Strength of pitching might be what separates the 2026 World Baseball Classic favorites from the rest of the field like it was in 2023, but make no mistake: The best sluggers in the world will make sure to leave their mark on this year’s tournament.
FOX Sports Research ranks the top-10 hitters in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and to no surprise, the superstars of Major League Baseball are well-represented:
[WBC: Full World Baseball Classic Broadcast Schedule]
Fernando Tatis is a three-time All-Star. (Picture by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Photographs)
Since making his big-league debut in 2019, Tatis has introduced the juice. The shortstop-turned-right fielder is a menacing hitter from the appropriate aspect of the plate with mammoth energy. Tatis, who’s a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, led the Nationwide League with 42 residence runs in 2021, boasts a profession .513 slugging share and is among the many most electrical gamers within the sport.
Kyle Schwarber was the runner-up for the 2025 NL MVP Award. (Picture by Sam Hodde/Getty Photographs)
Talking of energy, Schwarber will likely be taking part in for Crew USA within the World Baseball Basic. The left-handed hitter has a stage, compact swing from the left aspect that generates an absurd quantity of energy and manufacturing. Final season, Schwarber totaled a Nationwide League-high 56 residence runs and 132 RBIs and posted a career-best .563 slugging share. He has averaged 46.8 residence runs and 108.5 RBIs per season from 2022-25.
Ronald Acuna stole an MLB-high 73 bases in 2023. (Picture by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Photographs)
It is all about Acuna being wholesome, as a result of when the career-long Braves star is on the sphere, he is probably the most gifted gamers within the sport (Acuna has performed fewer than 100 video games in three of the final 5 seasons). Acuna, who received the 2023 NL MVP and boasts a profession .524 slugging share, is an impression hitter who hits for each contact and energy and wreaks havoc on the basepath. He is a three-time Silver Slugger and five-time All-Star.
Julio Rodriguez was the 2022 AL Rookie of the 12 months. (Picture by Mark Blinch/Getty Photographs)
Rodriguez can do all of it. He can hit for each contact and energy, runs effectively, has a believable arm and is a terrific heart fielder. The face of the Mariners for the higher a part of his MLB profession (2022-present), Rodriguez has earned three All-Star nods, blasted 30-plus residence runs in two seasons and posted a career-high 6.8 wins above alternative in 2025, a season which noticed Seattle come one win wanting profitable its first AL pennant; Rodriguez hit 4 residence runs throughout Seattle’s 12 postseason video games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a five-time All-Star. (Picture by Luke Hales/Getty Photographs)
Guerrero is likely one of the most harmful hitters that MLB has to supply. Simply take this previous postseason, because the Blue Jays star totaled eight residence runs and 15 RBIs, whereas posting a .397/.494/.795 slash line. Guerrero, a two-time Silver Slugger, is a balanced hitter who has quite a lot of energy but additionally seldom strikes out and can lay off pitches. In 2021, Guerrero, a profession .288 hitter, was the runner-up for the AL MVP Award.
5. Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh (USA)
Cal Raleigh’s 60 residence runs in 2025 have been essentially the most by a catcher in MLB historical past. (Picture by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Photographs)
Even earlier than a 2025 marketing campaign that noticed Raleigh hit an MLB report 60 residence runs for a catcher and be the runner-up for the 2025 AL MVP, Seattle’s backstop was already among the many finest at his place. A switch-hitter, Raleigh averaged 32 residence runs per season from 2023-24 and was a Gold Glover in 2024. He is clean behind the plate, an impression hitter from both aspect of the plate and arguably one of the best all-around catcher within the sport.
Juan Soto is getting into the second season of an MLB-record $765 million contract with the Mets. (Picture by Jim McIsaac/Getty Photographs)
Lots of the compliments that one may give Soto in his 2018 rookie season are the identical as those which are given to him within the current. He is an elite hitter who works the depend, drives the ball to all fields and is battle-tested in postseason play. Soto, a six-time Silver Slugger with 42.6 wins above alternative for his profession, is disciplined within the batter’s field, slugs at a excessive charge, hit 42 residence runs per season from 2024-25 and simply stole an NL- and career-best 38 bases in 2025.
Bobby Witt Jr. is a two-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glover. (Picture by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Photographs by way of Getty Photographs)
Witt is a power to be reckoned with. He is an extra-base-hitting machine who creates noise on the bases, has turn into an elite shortstop and averaged 8.3 wins above alternative per season from 2024-25. Witt has led the AL in hits in every of the final two seasons, whereas profitable the 2024 AL batting title (.332) and main the AL with 47 doubles in 2025. Furthermore, over his four-year MLB profession (2022-25), Witt has averaged 26.3 residence runs, 93.3 RBIs, 37.0 stolen bases and 5.4 wins above alternative per season, whereas posting a mixed .290/.340/.504 slash line.
Aaron Choose hit an American League-record 62 residence runs in 2022. (Picture by Al Bello/Getty Photographs)
Looking for a weak point in Choose’s recreation is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The AL MVP in three of the final 4 seasons, Choose has terrorized opposing pitchers since his first full season within the huge leagues in 2017. He has a crisp, overwhelming swing and has led the AL in intentional walks in every of the final two years. Choose — who has totaled 50-plus residence runs in 4 seasons, 10-plus wins above alternative in two seasons and performs proper discipline at a excessive stage — has additionally led the AL in on-base share, slugging share, OPS, OPS+ and walks in every of the final two seasons. Choose has put himself in Yankees’ Mount Rushmore territory.
Shohei Ohtani is the one participant in MLB historical past to submit a 50-50 season, doing so in 2024. (Picture by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Images by way of Getty Photographs)
When Ohtani is hitting and pitching on the similar time — like he was final season — he is one of the best baseball participant on the planet. Sticking with the bat, he is a yr faraway from turning into the primary participant to submit a 50-50 season (50 residence runs and 50 stolen bases) in MLB historical past. Ohtani has elite power and energy from the left aspect of the plate, sending pitches which are up within the strike zone close to the concourse with ease. He has additionally led the NL in slugging share, OPS, OPS+ and runs scored in every of the final two seasons. Ohtani, who’s a four-time league MVP and has now received back-to-back World Sequence with the Dodgers, is a power on the plate, on the mound and on the basepath.
Honorable mentions:
- Arizona Diamondbacks IF Ketel Marte (Dominican Republic)
- Baltimore Orioles IF Gunnar Henderson (USA)
- San Diego Padres IF Manny Machado (Dominican Republic)
- Philadelphia Phillies IF Bryce Harper (USA)
- Chicago Cubs IF Alex Bregman (USA)
