MLB Fun Score Projections

Thirty players on pace to have the most entertaining seasons in 2026.

Some of you might remember: A couple of years ago, Tom Tango and I (well, mostly Tom) came up with what we called the Fun Score — where we determine who is the most fun everyday player in baseball based on the things they do.

I’ve made a few adjustments to it to suit my own personal feelings about fun, so here is the formula that I’m using:

• Unintentional walks and hit-by pitches: 1 fun point

• Singles: 4 fun points

• Doubles: 8 fun points

• Triples: 15 fun points

• Home runs: 12 fun points

• Stolen bases: 6 fun points

• Caught stealing: 1 fun point

I have made triples more fun than home runs — even though Tango’s surveys have consistently found that fans prefer homers to triples — and I have removed the strikeout from the fun formula, even though I do follow Tango’s logic about including them (his idea is if we think strikeouts are fun — and we do — then the batter’s contribution to the strikeout has to be part of the formula).

Anyway, that’s the simple formula. And here, based on their 162-game projections, are the 20 most fun players in baseball this year.

1. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City, 1,496 fun points

Witt projects to have 43 doubles, 21 home runs, and 49 stolen bases this year. I think the formula nailed this one … Witt is the most fun player in the game right now, and that’s BEFORE you take into account his defense. The Royals have been a disappointing bunch in the first quarter of the season, but if you watch them play for an entire game, you WILL see Bobby Witt Jr. do something jaw-dropping.

That’s saying something, by the way. I’ve been paying closer attention to the NBA playoffs this year because of the soon-to-be-eliminated Cleveland Cavaliers, and what strikes me about basketball is how much the game is built around the stars. Wemby is EVERYTHING. SGA is EVERYTHING. Donovan Mitchell is EVERYTHING. Jalen Brunson is EVERYTHING. You are constantly aware of them, even if they aren’t on the floor. The NFL is like that, too; it’s obviously a team game but the quarterback is the protagonist.

Baseball, as we know, doesn’t work that way: The biggest star is just one of nine. He comes up only when it’s his turn, and he will likely only come up four or five times. There might be runners on base. There might not. The pitcher might challenge him. The pitcher also might pitch around him. On Sunday, Shohei Ohtani came up five times. He went 0-for-3 with two walks. He didn’t score a run. He didn’t drive in a run. And the Dodgers won easily anyway. That couldn’t happen to a mega-star in the NBA. The shape of the sport is just different.

So a baseball player like Bobby Witt Jr., who gives you something memorable on offense or defense in just about every game he plays, is a gift.

2. Jordan Walker, St. Louis, 1,478 fun points

Sky Walker projects to hit 35 doubles, 48 home runs and steal 22 bases. He leads the National League in OPS+ and total bases. I was pretty critical of how the Cardinals developed Walker — calling him to the bigs at 21, sending him down almost immediately to work on his defense, bringing him back up, and then having him bounce up and down from the majors to the minors for the next two years. But this is the wonder of youth: Walker is still only 24 years old, and he’s figured out some things, and now he’s just a blast to watch.

3. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 1,473 fun points

Projects to hit 37 doubles and 37 home runs. He’s not really gotten it going on the bases yet — he’s stolen nine bases and been caught five times — but Elly is a party every time he takes the field.

4. Corbin Carroll, Arizona, 1,466 fun points

I’m not going to lie — I thought Carroll would be on top of this list because of the triples. He has EIGHT already, more than double anybody else, and is on pace to hit 25, which would be the most for any player since, get this, Kiki Cuyler exactly 100 years ago. A few years ago, in 2019, Nick Offerman, Mike Schur, and I became obsessed with Nick Castellanos and all the doubles he was hitting. He ended up with 58. I think we need this year to concentrate all our energies on Corbin Carroll and triples.

5. Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh, 1,406 fun points

We’ve all been saying for years that if Oneil Cruz ever figured out how to play baseball, he would be one of the most thrilling players in baseball history. Well, it wouldn’t be exactly right to say that he’s learned how to play baseball — he’s on pace to strike out an almost unthinkable 257 times, and his defense can be quite gruesome, but he’s pointing toward a 30-homer, 50 stolen base season because that’s the sort of talent we’re talking about.

6 and 7. Washington’s James Wood, 1,377 points, and CJ Abrams, 1,359 points.

I’ve been awfully hard on the Nationals for many, many reasons … but I have to admit that this team is better — and a lot more fun — than I was expecting. Wood is, of course, a treat; he’s on pace for 39 home runs, and Wood’s home runs are rocket ships. Abrams leads the league in RBI and is on pace for 30 homers. One negative: They have struggled defensively — they are both in the bottom 10 in outs against average. With Wood, I suppose you live with that, but I’m not sure how long the Nationals can keep Abrams at shortstop.

8. Otto Lopez, Miami, 1,356 fun points

I’m not sure who saw this one coming, but Lopez leads the league with a .337 batting average, and he’s on pace for 42 doubles, 6 triples, and 12 home runs.

9. Randy Arozarena, Seattle, 1,344 fun points

I come into every season thinking, “Is this the year that Randy Arozarena gives us the super-fun season we’ve been waiting for?” Well, maybe this IS the year — he’s on pace for 42 doubles and 42 stolen bases, and the American League West looks wide open, so there’s an opening for Arozarena to be the hero Seattle needs.

10. José Ramírez, Cleveland, 1,321 points

He’s off to a sluggish start, but even so, he leads the American League in stolen bases — he’s on pace to steal 60. José always finds a way to deliver.

11. Brice Turang, Milwaukee, 1,319 points

Someday, we’re all going to appreciate just how good and fun Brice Turang is. I mean, some of you might already appreciate it, particularly those of you in Milwaukee, but the rest of us will need to catch up. He was a six WAR player in 2024, he leads the league in on-base percentage right now, he’s on pace for 36 doubles, 23 homers, 29 stolen bases, and he’s a terrific defender.

12. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 1,302 points

You might have heard the Judge has been in a death-defying slump — that is until he hit a walk-off home run on Sunday. What you might not have heard is that even so he’s on pace to mash 52 home runs this year.

13. Sal Stewart, Cincinnati, 1,301 points

The Cincinnati Reds have a 22-year-old rookie named Sal Stewart who is on pace for a 30-homer, 30-stolen base season, and in his official photograph, he looks like someone who played for the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1887.

What I’m saying is that we are not talking NEARLY enough about Sal Stewart.

14. Xavier Edwards, Miami, 1,299 fun points

Wait, with Edwards and Lopez, do the Miami Marlins have the most fun double-play combination in baseball? Is that possible?

15. Matt Olson, Atlanta, 1,290 fun points

On pace for 51 doubles and 42 home runs. Olson just keeps trucking along.

16. Yordan Alvarez, Houston, 1,287 fun points

I’ve long contended that when Yordan’s right, he’s the scariest batter in baseball to face — scarier even than Aaron Judge — simply because there doesn’t seem to be any way to pitch him. That’s not to in any way knock Judge, who I think might just be the greatest power hitter we’ve ever seen. No, it’s just to say that with Judge, the fear is that you will make a mistake because nobody destroys mistakes the way he does. With Alvarez, you don’t have to make a mistake. He can pulverize the best pitch you have. He’s healthy again and leads the league in OPS.

17. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia, 1,286 fun points

The formula, alas, doesn’t take personality into consideration or Schwarbs would be even higher on the list. He’s on pace for 61 home runs.

18. Nick Kurtz, Sacramento, 1,276 fun points

Kurtz has now reached base in 47 consecutive games. This guy’s such a force; he leads the league with a .448 on-base percentage. He hasn’t really started stroking the ball yet, but he will. Here’s the call: Nick Kurtz will win the MVP award in the next five years.

19. Byron Buxton, Minnesota, 1,255 fun points

Alas, the years and injuries have taken away Buxton’s otherworldly athleticism — this guy was once Eric Davis, Usain Bolt, and Tyreek Hill rolled up into one — but he can still go on astonishing stretches. He has clubbed 11 home runs in his last 19 games.

20. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia, 1,251 fun points

It never really occurred to me that Harper is having a fun year, but I guess he is — he’s on pace for 31 doubles and 37 home runs.

Next 10 on the list:

21. Shea Langeliers, Sacramento, 1,247

22. Miguel Vargas, Chicago White Sox, 1,246

23. Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees, 1,230

24. Andy Pages, Los Angeles, 1,223

25. Ben Rice, New York Yankees, 1,216

26. Zach Neto, California, 1,212

27. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore, 1,208

28. Chandler Simpson Tampa Bay, 1,204

29. Daylen Lile Washington, 1,197

30. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles, 1,197