Who is this year's Mr. October? Tracking the playoff MVP for 2026 - ESPN

Who was the hero of the 2026 MLB playoffs?

To try to answer to that question, we tabulated the cumulative win probability added figures for every player in the postseason. But this year we added a twist: The deeper we got into the playoffs, the more weight the WPA carried. The division series counted double the wild-card round, then we doubled it again for the championship series and, finally, once again for the World Series.

After all that, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby lapped the field. He wasn't named MVP of the World Series, but if there was an overall playoff MVP — which there should be — Ashby would have been in the running.

His 18 shutout innings were the foundation of Milwaukee's stifling championship-level run prevention during its title run.

World Series Game 5 hero: After a grueling, 12-inning Game 4, the Brewers really needed Jacob Misiorowski to be their Game 5 hero. He came through. Misiorowski threw 5⅔ scoreless innings, shrinking the load for the tired bullpen behind him and making sure they had a lead to protect. Misiorowski didn't blow away the Tampa Bay Rays, but we're not talking a sore-armed Dizzy Dean in the 1938 World Series here. He wasn't getting by on guile alone, but lightning stuff he flashed until a leg issue forced him from the game. Long after, when manager Pat Murphy finally got to the media conference room, he said, «I got news for you — he's not even scratching the surface of how good [he] can be.» Be afraid, hitters. Be very afraid.

As mentioned above, each player's win probability added (WPA) is tracked on a per-game basis. Each round of the playoffs counts double that of the previous round. The tabulation is then converted to an AXE-style index in which 100 represents the