MLB hitter rankings: Ohtani keeps the crown, Alvarez storms in 
In March, the big question on every fan’s lips was simple: Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge for No. 1? Our experts gave the edge to the Japanese star. A few weeks later, with the first proper results of the 2026 season on the board, the picture is starting to clear up. Between the injury comebacks and the youngsters blowing the doors off, here’s our latest Power Ranking of the hitters.
The king is still the king. In first place, Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) has not fully switched into machine mode yet (5 home runs), but he is still getting on base with ridiculous ease. His 48-game on-base streak is outrageous, and it’s something L.A. has not seen in ages. Behind him, Yordan Alvarez (Astros) comes from nowhere to grab second spot. Limited to 48 games last year, the Cuban powerhouse is making up for lost time: a 1.175 OPS, 6 homers and pitchers so rattled they’ve already handed him 16 walks. In third place, Aaron Judge (Yankees). A “quiet” start for the captain still means numbers 50% better than league average. He’s also just woken up with 3 home runs in his last 3 games, including a 456-foot rocket.
Youth takes over: Walker and Rice are tearing MLB apart
At No. 4, there is a completely transformed Jordan Walker (Cardinals). He already has eight home runs, two more than he managed all of last season. The kid has finally figured out how to lift the ball, and pitchers are paying for it. Kyle Schwarber (Phillies, 5th) is doing Kyle Schwarber things: huge moonshots and 6 home runs already, no surprises there. Just behind him in sixth, Corbin Carroll (D-backs) is turning heads. He broke his hand in spring training, an injury that usually wrecks a hitter’s power. And yet here he is: the only player in the league with multiple triples, doubles and home runs so far this year.
But the real steal of April is Ben Rice (Yankees, 7th). The left-hander is on another level. He leads MLB in on-base percentage, raw power and OPS. When he hits it, 70% of the time the ball is flying off the bat at more than 95 mph. Opposing pitchers have no idea where to hide.
Vlad Jr. steadies the ship, Pages is in full redemption mode
To round out the top 10, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays, 8th) is keeping Toronto afloat as injuries pile up around him. The big power is still missing a little bit (just one home run), but with his sharp eye and .328 average, the balls will start leaving the yard sooner rather than later. Gunnar Henderson (Orioles, 9th) is the mirror image: a pretty ugly batting average (.222) but his power has come roaring back with 6 home runs in 14 games.
Finally, Andy Pages (Dodgers) closes out the list at No. 10. The defensive hero of the last World Series had gone through the playoffs like a ghost at the plate (4 hits in 51 plate appearances). He has clearly moved past that: he now leads the entire league in hits (25) and RBIs (20), with a ridiculous .397 average. Fair play.
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