By that, we mean let us now, as the Major League Baseball calendar approaches September and we prepare to put full focus on the various and sundry playoff races, take time to talk about the most disappointing players of the 2026 season to date. These are, as you would expect, the notable players who have fallen short of reasonable expectations by the widest margins. Sure, an otherworldly final five weeks or so of regular season could lift them into adequacy, but thus far these seven players to come have been surprising flops this year.
We come not to condemn but rather merely to observe. Now prepare to be disappointed. In no particular order, just like the alphabet … The Seattle catcher last season walloped 60 home runs and finished second in the American League MVP vote.
Only Peak Aaron Judge could keep Raleigh away from the hardware. That wasn't out of nowhere, either, as Raleigh logged 30-homer seasons in both 2025 and 2024. That's elite production, especially from a strong defensive catcher.
The 2026 season, though, hasn't gone Raleigh's way. In 98 games this year, he's slashing .167/.282/.336 with 17 home runs, three of which came on Monday night. Compounding matters is that, according to Statcast measurement, Raleigh in 2026 has also taken a major step back defensively.
It seems like a long time ago that Vlad Jr. hit 48 home runs as a 22-year-old. Coming off a productive 2025 season and 2025 playoffs that saw him power up, Guerrero has shed home run power like never before. At present, he's slugging just .356 -- an appalling figure for a first baseman (signed to a $500 million contract -- with just seven home runs in 117 games.
It's been more than a calendar year since Guerrero has hit a regular-season home run at home. There are many reasons the Blue Jays have backslid so much since the end of the World Series, but Vlad's power outage may be the biggest reason of all. Yes, the Dodgers may well wind up hoisting the World Series trophy for a third straight year, but thus far Tucker has had little to do with their success in 2026.
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