Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the 2026 Major League Baseball Player of the Year award from Baseball Digest, on Friday. Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski claimed Pitcher of the Year honors, and San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller received the Reliever of the Year award following standout campaigns across the 162-game regular season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong Joins 40-40 Club en Route to Player of the Year Honors
Crow-Armstrong secured 21 of 24 first-place votes from a panel of 24 veteran baseball observers, which included journalists, broadcasters, former players, managers, and executives, according to official balloting details.
During the 2026 season, the 24-year-old outfielder batted .280 and appeared in all 162 regular-season games to help push the Cubs into a National League Wild Card berth. He clubbed 45 home runs, tying Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead, and added 41 stolen bases. That stat line made Crow-Armstrong just the seventh player in MLB history to achieve a 40-40 season, joining a group that includes Shohei Ohtani in 2024, Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023, Alfonso Soriano in 2006, Alex Rodríguez in 1998, Barry Bonds in 1996, and José Canseco in 1988.
Records show Crow-Armstrong also collected 31 doubles, making him the first center fielder in major league history to accumulate at least 40 homers, 30 doubles, and 30 steals in a single year. He led the majors with 119 runs scored, ranked second in OPS at .943, and finished fourth with 107 RBIs while playing elite defense. He is the seventh Cubs player to win the Baseball Digest Player of the Year award in its 58-year history, following Billy Williams in 1970, Ryne Sandberg in 1984 and 1990, Andre Dawson in 1987, Sammy Sosa in 1998, and co-winners Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in 2016.
Jacob Misiorowski Dominates Milwaukee Rotation to Claim Pitcher of the Year
Misiorowski earned 21 first-place votes for Pitcher of the Year after anchoring a Milwaukee rotation that captured the National League Central title with a major league-best 103-59 record.
The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 16-5 record with a major league-best 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts across 30 starts and 174.2 innings. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Misiorowski is one of only four pitchers in the last 50 seasons—from 1977 to 2026—to finish a year with at least 15 wins, 200 strikeouts, and an ERA under 2.00, joining Ron Guidry in 1978, Dwight Gooden in 1985, and Pedro Martínez in 1997 and 2000. His blazing fastball produced 1,172 pitches clocked at 100 mph or faster, marking 499 more than any pitcher recorded in a single season since pitch tracking began in 2015. He is the first Brewers player to win the honor.
Mason Miller Locks Down San Diego Bullpen to Secure Reliever Award
Miller captured the Reliever of the Year award—first presented in 2012 and handed out annually since 2015—after anchoring the back end of a Padres bullpen that also clinched a National League Wild Card spot. The 28-year-old right-hander received 18 first-place votes to outpace Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith in the voting.
Miller finished the 2026 campaign with a career-high 38 saves, tying St. Louis Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien for the most in the National League and ranking third across all of Major League Baseball behind Bryan Baker and Cade Smith. He went 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA, striking out 129 batters over 70 innings in 66 appearances. Those figures surpassed his previous workloads, clearing his 60 appearances split between the Athletics and Padres in 2025 and his 65 frames with Oakland in 2024. Miller joins Kirby Yates, who won in 2019, as the second Padres reliever to claim the Baseball Digest award.
Crow-Armstrong Leads Position Players as Pitchers Show Dominance
While Crow-Armstrong dominated the position player ballot with his power-speed combination and durability, the pitching awards highlighted extreme dominance in starting and relief roles alike.
Worth a look
