3 bold Rangers predictions for the 2026 season

Corey Seager places top 3 in AL MVP voting

Corey Seager could easily place in the top 3 in AL MVP voting in 2026. Last season, Aaron Judge posted 9.7 bWAR as the American League MVP. Seager posted 6.2 bWAR in just 102 games. That translates to 9.8 bWAR over 162 games. A full season from Seager last year may have propelled the Rangers to the postseason and allowed the shortstop to win the MVP over Judge.

This isn't the boldest take, as Seager finished in the top 3 in MVP voting two times in his career. A 5.3 bWAR season in 2016 had him finish third in NL MVP voting, and a 7.2 bWAR season over just 119 games in 2023 placed him as the runner-up to AL MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Defensively and offensively, Seager is as good as ever these days. As long as he has a full season, expect the five-time All-Star to make an MVP run.

Jacob deGrom wins AL Cy Young award

It'll be tough to beat Tarik Skubal in AL Cy Young voting, but if anyone can do it, it's deGrom. Last season, the 37-year-old righty pitched to an outstanding 2.97 ERA with 185 strikeouts and 37 walks in 172 2/3 innings across 30 starts with Texas.

Staying healthy has always been deGrom's biggest issue. But when he's healthy, he's easily among the best starting pitchers in baseball. As long as he's consistently on the diamond, the former Met has a more than decent shot to win his third career Cy Young award.

Rangers have top-10 offense in MLB

This is easily the boldest of the three predictions in the article. Last season, the Rangers' offense ranked 26th in MLB with an OPS of .683. Despite having the best ERA in the majors (3.47), the Rangers missed the postseason with an 81-81 record because of their lackluster offense.

However, it appears the Rangers' offense will be much better in 2026. Seager and Langford were both above-average hitters last season and should continue their success in 2026. Josh Smith was also solid last year, posting a 107 OPS+. Evan Carter barely played, but he still posted a respectable 114 OPS+ and has the potential to be an even better hitter, which we saw in 2023.

Newcomer Brandon Nimmo has hit at an above-average level in every full season he's played in the big leagues. The rest of the lineup has questions, but there are reasons to believe it could be great. Josh Jung, Jake Burger and Joc Pederson have proved in the past that they can be above-average bats. Also, Kyle Higashioka and Danny Jansen are a solid catching duo, hitting-wise. The Rangers' decision to get rid of Adolis García and Jonah Heim should significantly improve their offense, too.