The first two rounds of the 2026 MLB postseason are nearly complete and three of the four Championship Series teams have been decided. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will again meet in the NLCS. For the ALCS, the Tampa Bay Rays await either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians.
The White Sox have a 2-1 lead in that Division Series. MLB hands out two (really three) awards each the postseason: World Series MVP and one MVP for each of the two Championship Series. There is nothing to recognize the best player in the Wild Card Series or Division Series though, and we're here to right that wrong.
Here are our hypothetical Wild Card Series MVPs and now here three of our four Division Series MVPs. This ALDS matchup has not yet been decided. The White Sox have a 2-1 series lead and can punch their ticket to their first ALCS since 2005 as soon as Thursday night.
The Guardians will look to become the first team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in the ALDS since Cleveland themselves blew a 2-0 series lead in 2017. Check back for our hypothetical ALDS MVP when this series ends. The Rays swept the Yankees but the series wasn't really lopsided.
Tampa won two one-run games and a three-run game, and they needed New York to kick the ball around like Little Leaguers in Game 2. Three of their five runs that game were unearned. The Rays hit .208/.255/.344 in the three-game sweep.
Not exactly a powerhouse offensive showing, you know? Jonathan Aranda has strong ALDS MVP case. He went 4 for 12 in the three games and hit the solo homer that gave the Rays a 1-0 win in Game 1.
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