One of the compelling features of any baseball season is the surprise campaigns that prove vital to a team's playoff hopes. It can be young players showing dramatic improvement. It can be veterans who unexpectedly figure things out or just have a year where everything clicks.
Last week we looked at the fallen stars of 2026 and the impact their down seasons had on their teams. Now, let's look at 10 players who leveled up this year how their seasons have changed the fortunes of their teams.
(For each player, we'll include their preseason projections from FanGraphs and then their current stats with Baseball-Reference WAR.)
Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Preseason: 9-8, 3.99 ERA, 135 IP, 155 SO, 1.8 WAR
2026 to date: 14-5, 1.95 ERA, 161.1 IP, 236 SO, 5.5 WAR
It's easy to say that we all saw this coming, but absolutely nobody saw this coming -- the absolute dominance, the 1,000-plus pitches at 100 mph or faster, including one at 105.5 mph, the fastest ever by a starting pitcher in the Statcast era. The preseason projections viewed Misiorowski as a talented but erratic young starter, which is what he was in 2025. Instead, in 2026, he has learned to keep his delivery in sync and improved his ability to command that blistering four-seamer.
Consider this: Misiorowski has walked 6.7% of the batters he faced; it took the incomparable control artist Greg Maddux until his fifth season before he got his walk rate below that. With that combination of stuff and control, Misiorowski has held batters to a .156 average, which would be the lowest ever by a starting pitcher.
How he has changed the Brewers' fortunes: Milwaukee's top four starters last season were Freddy Peralta, who was traded in the offseason to the New York Mets; Quinn Priester, who has sat out the season because of injuries; Chad Patrick, who has pitched primarily in relief; and Jose Quintana, who signed with the Colorado Rockies as a free agent. Those four starters combined for 104 starts for the Brewers in 2025 but only six in 2026 -- and yet, with an almost complete turnover in the rotation, Milwaukee starters rank fifth in the majors in ERA.
Misiorowski has led the way, of course, not only giving them an ace but also a better-than-forecasted workload, as he should end up with 180 innings or so. Without him leveling up, Chicago would be a lot closer to first place in the NL Central.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Chicago Cubs
Preseason: .252/.303/.456, 26 HR, 4.7 WAR
2026 to date: .281/.375/.574, 41 HR, 9.2 WAR
It's hard to improve on a 5.9-WAR season, which is what PCA put together last year when he finished ninth in the MVP voting, but he has soared past that with one of the best seasons in Cubs history in 2026. Nobody doubted his Gold Glove defense, but skeptics -- and projections -- saw a poor strikeout-to-walk ratio (155-to-29) and second-half slide (.634 OPS) and wondered about his offensive upside.
Crow-Armstrong got off to a slow start, with a .659 OPS through May 20, including 54 strikeouts and 15 walks. Then everything clicked. He made some mechanical changes, lowering his hands, standing more upright and instituting a bigger stride. No doubt, those changes have helped steer his production to MVP level, but he also started being more selective on his swings:
2025: 60.1% swing rate, 41.6% chase rate, 5.34 SO/BB ratio
2026 through May 20: 53.8% swing rate, 40.6% chase rate, 3.6 SO/BB ratio
2026 after May 20: 47.5% swing rate, 31% chase rate, 1.95 SO/BB ratio
Those improved swing decisions, in combination with his best-in-the-business defense, suggest PCA's breakout is the real deal -- and that he should be an MVP contender for years to come.
How he has changed the Cubs' fortunes: With PCA leading the way, the Cubs lead the majors in runs scored, as the offense has carried a pitching staff that has faced a long list of injuries in both the rotation and bullpen. Even though several Cubs regulars haven't hit as well as last season -- Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson -- they're still on pace to score about 60 more runs than in 2025. That hasn't been enough to keep pace with the Brewers, but it has kept Chicago comfortably in a wild-card position.
Cam Schlittler, RHP, New York Yankees
Preseason: 8-7, 4.01 ERA, 120 IP, 119 SO, 1.7 WAR
Season to date: 13-6, 2.01 ERA, 178.2 IP, 220 SO, 6.6 WAR
Schlittler's rise the past two years from unheralded prospect to Cy Young favorite has been phenomenal. He's putting together one of the best seasons ever for a Yankees starter -- no small achievement, given the franchise has had more than a little success in its history. He has given up one run or no runs in 20 of his 30 starts, already a franchise record, and has done so riding a heavy arsenal of upper 90s fastballs. He has thrown his four-seamer, cutter or sinker a combined 89.4% of his pitches -- and the league hasn't figured him out yet, as he has given up more than one run only once in his past nine starts.
How he has changed the Yankees' fortunes: Aaron Judge? Injured for much of the season. Max Fried? Sat out nearly half the season. Carlos Rodon? Sat out more than half the season. Gerrit Cole? Didn't make his first start until May 22. With that group of stars missing a lot of time, Schlittler probably deserves MVP consideration aside from the Cy Young Award. He has been the dominant force all season in a rotation that leads the majors in ERA. As the offense struggled without Judge, Schlittler helped keep the Yankees within shouting distance of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
Parker Messick, LHP, Cleveland Guardians
Preseason: 7-8, 4.04 ERA, 129 IP, 118 SO, 1.4 WAR
Season to date: 11-9, 2.53 ERA, 167 IP, 173 SO, 5.4 WAR
Messick looked good in seven late-season starts in 2025, maintaining his rookie status for 2026, but with a fastball that had averaged 92.8 mph, he was viewed as more of a crafty lefty who might provide rotation depth rather than a potential frontline starter. Instead, he has been one of the league's top starters this season. And that fastball? He has pumped his four-seamer velocity up to 94.3 mph. Via Statcast pitch value metrics, it has been the most valuable pitch in baseball at plus-26 runs saved -- one run better even than Misiorowski's four-seam fastball.
How he has changed the Guardians' fortunes: The rotation has kept the Guardians in the hunt for the AL Central title and a wild-card spot, ranking eighth in ERA and fourth in innings, as the offense and bullpen have had issues. Not only has Messick been excellent, he also has been durable, with the most innings by a rookie pitcher since 2019. As the Guardians have inched closer to the White Sox, Messick has been at his best, with a 2.05 ERA since the beginning of July.
Miguel Vargas, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Preseason: .238/.329/.406, 18 HR, 2.2 WAR
2026 to date: .248/.359/.477, 30 HR, 4.3 WAR
Vargas was coming off a 1.9-WAR season with the White Sox in 2025, and the forecasts predicted more of the same. Vargas has instead powered his way to a 30-homer season thanks primarily to one simple change: He's swinging harder. His average bat speed has jumped from 70.6 mph to 74 mph, which has resulted in harder contact and more balls flying over the fence. The key is that he has maintained his reasonably low strikeout rate while also improving his walk rate. He also leads the AL in runs scored, which no White Sox player has done in a full season since Johnny Mostil in 1925 (Tim Anderson tied for the lead in the 60-game season in 2020 and Frank Thomas led in the strike-shortened 1994 season).
How he has changed the White Sox's fortunes: The White Sox ranked 23rd in the majors with 165 home runs in 2025 -- and 27th in runs scored. With Vargas, Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami all having reached 30 home runs, the White Sox have hit 190 so far this season, which ranks sixth in the majors, and rank seventh in runs scored. The improved offense has ignited one of the most surprising seasons in White Sox history, with the club on the verge of making the playoffs only two years after a record-setting losing season in 2024.
Jordan Walker, RF, St. Louis Cardinals
Preseason: .239/.303/.387, 15 HR, 0.5 WAR
2026 to date: .282/.338/.490, 28 HR, 3.7 WAR
Once a top-10 overall prospect in the game, Walker hit well as a 21-year-old rookie in 2023 but then struggled the next two seasons with a .211 average and 69 OPS+. Expectations weren't high for 2026 -- even though he just turned 24 in May -- but he finally translated his elite bat speed into some big numbers, including reaching 100 RBIs, pulling the ball in the air more often and making a big improvement against off-speed pitches and breaking balls.
There is still room for improvement here as his chase rate (16th percentile) and whiff rate (12th percentile) lead to strikeouts and too many ground balls. His poor range in right field also drags down his overall WAR, although he does possess a powerful arm. If he can show PCA-like improvement in his swing decisions, Walker will do even more damage in the future.
How he has changed the Cardinals' fortunes: The Cardinals have exceeded expectations and hung close all season in the wild-card race, although it will take a miracle run to finish the regular season to grab a spot. Still, with Walker, JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson, there is now a young offensive foundation -- and Wetherholt and Masyn Winn might both win Gold Gloves for their sterling up-the-middle defense. The Cardinals have been searching for a young power hitter to build around since Albert Pujols, and Walker looks as if he'll be that guy.
Ty France, 1B, San Diego Padres
Preseason: .251/.320/.380, 3 HR, 0.2 WAR
2026 to date: .290/.360/.507, 20 HR, 4.2 WAR
Our first veteran on the list, France has had good seasons in the past, including a 4.2-WAR season with the Seattle Mariners in 2021, but he was worth just 0.4 WAR over the past two years as he played for four different teams. The Padres didn't even sign France until the middle of February -- and then only on a minor league contract. He made the roster after a strong spring training but started only one of the Padres' first 15 games before eventually becoming the starting first baseman.
What kind of season has he had? He's second to only Willson Contreras in WAR among all major league first basemen. The key: France has focused on hitting for more power, not only pulling the ball more often but hitting it harder when he does hit it in the air. He has done that while seeing his always-solid strikeout rate rise only five percentage points.
How he has changed the Padres' fortunes: "I don't think anybody would have guessed that coming out of spring training," manager Craig Stammen said earlier this season about France's success. Indeed, he has been the Padres' best hitter -- and while the lineup has been excellent since the All-Star break, it flailed before that, so France especially helped keep the Padres afloat in the first half.
They had ranked in the middle of the pack in offense at first base in 2025, but that was mostly Luis Arraez, who left as a free agent. France has filled what could have turned into a black hole, and without him, the Padres would be several wins behind the Diamondbacks in the wild-card race instead of neck-and-neck for that final spot.
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Preseason: 8-8, 4.21 ERA, 133 IP, 119 SO, 1.3 WAR
2026 to date: 15-5, 2.55 ERA, 173 IP, 128 SO, 5.3 WAR
Coming off their World Series appearance in 2023, the Diamondbacks signed the eight-year veteran Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million contract. The first two years didn't go well, as he went a combined 12-13, making only 10 starts in 2024, and had an ERA over 5.00 in each. This season has probably been a little fluky as he has given up a .269 average on balls in play -- well below his career mark of .304 -- and posted a 2.55 ERA despite a low strikeout rate. But he has made some changes to his pitch usage, throwing his changeup and curveball more often while dropping his four-seamer and cutter usage. That seems to have helped the effectiveness of his four-seamer, as batters are hitting .200 against it after a .287 average in 2025.
How he has changed the Diamondbacks' fortunes: They would be planning their offseason golf dates without him. The rest of the starting pitchers have combined for only 1.4 WAR and have gone 31-40. Lucky or not, Rodriguez's ERA is real -- and the Diamondbacks have gone 13-3 in his past 16 starts.
Jake Bauers, 1B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Preseason: .220/.322/.420, 12 HR, 0.7 WAR
2026 to date: .268/.395/.490, 24 HR, 3.0 WAR
Bauers was an interesting prospect, reaching Triple-A at age 21 in the Rays' system, but he had never posted an above-average OPS+ in the majors until last season. Indeed, it's surprising the Brewers kept him around after he hit .199 in 2024. Now 30 years old, you can't really classify this as a breakout, but his Statcast page has red all over it: 96th percentile hard-hit rate, 94th percentile bat speed, 98th percentile walk rate, 96th percentile in expected wOBA. He leads the National League in OBP and ranks seventh in the majors in OPS. Maybe it's a career season, but there is nothing lucky about how he's putting up the numbers.
How he has changed the Brewers' fortunes: The Brewers are still last in the majors in home runs, but Bauers leads the team while ranking second to Brice Turang in RBIs despite playing mostly against just right-handers. Like several of his teammates, he has performed exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, with a .989 OPS. He's also hitting .326 with a .991 OPS in high-leverage plate appearances, helping the Brewers to rank third in runs despite that lack of over-the-fence pop.
Though he's not a good defensive player, Bauers has at least provided versatility, starting 75 games at first base and 39 in the outfield. He's not the team MVP with Misiorowski around, but Bauers has given the Brewers a legitimate middle-of-the-order hitter against right-handed pitching.
Louis Varland, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Preseason: 4-3, 2 saves, 3.51 ERA, 0.6 WAR
2026 to date: 5-5, 33 saves, 1.26 ERA, 3.4 WAR
Considering how the Blue Jays' 2025 season ended -- with Jeff Hoffman unable to close out the lead in Game 7 of the World Series -- the ninth inning was going to be a key issue for the Jays this year. Hoffman started the season in the closer role again, but after three blown saves by mid-April, Varland took over and has produced one of the best relief seasons in Blue Jays' history, pumping 99-mph fastballs, a knuckle-curveball and a near-unhittable changeup. That combo has induced a high rate of grounders -- 97th percentile -- that has kept the ball in the park (only two home runs given up), a nice change from Hoffman's home run issues last season.
How he has changed the Blue Jays' fortunes: If Varland hadn't stepped up, who knows where the Jays would be. Yes, the mediocrity across the AL has kept them in the wild-card race, but considering the lineup has struggled all season and the rotation has battled injuries, the bullpen has been one area that manager John Schneider has been able to trust after those initial issues in April.