By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)
The Silver Slugger Award finalists were announced on Thursday. The winners will be announced on Nov 17th.
In the American League, we have several hitters who put on a sensational performance during the 2026 campaign.
First Base:
Pete Alonso, Baltimore Orioles
Wilson Contreras, Boston Red Sox
In his first season with the Orioles, Alonso made a strong impression. Alonso smacked 43 home runs and 113 RBIs, and his 149 OPS+ was a career best. The Orioles didn’t make the playoffs, but his performance is a stepping stone to what’s to come in the future. He’s got four more years on the contract.
Contreras has made great progress. Making the transition from catcher to first base is not easy. Contreras is one of the reasons the Red Sox made a tremendous turnaround during the summer. In his first season with Boston, Contreras posted a .901 OPS and 27 home runs.
Second Base:
Kody Clemens, Minnesota Twins
Chase Meidroth, Chicago White Sox
Third Base:
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
Miguel Vargas, Chicago White Sox
Catcher:
Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers
Carter Jensen, Kansas City Royals
Outfield:
Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox
Jac Caglionone, Kansas City Royals
Randy Arozarena, Seattle Mariners
Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
Tristan Peters, Chicago White Sox
Chandler Simpson, Tampa Bay Rays
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Designated Hitter
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
Ben Rice, New York Yankees
Players like Alvarez and Caminero could be taking home one or more awards. Both players are competing for the AL MVP.
In the National League, here are the finalists:
First Base:
Alex Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals
Jake Bauers, Milwaukee Brewers
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants
Second Base:
Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh Pirates
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Third Base:
Alex Bregman, Chicago Cubs
Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shortstop:
Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins
Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
Catcher:
Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies
Outfield:
Pete-Crow Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
James Wood, Washington Nationals
Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals
Jackson Chuorio, Milwaukee Brewers
Designated Hitter:
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
The NL outfield list is stacked. It’s going to be tough because there are so many good hitters in the outfield position. Not everyone can make it to the finalists. This year’s list is fantastic.
A couple of players who didn’t make the finalists list are Juan Soto from the New York Mets and Michael Harris II from the Atlanta Braves.
Who else got left out? Who should have been named finalists in the AL and NL?
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
