MVP 2026: Crow-Armstrong, Alvarez Favored Ahead of Thursday Reveal
The AL and NL MVP winners are revealed Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The finalists, the numbers and whether Ohtani can make it four straight.
Awards week ends with the biggest prize. The MVP 2026 winners will be announced Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET on MLB Network, and both races have a clear favorite. Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is expected to end Shohei Ohtani’s run in the National League, while Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez heads the American League field after leading all qualified hitters in average, on-base percentage and slugging, per MLB.com.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America already voted at the end of the regular season. Thursday is only the reveal.
MVP 2026 finalists at a glance
| League | Finalist | Key numbers |
|---|---|---|
| AL | Yordan Alvarez, Astros | 42 HR, 106 RBI, .316/.432/.601 |
| AL | Junior Caminero, Rays | 42 HR, 101 RBI, .884 OPS, all 162 games |
| AL | Bobby Witt Jr., Royals | 18 HR, 54 RBI, .281/.359/.441 |
| NL | Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs | 45 HR, 41 SB, .280/.372/.570 |
| NL | Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers | .275/.377/.512; 1.79 ERA in 85 2/3 IP |
| NL | Brice Turang, Brewers | 21 HR, 100 RBI, 19 SB, .816 OPS |
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s case for NL MVP
Crow-Armstrong joined the 40-40 club as its seventh member, tied Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead with 45 homers and stole 41 bases. He led the majors with 10.6 fWAR by a wide margin and topped the NL in slugging, OPS (.942) and wRC+, MLB.com reported. Add the defense, where he led all players in Statcast Outs Above Average, and it’s hard to find a hole in the résumé.
The players already picked him. Crow-Armstrong won Player of the Year and Outstanding NL Player at the Players Choice Awards. Bleacher Report’s staff voting also lists him as the expected winner.
Can Ohtani make it four straight?
Ohtani has won three MVP awards in a row and four total, second-most in history behind Barry Bonds’ seven. He had a 1.79 ERA with 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3 innings and hit at least 30 homers for a sixth straight season, but left knee and right biceps injuries limited him to half a season on the mound. That’s the gap Crow-Armstrong exploited.
Turang is the third finalist after a 100-RBI season for a Brewers team that posted MLB’s best record at 103-59. Milwaukee already has a strong week: Jacob Misiorowski won the NL award, as we covered in our Cy Young winners story, and Pat Murphy took a third straight NL Manager of the Year.
Yordan Alvarez leads the AL race
Alvarez set career highs with 42 homers and 106 RBIs and made a real run at the Triple Crown before falling short. He finished third in the 2022 AL MVP vote and won the AL honor at the Players Choice Awards. Bleacher Report predicted he will be named AL MVP.
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero matched Alvarez with 42 homers, played all 162 games and is a first-time finalist. Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. had a down year at the plate by his standards but stayed in the top three on his all-around value. He was the 2024 runner-up to Aaron Judge and has finished in the top seven in each of the past four seasons.
Alvarez’s win would cap a busy week in Houston, where the Astros just named Brad Ausmus their new manager.
How to watch Thursday’s MVP announcement
The AL and NL MVP winners will be revealed live on MLB Network starting at 7 p.m. ET Thursday, according to MLB.com’s awards page. After that, attention moves fully to the hot stove, led by Tarik Skubal’s free agency.
Sources: MLB.com (finalists), MLB.com (Crow-Armstrong), MLB.com (awards), Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports
