With the Yankees and Giants on track to open the 2026 season tonight on Netflix and the rest of the league scheduled to follow suit tomorrow, it is time, for the 16th consecutive year, to look into my crystal ball and make my picks for the division, league, and major award winners for the upcoming season.
East: Blue Jays
Central: Tigers
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Yankees, Red Sox, Astros
AL Champion: Tigers
Cy Young: Tarik Skubal
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers began life in 1894 as part of the Western League and became a charter franchise of the American League in 1901, making them the oldest one city, one name franchise in the American League. I’ve seen 286 players wearing the Tigers uniform in the 65 of their games that I’ve attended live, including the second game ever, and my first game, at the new Comiskey Park and home games at both Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera | 9 |
| Nick Castellanos | 4 |
| Ryan Raburn | 3 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 3 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera | 30 |
| Nick Castellanos | 19 |
| Ryan Raburn | 19 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera | 19 |
| Ian Kinsler | 11 |
| Nick Castellanos | 10 |
| Austin Jackson | 10 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera | 22 |
| Ryan Raburn | 13 |
| Nick Castellanos | 11 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Jose Iglesias | 5 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 4 |
| Ian Kinsler | 4 |
| Alex Avila | 4 |
Triples Continue reading →
The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the recently completed baseball season, which will be announced next week. It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate. Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.
Most Valuable Player: Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Jose Ramirez
Judge has won this award two of the last three seasons and his performance in 2025, when healthy, would ordinarily merit a third, but I have to believe Cal Raleigh, who became just the seventh player to reach the 60-home run mark and the first to do so while catching over 1000 innings, will bring home the award.
Cy Young Award: Hunter Brown, Garrett Crochet, Tarik Skubal
With all due respect to Brown, this is a two-way race. Skubal seemed the obvious choice through much of the season, and I am guessing he will win, but Crochet probably made it much closer down the stretch.
Manager of the Year: John Schneider, Stephen Vogt, Dan Wilson
As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season. Schneider would be the obvious choice if voting were done today, after leading the Blue Jays within inches of a title. Dan Wilson should also get some support for finally pushing the Mariners past the Astros. But, if I had to guess, I would say Stephen Vogt will win, after the Guardians came out of nowhere to pass the Tigers for the AL Central crown after losing Emmanuel Clase to a gambling scandal mid-year.
Rookie of the Year: Roman Anthony, Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson
Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season. Kurtz should run away and hide with this award after knocking 36 home runs with an OPS+ of 173.
Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what in the 2025 MLB season. With the Division Series round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.
East: Red Sox
While the Red Sox returned to the postseason as a wild card, the Blue Jays managed to take home their first division title since 2015.
Central: Guardians
The Tigers held first place for most of the season, but a late September surge by the Guardians gave them the crown.
West: Mariners
Hey, that’s two right now. After years of falling short, the Mariners finally held off the Astros to take home their first division title since 2001.
Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles
Not a single correct guess here. The Twins and Orioles bottomed out, while the Rays hung around the race for most of the season, but couldn’t make a run. Instead, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers topped the wild card standings.
AL Champion: Guardians
Well, their hot run couldn’t last forever. Since the Guardians are out, the field looks to be wide open. What a story it would be for the Mariners to make their first World Series appearance.
Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
While Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner, Crochet has a chance to get some support here.
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
It’s going to come down to Rodriguez’s teammate Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge, who had another monster season.
The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the recently completed baseball season, which will be announced next week. It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate. Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.
Most Valuable Player: Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr.
While Witt led the league in hitting while posting a 30-30 season and leading the surprising Royals back to the post-season, Judge’s 58 home runs and 1.159 OPS, the highest number since Barry Bonds in 2004, should take this with no problem.
Cy Young Award: Emmanuel Clase, Seth Lugo, Tarik Skubal
In his breakout season, Skubal looks like the logical choice, winning the AL triple crown by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Manager of the Year: A.J. Hinch, Matt Quatraro, Stephen Vogt
As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season. Three teams from the AL Central made the post-season and all three of their skippers show up here. I’m guessing that A.J. Hinch, whose Tigers were left for dead before going on a tremendous stretch run to get into the playoffs, will get the award.
Rookie of the Year: Colton Cowser, Luis Gil, Austin Wells
Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season. The two Yankees both had impressive stretches throughout the season but also faced significant struggles at times. Cowser, meanwhile, tied for the rookie lead with 24 home runs and led AL rookies with a 123 OPS+, which should earn him the nod.
Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what. With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.
East: Rays
Well, after missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees stormed back to take the AL East crown. Meanwhile, the Rays struggled early and never really found their groove.
Central: Guardians
Would you look at that? I got one right, as the Guardians led a resurgent AL Central for most of the season.
West: Mariners
The Mariners did lead the division for a while, but, at the end of the day, the Astros managed to win the division for the fourth straight year and the seventh year out of the last eight.
Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees
I guess I can take solace in the fact that two of these choices are headed to the post-season, though as division champions. A surprisingly strong AL Central, thanks to getting to face the putrid White Sox many times, landed two Wild Card spots with the Royals and the Tigers. The Orioles snagged the top spot.
AL Champion: Yankees
The Yankees look to have the hardest path, having to face either the Tigers, the hottest team in baseball heading into the post-season, or the Orioles, against whom they lost eight of their thirteen contests this year. I hate to say it, but the Astros may make another appearance in the Fall Classic.
Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie
McKenzie struggled this year and split the year between Cleveland and Triple A Columbus. Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner.
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
Another wrong guess. Aaron Judge will probably take it home for the second time in three seasons.