Stock Watch: 2026 first-half MVPs for all 30 MLB teams - ESPN

Welcome to Major League Baseball's version of the middle.

One of the quirky aspects about MLB's annual All-Star Game is that the exhibition has long been referred to as the «Midseason Classic» when in reality, by the time it's played, around 60% of the schedule is already in the books. Quick reminder: By definition, half of anything is 50%.

We love it anyway, so much so that we divide season statistics into «first half» and «second half» distinctions in the splits, with the point of separation being the break. Cal Ripken Jr. played 162 games in most seasons of his career, yet his splits reflect 222 more games on the first-half line of his career record than on the second-half line. Oh well!

While we somehow can't agree on the literal definition of the word «half» in baseball, we can at least agree that this time of the year is given over to the recognition of baseball's best-performing players. That's what the All-Star Game is all about.

Stock Watch is about teams, but we always dedicate our July version to the players, aligning with the spirit of the midseason. To that end, we've identified a first-half MVP for each club. In addition, we counted up the number of All-Star-level players on each roster, commenting on what that total says about each team's first-half performance and its roster construction.

Win average: 106.2 (Last Stock Watch: 104.1, second)
In the playoffs: 100% (Last: 100%)
Champions: 36.1% (Last: 25.3%)

This Stock Watch is based on a roster-forecasting model built from the neutral-context version of the Steamer projections from FanGraphs along with over/under lines and World Series/pennant odds in the betting markets. These were used to create a baseline win expectation for each team that served as the