Issue #626
At this point we’ve made it through the few games in late March, and now all of April. Most teams have played either 31 or 32 games, so that means we are just short of being one-fifth the way through the 2026 regular season.
So… which players are off to the best start so far, position by position? This early in the season I decided not to consider fielding statistics yet, but focusing on hitting and pitching, here are the names that jumped out to me. I picked two per position (though not necessarily one from each league), plus a few more as honorable mentions:
C
ATH Shea Langeliers - 8 HR, 9 doubles, .328/.382/.592
ATL Drake Baldwin - 7 HR, 30 runs, .308/.384/.500
Also: MIA Liam Hicks (7 HR, 28 RBI, .315 AVG), Hunter Goodman (9 HR)
1B
NYY Ben Rice - 10 HR, .327/.443/.714
ATL Matt Olson - 13 doubles, 9 HR, .306/.381/.636
Also: CWS Munetaka Murakami (12 HR), CIN Sal Stewart (9 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB), HOU Christian Walker (7 HR, 9 doubles, .293 AVG), TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.358 AVG, .444 OBP)
2B
ATL Ozzie Albies - 7 HR, .323/.368/.540
MIL Brice Turang - 7 SB, 4 HR, .291/.422/.505
Also: CHC Nico Hoerner (7 SB, .291), TOR Ernie Clement (13 doubles, .301 AVG), MIA Xavier Edwards (4 SB, .336 AVG)
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