Every lineup deals with its share of slumps and injuries. When top players aren’t producing, clubs need unexpected sources of production to step up.
The players below have done that and then some. With more than a quarter of the season gone, here are nine of the most surprising names leading their teams in hitting.
Team leaders are determined using wRC+ -- a rate statistic that measures a hitter's overall offensive value in terms of run creation while adjusting for league and park effects (a 100 wRC+ is considered league average) -- among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this season. All stats below are through Thursday.
Kazuma Okamoto, 3B, Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was slashing .358/.444/.477 through 30 games this season, but he’s mired in a 6-for-47 (.128) slump with no extra-base hits since April 30. As a result, Okamoto has moved ahead of him for the team lead with a .786 OPS and a 120 wRC+. The Japanese slugger got off to a slow start in his first MLB season, but he made a big adjustment in the batter’s box on April 18 and has produced eight homers with a .969 OPS in 24 games since that date. He’s been one of the few bright spots for Toronto during the team’s injury-riddled campaign.
Ildemaro Vargas, INF, D-backs
Even on a list with some of this season’s most surprising hitters, Vargas manages to stand out. The veteran is 34 years old, has changed organizations eight times and came into 2026 with a lifetime .646 OPS. But after making the D-backs out of Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, Vargas opened the season with a 24-game hitting streak while going 38-for-94 (.404) in that span. He’s cooled off in May, but Vargas maintains an edge over two-time All-Star Corbin Carroll (145 wRC+) for the team lead with a 156 wRC+.
Max Muncy, 3B, Dodgers
Muncy has been a steady presence in the Dodgers’ lineup since 2018. But on a club that already had Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith and Mookie Betts and then signed Kyle Tucker in the offseason, few would have predicted at the start of this year that the 35-year-old third baseman would be Los Angeles’ best hitter through 44 games (with Andy Pages right behind him!). Part of it is that those aforementioned stars aren’t having the seasons we’ve come to expect from them. But Muncy is also putting together an incredible year, producing 11 homers with a .902 OPS and a 153 wRC+ over 160 plate appearances.
Casey Schmitt, INF, Giants
Schmitt being the Giants’ best hitter so far says a lot about how the club’s season is going. San Francisco has Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee on nine-figure deals and also signed Luis Arraez (one year, $12 million) and Harrison Bader (two years, $20.5 million) in the offseason. Yet a 27-year-old who entered this season with a lifetime .667 OPS is leading the way. Schmitt has been solid enough, slashing .276/.329/.485 with a 131 wRC+, but the Giants surely expected more than a combined 83 wRC+ from those other six hitters.
Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians
While DeLauter hasn’t kept up the homer binge that saw him clear the fence four times in his first three career regular-season games, his contact skills and keen batting eye have made him one of the top rookies in baseball. The youngster is slashing .294/.376/.503 with more walks (20) than strikeouts (16) and a 146 wRC+, leading a Guardians lineup that has managed to make life difficult for opposing pitchers this season despite its lack of power. DeLauter’s breakout has been key considering both José Ramírez and Steven Kwan are hovering around the Mendoza Line.
Luke Raley, OF, Mariners
Raley is one of the most extreme hitters in baseball -- he ranks among MLB’s elite in barrel rate (99th percentile) and hard-hit rate (97th percentile) but is near the bottom in whiff rate (first percentile) and strikeout rate (second percentile). All of that has made him quite streaky this season, but he’s on a heater right now with five homers and a 1.444 OPS in his past eight games. He leads Seattle in both home runs (10) and wRC+ (160), one year after missing significant time due to injury and finishing with a 91 wRC+ over 73 games. His power has become increasingly important for the Mariners amid Cal Raleigh’s rough season, which just got worse when the catcher was placed on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain.
Miguel Andujar, DH, Padres
The Padres’ offense has been stuck in the mud all season. Five of the eight Padres hitters with at least 100 plate appearances have a wRC+ of 94 or worse, with the exception of Andujar (126 wRC+), Xander Bogaerts (117 wRC+) and Gavin Sheets (112 wRC+). Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill collectively have been 20% worse than league average, and Tatis still hasn’t homered. Improbably, though, the Padres entered Friday at 25-18 -- just a half-game behind the high-powered Dodgers in the NL West.
Josh Jung, 3B, Rangers
After looking like a potential cornerstone as a rookie during the Rangers’ 2023 World Series championship season, Jung battled injuries and recorded a disappointing .693 OPS across ’24-25. However, the 28-year-old third baseman has looked like a completely different hitter this season, posting a .325 average with five homers and a 148 wRC+. Only one qualifying hitter (Cleveland's Brayan Rocchio) has decreased his strikeout rate more than Jung (-9.3 points) has since 2025. Unfortunately for Texas, nine of the 12 hitters on the club who have amassed at least 50 plate appearances this season have a wRC+ of 90 or worse -- including All-Star shortstop Corey Seager (79) -- contributing to the club’s 21-22 record.
Ryan Jeffers, C, Twins
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is one of four players with at least 15 homers this season, and teammate Austin Martin leads all hitters (min. 100 PAs) with a .454 on-base percentage. But Jeffers clears both with a 163 wRC+ -- the second-best mark among catchers (again, min. 100 PAs) in 2026. The Twins backstop has been a solid hitter in the past, but this is by far the best he’s looked. His barrel rate is up 9.6 percentage points, MLB’s second-largest increase from 2025 to ’26, while his walk rate has jumped 5.0 points. He ranks in the 90th percentile or better in both categories.