MLB awards check-in: Front-runners for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year

With one week left in the 2026 MLB regular season, the awards races are nearing their conclusion. On the latest episode of "Baseball Bar-B-Cast," hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman ran through the baseball awards one more time and highlighted the front-runners for each.

Let's dig in, going from the most decided awards to the most wide-open awards with just a few games left to play.

Front-runner: Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong

This award has seemingly gone from Shohei Ohtani 's to lose to a tight race between Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong to PCA leaving no doubt in the final months of the season.

"It was like, 'This is going to be one heck of a debate. This is going to be an amazing race. Can PCA's defense outrank Ohtani's pitching?' It was going to be really interesting," Shusterman said. "Instead, PCA has run away with the lead in WAR to a degree that frankly I don't remember seeing."

PCA has hit 45 home runs, a Cubs record for a left-handed hitter, and he leads baseball with 10.4 fWAR, which is nearly 4 WAR ahead of Ohtani in second at 6.8.

"Yes, Ohtani tailed off in terms of his production and then his availability," Mintz said, "but it's not as if PCA just played out the string. He earned it, and he took it with his play and his production in a way that really no one saw coming."

Front-runner: Padres closer Mason Miller

"With all due respect to Mason Montgomery and Jhoan Duran and Adrian Morejon, this is Mason Miller, and it won't be that close," Mintz said, noting that he thinks Miller will win unanimously.

Miller's strikeout rate is particularly remarkable. As Shusterman noted, we've gotten used to seeing strikeout rates around 35% from relievers. But Miller's strikeout rate is 48% this season.

Front-runner: Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski

For a while, this was shaping up to be a race between Misiorowski and the Phillies ' Cristopher Sánchez. Sánchez still leads Misiorowski in innings, but the Brewers ace's other numbers stand alone. Among those: a 38.2% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate.

Misiorowski currently holds the record for lowest batting average against for a qualified starting pitcher in baseball history. "We'll see if that holds all the way until the end of the season, but that would be another feather in his cap in just a ridiculous season that has maybe made him the best pitcher in the world," Shusterman said.

Front-runner: Yankees ace Cam Schlittler

A few weeks ago, this seemed like a contest between Schlittler and the Blue Jays' Dylan Cease , but Schlittler has put some distance between himself and the field in recent weeks.

"Schlittler is not slowing down, whatsoever," Shusterman said. "And once we start previewing October, we're going to be like, 'Yeah, have fun beating this guy.'"

The Rays ' Drew Rasmussen and the Guardians' Parker Messick are the other names in contention for this award, but at this point, it's a race for second.

This is the first year that Reliever of the Year is among the BBWAA awards, so as the hosts noted, we don't know what voters will prioritize or value most.

But Mintz thinks Baker will win. "He has more saves than baseball teams do," he said, noting that Toronto 's Louis Varland , Cleveland 's Cade Smith and Boston 's Aroldis Chapman should also receive votes.

Front-runners: Astros DH Yordan Alvarez and Rays 3B Junior Caminero

The last three awards are still up in the air, and AL MVP is a two-horse race. Junior Caminero has made a strong push with the AL-best Rays in the second half. Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez has been dominant all season and has been doing his part to try to lead the Astros back to the postseason.

"I think that Yordan being a primary DH is going to be something that more voters care about than you expect ," Mintz said. "… And that's not to say that Caminero is a Gold Glover at third base, no. The most amazing thing about his season is that he will start every single game at third base."

Caminero will be the first player in the American League to do so since Cal Ripken. Also, he has hit 41 home runs with an .892 OPS and helped the Rays to the best record in the American League.

But with his 1.027 OPS, Shusterman contended, Alvarez has been the best hitter in the American League the entire season. In a down year for Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, Alvarez, while he doesn't play defense, has separated himself from the rest of the sport in terms of offensive production.

Front-runner: Tigers INF Kevin McGonigle and Guardians SP Parker Messick

For both rookie awards, voters have to debate the value of a pitcher vs. the value of a hitter, which makes for a difficult decision between the top two candidates.

"Is it Kevin McGonigle, who's going to play nearly every game in the Tigers' infield? He has a .376 on-base, he's 21 years old, more walks than strikeouts — it's an incredible season," Shusterman said. "Or, do you take a Parker Messick, who only gets so many opportunities to make an impact, but he's been unbelievable? One of the best pitchers in the American League, one of the lowest ERAs to start a career in baseball history."

Front-runner: Mets SP Nolan McLean and Reds 1B Sal Stewart

In the NL, it's a similar debate between a pitcher in McLean and a hitter in Stewart, with a nod to Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and his elite defense.

But Stewart, Mintz noted, is on pace to play all 162 games , which will make him only the fourth rookie to ever accomplish that feat.

"When it comes to Rookie of the Year, give me homers, give me RBI," Mintz said. "Did the guy bang? I'll take that over the defense any day."