2026 BBWAA AWARDS finalists announced! 📢 (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year)

It's Parker Messick, the 25-year-old rookie. Great four-pitch mix, moves the ball in and out. Hey, struck him out. A career-best 12 strikeouts for Messick. Parker Messick has been a godsend. He's not afraid of anybody. About as good as any pitcher in the American League. Got him swinging! Another incredible night for the left hand. Strong! Now second in franchise history in strikeouts by a rookie. We can make a real case this is going to be on one of our award shows. The number two prospect in all of baseball is staying up. I love this guy. It's a four-hit day. Have a debut, kid. I love the way that he's approaching his at-bat. He plays as hard as anybody. Number one for Kevin! Kevin McGonigal got a fastball and did not miss. I can't even believe it was a debate whether to put him on the team. He's a shortstop. He's a third baseman. Oh, Kevin McGonigle, don't do it to him. I think they created the word precocious for him. He had a 7.1 WAR. It's Kevin McGonigle, and he's blowing out the field. Peyton Tolley. Who has no fear and a huge personality. One of the best rookie starters. He certainly deserves consideration. The stuff of an ace. Another K in the book for Tolley. Swing and a miss. He blew him away. Huge smiles. The strikeouts are racking up. 11 strikeouts. 12 strikeouts. 14 strikeouts for Tolley. Swing and a miss. This guy's must-see TV for me. Peyton Tolley is a joy to watch. The rookie has homered in his Mets debut on opening day. Just showing off now. He's been phenomenal. What about Peyton? Superman! Left his feet, full extension. What a catch! That's impressive. I mean, he seems to do something every day that is impressive. It's a beautiful catch! Psychopathic play by Benj. He becomes the first Mets rookie ever to put together a 2020 season. Wow, congratulations, young man. Sal wants all the smoke. These young superstars, they're coming into the league with a different type of edge, a different type of aura. The most prolific run producer in baseball comes through again. And Sal Stewart does what Sal Stewart does. And he has just broken the Reds' rookie RBI record. His 101st RBI of the year. Where would this ball club be without Sal Stewart? This is a big-time moment for J.J. Weatherholt, hopefully for the Cardinals. J.J. Weatherholt, sparkling. J.J. Weatherholt. Big fly for J.J. Weatherholt. J.J. Weatherholt. Wow! Huge play for the Cardinals rookie second baseman. J.J. Weatherholt coming through in the bottom of the 10th inning. The man from Mars puts one in orbit. J.J. as a rookie, man, he's got some intangibles. Dylan Cease starting his eighth major league season. They got him for the stuff. They got him for the swing and miss. Strikeout number 12. Dylan Cease is must watch TV every time he takes to the mound. Strikeout number 11. Got him. Perfectly located fastball. American League Pitcher of the Month in July. A masterful performance here at Fenway Park today. And a job well done by Dylan Ceas. In the thick of the AL Cy Young race. Well, Parker Messick makes his first start of the campaign. Extremely efficient for Parker Messick. Swing and a miss. Hey! Struck him out. Number nine. A no-hitter through eight for Parker Messick. Another incredible night for the left-hander. He has just been outstanding, an all-star, and he's been fun for you guys to watch. Got him swinging! What a way to finish it! Parker Messick, how many? He retires nine in a row. Parker Messick will get a lot of Cy Young votes. Schlittler is the most productive pitcher in baseball. Breaking ball struck him out. Strikeout number 10 for Cam Schlittler. Swing and a miss. There's the 10th strikeout for Schlittler tonight. Cam Schlittler is the man right now. He's the lead candidate for the American League Cy Young Award. Swing and a miss. A strong, strong finish and a strong eight innings for Cam Schlittler. He's been the most valuable player. player on the Yankees the entire season every time it's been bleeding a little bit he goes out and dominates the Miz. This is a big start for this young kid. Nine strikeouts a franchise record on opening day. Struck him out. He's got a dozen. Jacob Mizorowski was named National League Pitcher of the Week. Have a month of May Miz. Strike three. Raleigh at 1 0 5. That is the 1,000th pitch this year at 100 miles per hour or more. 250 strikeouts for Mitz. A generational pitcher in a legendary season. Sale to the mound, 14-9 during the regular season. Allowed three runs or fewer in his last 24 starts. Sale's got a strikeout. Absolutely incredible to see the domination from Chris Sale. He was as locked in as a NASA engineer on launch day. Got him swinging at a high fastball. 98 right on by him. All three rounds in this heavyweight bout have gone to Chris Sale tonight. A historic season for Chris Sale. Another great season for him. It's brilliant performance by Christopher Sanchez. Swing and a miss. He got him with a changeup. It's a pitch that makes that kid a stud on the mound for the Phillies. 13 strikeouts, a career high. Complete game shutout for Christopher Sanchez. One of the best months on the mound in franchise history. The all-time leader in scoreless innings for a left-hander. 50 and two-thirds scoreless. He knows he's good. He keeps getting better and better. Brian Baker has been a revelation for this team. He's been dominant. Got him swinging. And a swing and a miss. Baker. And boy, what a performance. Brian Baker dominant as always. Strike three called. Swing and a changeup. 24 consecutive saves. Got him swinging. Brian Baker nails it down. Brian Baker, what a story. You got to watch out for him. He'll sting you. So one of the elite closers in baseball, Cade Smith, just pure filth, Cade Smith, swing and a miss, book it, oh how sweet it is, swing and a miss, 98. Cade Smith, his major league leading, 20th save of the year. Cade Smith nails it down with a 1-2-3 inning. Cade Smith strikes out the side in the ninth. He went right at him with a fastball and said, here it is. Good night. Louis Varland has been nothing short of remarkable at the back end of this bullpen. Swung on and missed. And Varland gets it done. Got him on a fastball at 100. Number 35 on the season for Varland. Outstanding performance. Varland finishes it off by picking up the save, and he strikes him out. Strike three, and the Blue Jays win. And that's your ball game. Another save for Louis Varlin. Philly's closer. The tarantula. He is a strikeout machine. Swing and a miss. He got him. 13 for 13 in save opportunities. He is on fire right now. He's throwing 101 mile an hour bowling balls and then dancing off the mound. 100 career saves for Duran. This ain't fair, man. Uneventful ninth inning for Joad Duran to pick up the save. My goodness, Trevor McGill has been locked in here recently. Back-to-back 30 save campaigns for the righty. He's come to the Brewers and thrived. Struck him up and the ball. He has been on a roll as of late. He has been terrific. Blew him away. Fastball from Trevor McGill. Got it with the curveball! You can see the swing nowhere close. It was almost an impossible situation and just shuts the door. That was one of the most impressive saves I have seen. Mason Miller is a game changer. He's having An all-time great season. Maybe the greatest relief season in history. Swing and a miss. That's strike three frozen. High gas. Just nothing you can do. He's so good. They strike him on. The Padres win. Locked him up with a slider. Swing and a miss, and he got him. This is why Mason Miller is in this spot. He struck out 129 this year. The Grim Reaper, does anything beat this? Jordan Alvarez is the best hitter in 2026. He is the one guy that can put a team on his shoulders. Did he do it? An absolute beast. Number 40 for number 44. Grand slam! An MVP swing from Alvarez. Oh, man. This guy is just inhuman. Good! He's done it again! This guy is awesome. MVP season for Air Jordan. Junior Caminero, 42 home runs. 101 RBIs, he's going to get MVP votes. Junior Caminero comes through big time. Caminero has as much power as anybody in the game. Caminero does it again. Junior Caminero is the biggest, brightest superstar in the league. Caminero is there, makes a catch. The Rays MVP is Junior Caminero. And certainly in the conversation for league MVP. An electrifying moment. Who else but Junior? If I've got to buy season tickets and I want to be entertained, Kansas City is the place to be because Bobby Witt is all-encompassing. He'll touch them all with one swing. Plays the game hard. He's always dirty. You know, he's got that Pete Rose mentality the way he plays the game. Put this man in motion. 45 stolen bases on the season. He can fly. He's just electric, and he just feels like the best player in the field. What a play from Bobby Witt Jr. Talk about tools. He's the definition of all of them. Tinker Armstrong has had an unbelievable season. He is the guy right now. Home run, Pete Crow-Armstrong, PCA all the way, he has embodied the city of Chicago, and he made the catch, oh wow, all game, PCA, and it's the PCA show here at Wrigley, he's done it, 40-40 for the soon to be MVP, the 7th player in the history of Major League Baseball, pretty much a lock at this point, I mean it's his year. Shohei Ohtani knows how to bring the fans to their feet. We can only compare Shohei to himself. This ball is absolutely incinerated. His offense just has overshadowed how good he is on the mound. Swing and a miss. He's up to 10 punch outs. The greatest ball player I'll ever lay my eyeballs on. First pitch of the game, the pitcher hits it out. He's just showing off once again. He is the show that never ends. The Brewers are in good hands with Bryce Turang. This is America's second baseman. Bryce Turang, a rising star in this game. He continues to improve his game year in and year out. Goodbye, Bryce Turang. Oh, that's incredible. This is big-time power. This is count, leverage, pop. Bryce Terong, far and away the best second baseman in baseball. One of the best defenders, if not the best at the position. Spectacular play by the Platinum Glove Award winner. The greatest season we have seen by a second baseman in franchise history. I'm wondering.