sometimes you can’t predict baseball: Soto also led the NL with 38 stolen bases. (That was more than he had from 2021-24, combined.) While nobody saw the latter coming, everything else about Soto’s debut season in Queens was exactly what the Mets paid for. He was an on-base machine who played every day and slugged 43 homers. The defense remains an issue, but when Soto has a bat in his hands, there is (nearly) nobody better.
4) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
It’s hard to quibble with a player who virtually never misses a game and who hits for average, gets on base and rips screaming line drives all over the field. That’s Guerrero. If there’s a nitpick here, it’s that his total of 23 home runs last season seems shockingly light for a hitter of his caliber. Since going deep 48 times in 2021, Vlad Jr. has averaged about 28 big flies over four seasons. But it always seems like there’s going to be another monstrous power season from him at some point.
5) Cal Raleigh, Mariners
Raleigh is a switch-hitting catcher who plays half his games in a tough park for hitters – and last year, he hit 60 home runs. You probably already know all that, but it bears repeating. While “Big Dumper” is now a household nickname, that output would have seemed unfathomable to us a year ago at this time. What will he have in store for a follow-up?
6) Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Schwarber’s 2025 season was less out of nowhere than Raleigh’s, given that he had already established himself as one of the game’s top power threats since joining the Phillies in 2022. Even so, few saw that coming. In his age-32 season, Schwarber led the NL with 56 homers and the Majors with 132 RBIs, finishing as the NL MVP runner-up behind Ohtani. What was more expected? He re-signed with Philly as a free agent in the offseason.
7) Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves
The thought of another full, healthy season from Acuña is tantalizing. The last time we had one of those in 2023, he hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases while leading the NL with a 1.012 OPS. It may be a stretch to see that version of Acuña again – especially from a steals perspective – but it would hardly be shocking if another 40-homer, 1.000 OPS campaign is in the cards. In 95 games last season, he wasn’t far off that pace. Now another season removed from his knee injury, the arrow is pointing up here.
8) Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
Speaking of tantalizing thoughts, how about this one: Witt playing his home games at an updated, more homer-friendly version of Kauffman Stadium. According to Statcast data, if that version had existed from 2021-25, Witt would have added 12 big flies to his ledger. Witt is already an excellent hitter, one who has racked up 92 doubles over the past two seasons. If some of those two-baggers (and long outs) go over the fence now, that certainly can’t hurt.
9) José Ramírez, Guardians
Steady as ever, Ramírez just keeps plugging away, producing great season after great season. Even if the “he’s underrated,” storyline is perhaps overblown at this point, it’s still possible that Cleveland’s cornerstone isn’t appreciated quite enough. Maybe this will help: Health permitting, Ramírez is a virtual lock to cross both 300 home runs (15 away) and 300 stolen bases (13 away) this season.
10 (tie). Nick Kurtz, Athletics
10 (tie). Junior Caminero, Rays
It seems appropriate to end the list with these two young sluggers. And don’t be surprised if they rate much higher in the future – perhaps even the near future. Kurtz is coming off one of the most sensational rookie campaigns in baseball history, albeit in just 117 games. At age 22, he hit .290/.383/.619 (173 OPS+) with 36 home runs, including four in a single game.
Caminero, born about four months after Kurtz, had gotten his feet wet in the Majors prior to 2025, but last year was his coming-out party. He slammed 45 home runs, drove in 110 and slugged .535. Like Kurtz, he did so while playing at a ballpark intended for a Minor League team. But with the Rays headed back to Tropicana Field for 2026, it will be interesting to see if that puts a damper on Caminero’s home run output – despite his prodigious power.
Others receiving votes: Yordan Alvarez (Astros), Roman Anthony (Red Sox), Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks), Kyle Tucker (Dodgers), Pete Alonso (Orioles), Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres), George Springer (Blue Jays), Michael Busch (Cubs), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Corey Seager (Rangers), Gunnar Henderson (Orioles), Julio Rodríguez (Mariners)