By John Curtis White
We are now officially about half way through the 2026 MLB season and a lot of things have happened. The Braves and Rays have come back after having tough 2025 seasons, the Dodgers remain amazing, some stars have fallen off, while others have come out of nowhere. Here are some players who were either great last year and not great this year, or players who were injured or not great last year but really great this year.
First, Ronald Acuna Jr. has been underwhelming this year. Last year Acuna Jr., playing in only 95 games (coming back from ACL tear) was amazing. He hit 21 home runs while having a .290 batting average, and had 98 hits.Those stats would have put him on pace to 36 home runs, and 167 hits. This season, Acuna Jr. in 53 games has had 7 home runs, a .251 batting average, and 49 hits. If he played in all 162 games, his stats would be 14 home runs and 100 hits for the season. Although Acuna Jr. has been great in the field with a .991 fielding percentage, his bat has not been great.
Next, Cal Raleigh has not been the same as he was last year. In the 2025 season Raleigh was one of the best hitters in baseball. In 159 games he hit 60 home runs, 125 RBIs, and a .247 batting average. This season not as much can be said for Raleigh who is batting .168 which is the worst of his career, 8 home runs, and 21RBIs. These stats put him on pace to have 16 home runs and 43 RBIs. Although Raleigh had a historic 2025 season, this season he has struggled.
After that, there have also been some players who were bad last year but are great this year. One of them, in my opinion, is Samuel Basallo. Last year Basallo had 4 home runs, .165 batting average, and 15 RBIs in only 31 games. This year Basallo has popped off. In 71 games Basallo has hit .251, with 12 home runs, and 36 RBIs in only 31 games. That projects him to have 24 home runs and 69 RBIs. To put that into perspective, last year Basallo hit 4 home runs, had 12RBIs, and only hit .165. Even though Basallo had a tough 2025 campaign, he has bounced back amazingly leading to a great start to the 2026 season.
Finally, Bryce Miller of the Seattle Mariners has bounced back very impressively from 2025. Last season Miller was considered a very bad pitcher, having a 5.68 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and an opponent batting average of .267. However, this season Miller has been fantastic. This season so far Miller has posted a 1.97 ERA, a .072 WHIP, and an opponent batting average of .178.
Even though Miller had a very off year in 2025 he has bounced back tremendously improving his stats so much that it looks like something out of a video game.
In conclusion, some players have had an under whelming start to their 2026 season, but some other players have had a comeback year. While sometimes players have an off year, or some players have an up year. Other times it is a sign showing the start of the end for players. Which I don’t believe is the case for any of these players.
