While it’s rare to hear players be this vocal about specific goals in a season, it’s also the time of year when media members and fans alike make their bold predictions for the upcoming year. And while it might seem far-fetched for Chisholm to reach 50 homers and steals in a season, surely nobody was expecting Ohtani to reach those marks in 2024, or for Cal Raleigh to slug 60 homers last season.
Bold predictions are fun. What about even bolder predictions or goals that, perhaps unlikely, are not completely unreasonable? Here are seven bold(er) predictions we’d like to see come true from top players in the 2026 season.
Ohtani clubs 50 homers, strikes out 200 on the mound
Ohtani’s already crushed 50-plus homers in each of the last two seasons, so we know he’s capable of reaching that mark again. The 200-plus strikeouts as a pitcher may be trickier (especially if the Dodgers limit his innings in any way), but he did punch out a career-high 219 batters in 2022 with the Angels. It’s worth reiterating: Ohtani’s done the unthinkable on so many occasions that he could very well pull off something like this.
BWJ crushes 40 HR with new Kauffman Stadium dimensions
The Royals moved the fences in at Kauffman Stadium, a significant development for what was the second-most spacious park in the Majors. MLB.com’s Mike Petriello dove deep into the effects this would have for hitters and, you guessed it, it’s going to boost home runs in a big way. That’s good news for someone like Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt has homered 20-plus times in each of his first four seasons, including 30-homer seasons in 2023 and ‘24. After homering 23 times last season, he looks primed to significantly boost that total in 2026. Witt produces elite quality of contact — he’s one of six players with at least 200 barrels since 2023 — so the jump to 40 home runs might’ve already been in reach before the ballpark changes. After going 30-30 in 2023 and ‘24, maybe he gets to the 40-40 club this year.
Skubal punches out 300 hitters
Tarik Skubal is coming off consecutive AL Cy Young Awards so it’s hard to imagine him leveling up even more. Yet, the dynamic left-hander is entering his final year before free agency, will pitch for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and is the focal point for a Tigers club poised for big things this season.
Skubal struck out 241 batters last season after punching out 228 hitters in 2024. The fact that Skubal did so in just under 200 innings in each of those seasons lends some optimism for a potential 300-strikeout season. Considering what’s at stake for Skubal and the Tigers this season, it’s not hard to envision the lefty pushing upwards of 200 innings. If that happens, maybe — just maybe — Skubal will become the first pitcher with 300 strikeouts in a season since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander in 2019.
Skenes posts a 10+ WAR season
Like Skubal, it’s hard to imagine Paul Skenes being any better. But the Pirates right-hander posted a 1.96 ERA across 320 2/3 innings in his first two seasons, a time in which most players are working through initial struggles in the Majors. Skenes looks like a generational talent and could very well raise his game even more in 2026 and beyond.
Ten-plus WAR seasons (using Baseball Reference’s version) used to be a little more common for pitchers — there are 121 such seasons — but they never exactly been common. Zack Greinke last did it in 2009 with 10.4 WAR for the Royals. Randy Johnson (2001-02) and Pedro Martínez (2000) are the only other pitchers in the 21st century to reach that mark.
Given that starting pitchers are throwing fewer innings than ever, it’s increasingly harder to cross that threshold, but Skenes could do it. He posted 7.7 WAR in 187 2/3 innings last year and 5.9 WAR in 133 innings in ’24. If Skenes raises his game further and pitches more than 200 innings, we might see the Pittsburgh ace reach 10-plus WAR.
Griffin goes 20-50 as a rookie
Konnor Griffin is MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect and possibly one of the best prospects in recent memory. There’s already buzz about the 19-year-old (he turns 20 in April) being the Pirates’ shortstop on Opening Day but even if that doesn’t happen, Griffin will surely play a major part in Pittsburgh’s plans for the season.
Griffin’s tools are incredibly loud — he hit 21 home runs and stole 65 bases in 122 MiLB games last year — and his overall skillset could translate fairly quickly to the Majors. If Griffin plays in 120-plus games in the Majors, there’s a real chance he flashes the kind of tools and production to make him an instant star. Only 15 players have reached 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases (done on 23 occasions) but Griffin has the power-speed combo to reach this mark.
Mason Miller strikes out half of the batters he faces
Three pitchers have struck out half of the batters they’ve faced in a season (minimum 50 innings pitched):
Mason Miller has the swing-and-miss stuff to join that club. Since becoming a full-time reliever in 2024, Miller has struck out an MLB-best 43.1 percent of opposing hitters. After running a 41.8 percent strikeout rate in 2024, that number jumped to 44.4 percent last season.
Those strikeout numbers were even more staggering following his Deadline trade to the Padres last summer: Miller struck out 45 of the 83 batters he faced, good for a 54.2 percent strikeout rate. Entering his age-27 season as the closer for a competitive Padres club, Miller could be poised for a monstrous season.
One of the under-25 players hits 50 home runs
Ok, this prediction is a little more open-ended but there are a handful of young sluggers who could realistically hit 50 home runs. And in MLB history, there have only been six players younger than 25 (based on their age on the final day of the season) who have homered 50 times in a season:
That’s a limited and very rewarding group of players. In terms of who could join that club this year, there’s Junior Caminero (45 home runs in 2025), Nick Kurtz (36 home runs) and James Wood (31 home runs). Caminero nearly got there last season, but moving from Steinbrenner Field back to Tropicana Field might shave off some homers. Kurtz will remain in the friendly confines of Sutter Health Park and will be on the roster for a full season, which might make him the best bet to reach that mark.
