Who is hero of the 2026 MLB playoffs?

To try to answer to that question, we're tabulating the cumulative win probability added figures for every player in the postseason. But we've added a twist: The deeper we get into the playoffs, the more weight the WPA carries. The division series counts double the wild-card round, then we'll double it again for the championship series and, finally, once again for the World Series.

This means that players who shine in the early rounds can still get on the leaderboard, but it's more difficult. Coming through when the championship leverage is at its highest is what becoming an October hero is all about.

Saturday's hero: For the third straight time since these rankings were put together, the answer is a player from the Cleveland Guardians. This time, believe or not, it's not Jose Ramirez (on many nights, it would have been, based on his performance). But the WPA lens sees Gavin Williams' dominance over 5 2/3 terse innings as having the highest impact of the night. Ramirez's pitching-wedge homer in the fourth will be talked about for a long time in Cleveland, but it was Williams who started the record-setting strikeout parade for the Guardians' staff, reaching 12 before giving way to his bullpen.

Methodology

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 average for all postseason players. The "Change" column looks in the changes in AXE numbers from the previous day for players who were in action. You can sort this column by clicking on it to see the day's heroes.