2026 MLB Power Rankings: Spotlighting The Unsung Hero On Every Team

With just two days left in June, the best record in baseball this month belongs to … the Miami Marlins! The Fightin’ Fish are 18-6 in June and 44-40 on the season. Meanwhile, the White Sox lead the American League Central, the Rays lead the AL East, the Cardinals would hold a wild-card spot if the season ended today, and the Nationals have a winning record. How have these surprise contenders managed to do it? In part, with role players exceeding expectations. In this week’s Power Rankings, it’s time to shout out every team’s unsung hero: TJ Rumfield should at least be getting some attention in the National Rookie of the Year race. His June OPS is close to 1.000, he leads the Rockies in hits, and he leads all qualified NL rookies in batting average, slugging and OPS. Reliever Daniel Lynch IV had a rough day Saturday as he took the loss, but he has been just about the only good thing about the Royals’ putrid bullpen this year. He leads all Kansas City relievers in ERA, WHIP and opponents’ batting average and could be an enticing trade piece at the deadline. If owner Arte Moreno lets the Angels rebuild at the deadline, Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano would demand a ton of attention. But the Angels starter who has been best at preventing runs this year is rookie Walbert Ureña, the 22-year-old Dominican who had a 2.41 ERA until his first blowup outing of the year Friday. It’s hard to find any heroes in Queens right now. Last week, the Mets were swept by the Cubs, dropped a series to the Phillies and showed manager Carlos Mendoza the door. But rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have more than held their own. They’ve been the most valuable position players on the team behind Juan Soto, which is unbelievable. Considering Dillon Dingler (absurdly) didn’t advance to the second phase of All-Star voting, I’m using this space to shout out the most valuable catcher in baseball this year. He should be getting more attention in the Tigers’ otherwise disastrous season. Who had Casey Schmitt as the Giants’ home-run and slugging leader at the halfway mark? It has been a career year for the utility man, who has the highest OPS on the team among players with at least 200 plate appearances. Some questioned Boston’s trade for 36-year-old Sonny Gray, but the veteran has the lowest ERA in the Red Sox rotation after throwing 7.1 scoreless innings Sunday against the Yankees to help finish off a four-game sweep. He’s 9-1 this year, and 11 of Boston’s 36 wins have come in Gray’s starts. After winning a series at Dodger Stadium, this felt like the chance for the Orioles to go on a run. Instead, they lost back-to-back series to the Angels and Nationals. Don’t blame Brandon Young, who has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his past 10 starts. A 2020 undrafted free agent, Young has given Baltimore’s pitching staff vital innings and leads the rotation in wins and ERA. Byron Buxton is the obvious star of the group, but he’s not the only Twins outfielder tearing the cover off the ball. Trevor Larnach is slashing .362/.421/.551 in June. He can’t face lefties, but he’s providing all the value that Minnesota could have hoped for against right-handed pitching. We’re entering the danger zone. The Jays are no longer hovering around .500 after suffering a four-game sweep at home against the Rangers. Closer Louis Varland suffered the loss Sunday, but he’s 16-for-16 in save chances since inheriting the ninth-inning role. In case you missed it, Zack Gelof was on a 24-game hitting streak — tied for the longest in MLB over the past two seasons — before injuring his hand on June 23 and seeing the streak come to an end after one at-bat. Gelof has an OPS over 1.000 in June. You might know that outfielder JJ Bleday, who signed for just $1.4 million in December, has the highest OPS on the team. Brock Burke, meanwhile, has flown more under the radar. He leads the National League with 41 appearances and has a 2.72 ERA, giving one of the worst bullpens in baseball some needed consistency. Catcher Gabriel Moreno’s 11-game hitting streak was snapped Sunday, but he has been one of the few bright spots in an Arizona offense that has yet to play anywhere close to its potential. Peter Lambert had a 5.72 ERA for the Rockies in 2024, spent last year pitching in Japan, signed a minor-league deal with the Astros after the 2025 season and now has the lowest ERA of any Houston starter with at least 10 starts this season. We’ll go with two here. Joc Pederson had the lowest batting average of any player with at least 300 plate appearances last year. In a bounce-back season, he’s one of the Rangers’ best hitters. On the pitching side, Jacob Latz should get some All-Star consideration. He’s 16-for-18 in save chances, and opponents are hitting just .128 against him. After Seattle’s series losses to the Pirates and Guardians last week, I’m done giving the Mariners the benefit of the doubt. I still think they’ll win the division, but this has been one of the worst offenses in baseball, which has made Dominic Canzone’s contributions important. He has the highest OPS (.891) of any Mariners player with at least 200 plate appearances. You probably have heard what CJ Abrams and James Wood are doing this year for the upstart Nationals, but did you know that neither of them is leading the team in home runs in June? That honor belongs to first baseman Luis Garcia Jr., who has 11 home runs this month. His .543 slugging percentage on the year ranks seventh in all of baseball. Halfway through the season, Paul Skenes doesn’t have the lowest ERA among Pirates starters. Instead, it’s Braxton Ashcraft (7-3, 3.07 ERA) who’s currently leading the way in the Pittsburgh rotation. Considering Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick are among the top AL Rookie of the Year contenders, they probably can’t be considered here. So let’s give a hat tip to Brayan Rocchio, who is enjoying a career year at shortstop and has been one of the most valuable position players on the team. The Padres desperately needed someone beyond Michael King to step up in their depleted rotation. Walker Buehler, who has a 1.71 ERA in his five June starts, has answered the call. Overshadowed by standout rookie JJ Wetherholt and the Jordan Walker breakout, Alec Burleson has quietly been one of the best first basemen in MLB this year. He ranks in the top three among all players at his position in hits and RBIs. Shortstop Otto Lopez, who should be an All-Star, is too good now to be considered an unsung hero for the surging Marlins. So let’s give the nod to Liam Hicks, who leads the Fish in homers and RBIs, provides value at both catcher and first base, and is about to return from the injured list. He doesn’t provide the pop of Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery or Miguel Vargas, but Tristan Peters is one of the most valuable all-around players on the White Sox roster this season. DFA’d by the Rays over the offseason, Peters has been an above-average bat in the South Siders’ lineup and one of the better defensive center fielders in the game. The offense needed someone other than Pete Crow-Armstrong to step up, and Seiya Suzuki is doing that with a .937 OPS in June. After sweeping the Mets and taking a series from the Brewers, the Cubs have the fifth-best run differential in MLB. Did you know that Bryan Baker is tied for the second-most saves in MLB this year? Well, now you do. It has been a career year for the 31-year-old, who has a 1.95 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. At 38 years old, Paul Goldschmidt has a .900 OPS and ranks second on the team in slugging behind only star first baseman Ben Rice. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the offense as a whole isn’t producing lately, and they’ve lost eight of their past 11 games. The Phillies desperately needed outfield help after Adolis García went down to injury. Enter journeyman Derek Hill, who’s hitting .313 in his 13 games with the Phillies, won the game last Wednesday with a pinch-hit home run and made possibly the catch of the year on Friday. The Braves have now lost 12 of their last 16 games, but their bullpen is 20-7 with an MLB-best 2.77 ERA this year. Raisel Iglesias will likely be the All-Star from that unit, but Robert Suarez and Dylan Lee both have ERAs under 1.00 while leading all relievers on the team in innings pitched. Jake Bauers has an OPS over .900 against righties this year, while Andrew Vaughn has an OPS over 1.200. Together, they’re making for a dynamite platoon at first base. Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers’ sixth starter, leads the team with nine wins and has a 2.71 ERA that ranks eighth among all qualified National League pitchers.