Twins Daily Awards 2026: Most Valuable Player

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

There was no prototypical team MVP this season. Essentially no one on the roster met the standard of putting together a campaign that was both exceptional and complete, and that sort of tells the story of this year's 77-win team. With that said, in Twins Daily's voting, there was a clear-cut choice: Luke Keaschall edged the field by a fairly healthy margin to earn our nod as the best and most impactful player on the 2026 Twins. 

We'll cover why shortly, but first let's take a look at the balloting results, and the cases for the other candidates who fell short.

Twins Daily 2026 MVP Results

1. Luke Keaschall (31 pts)
2. Byron Buxton (22 pts)
3. Taj Bradley (18 pts)
4. Kody Clemens (17)
5. Brooks Lee (8)

Also receiving votes: Joe Ryan (4), Ryan Jeffers (4), Josh Bell (1)

Within these results, you can see some indicators of different preferences and styles. Bell, Lee and Clemens excelled in the more traditional categories, ranking first, second and third respectively in RBIs, and also in the top four for home runs. These were the steadiest producers all year long. But it would be hard to describe any of their seasons as "exceptional" — none finished with an OPS+ above 110, or with even three Wins Above Replacement. 

On the flip side, you have a number of players who were very exceptional, but only for stretches of the season. Ryan and Jeffers played like All-Stars for much of the first half, but missed significant time with injuries and slumped into the finish line. 

Buxton was an even starker example of this dynamic, making his second consecutive All-Star team and playing at a borderline MVP-caliber level before his hip injury first sidelined him in late July. It was not pretty the rest of the way: .179/.304/.231 with no homers and one RBI in 46 plate appearances in August, then nothing in September. Still, his exemplary work up until that point was enough to make him runner-up in our voting. 

To me, the strongest case outside of Keaschall was Bradley, who I ranked No. 1 in my own personal ballot. His was healthy, he was a horse, and he was impactful: 31 starts, 178.1 IP, 3.82 FIP, 205 strikeouts. He led the team with 4.4 bWAR and the Twins went 18-13 with him on the mound. But I get that a 3.73 ERA doesn't exactly scream "elite," and also many people are reluctant to prioritize pitchers in MVP voting since they get their own award, which is fair.

So it feels like almost a process of elimination that elevates Keaschall to the top. With that said, I don't want to undersell the quality of his season, and I won't. Let's dig into the performance that made Keaschall deserving of our top award for the 2026 team.

Recovering From a Slow Start

Keaschall was drawing big buzz entering this season, coming off a rookie year that drew plenty of praise (including TD's Rookie of the Year nod). MLB Network's Matt Vasgersian, for example, named him as a preseason AL MVP candidate. But a cold start threw some chilly water on the Keaschall hype train.

 

The 23-year-old slumped through the first month, finishing April with a .217/.267/.275 slash line. Derek Shelton took it in stride. “The least of my concerns right now is Luke Keaschall,” he said in the early going. Smart man. 

Keaschall turned a corner right around the start of May and never looked back, slashing .301/.402/.446 with 24 doubles, four triples, nine homers and 13 steals in 489 plate appearances after the end of April. His offensive game was particularly potent in the second half; from July 1st through the end of the year, Keaschall ranked sixth in baseball with a .406 wOBA, trailing only Yordan Alvarez and Pete Alonso among AL hitters.

The recovery was enough to make Keaschall's overall numbers for the season quite strong. His 120 OPS+ was best for any Twins hitter with 450+ plate appearances, and his 3.0 fWAR led the club. 

 

Taking the Lead

The biggest development of Keaschall's season, from the team's perspective, was his entrenchment of the leadoff spot. He opened the year batting third, then got knocked down to the lower part of the order due to his early struggles. 

Despite Shelton's stated confidence, it took a long stretch of sustained excellent performance to convince the manager to shift Keaschall back toward the top of the lineup. On August 17th, Keaschall made his first career start in the leadoff spot, and from there, he didn't budge. With the exception of one late-season start in the two-hole behind leadoff man Walker Jenkins, Keaschall hit leadoff in every game after mid-August. 

It's tough to see him moving anywhere else. Keaschall is an ideal leadoff man, capable of taking good at-bats, hitting for average, drawing walks, and running the bases. He set a new franchise record getting hit by 23 pitches. His on-base percentage from May 1st onward (.402) ranked second only to Alvarez among AL hitters.

Keaschall is a natural atop the order. And his move there coincided with another one defensively that helped greatly bolster his overall value.

Finding a Defensive Home

One of the biggest factors working against Keaschall in this conversation, aside from the slow start, is his defensive impact. For much of the season, it was hugely negative. He spent the first half at second base and was among the worst fielders in the league there. In July the Twins tried shifting him to center and it was beyond ugly. But in mid-August, at almost the exact same time he switched to leading off, Keaschall relocated permanently to right field and immediately looked a lot better.

There were still some moments of inexperience on display — odd reads, questionable throws — but Keaschall was a reasonably effective right fielder at worst. Per Defensive Runs Saved, he was worth plus-1 runs in 450 innings there after posting a negative-4 in 630 innings at second.

 

The damage done by his glove in the first half can't be ignored, and in a stronger team MVP field it might have cost Keaschall the top spot. But again, there was no perfect player on this year's Twins. What excites me most is that down the stretch, he basically was that.

Bigger Things to Come?

Once Keaschall settled in as everyday leadoff hitter and right fielder, he was phenomenal. From August 17th through the end of the year he was a top-20 MLB player in fWAR. The power emergence was a particularly encouraging development: In August and September, Keaschall homered six times with 22 extra-base hits and a .524 slugging percentage. Through the end of July he had four home runs and a .344 SLG.

A guy who holds his own defensively while batting over .300 with elite on-base skills AND some power? That's not only a worthy team MVP, but a potential league MVP. We didn't see that player all year, but we consistently saw it in the second half and that's what really cemented Keaschall's case. 

Who's your pick for team MVP? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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[FlyingFinn]

The way he started the season, to be the Twins MVP is incredible!

[DJL44]

Taj Bradley and it isn’t particularly close. Buxton 2 and Jeffers 3. Clemens 4th. Keaschall was a disaster on defense for most of the season.

[DJL44]

Matt Wallner for LVP

[Twins GFP]

Here's hoping that he maintains, or even grows, instead of dropping off (Lewis, Wallner).

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Taj Bradley and it isn’t particularly close. Buxton 2 and Jeffers 3. Clemens 4th. Keaschall was a disaster on defense for most of the season.

I agree that Bradley should get consideration! I agree Keaschall’s defense is a problem, to say the least………..3rd most effective offensive player in the A.L. for the last 3 months coupled with 3.0 WAR (inclusive of his defense being a negative with WAR) are too much of a big deal to ignore or discount.

To me …… Keaschall - Bradley - Clemens …… Bell.

AVAILABILITY, and the lack of with Buxton & Jeffers, is a big deal ……. having good numbers for 3 months & not playing much at all the other 3 months is not worthy to be in an MVP conversation. ……… same with Jeffers missing 2+ months. Bell had enough RBI and was available whenever called upon, essentially daily……..Bell helped win a bunch of games! Clemens hitting with power and playing 3-4 positions, as needed, gets him in the mix.

[Bracky]

I really like Luke. But have a hard time seeing Clemens and Bradley as being more deserving of MVP.

[DJL44]

15 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

AVAILABILITY, and the lack of with Buxton & Jeffers, is a big deal ……. having good numbers for 3 months & not playing much at all the other 3 months is not worthy to be in an MVP conversation.

When Buxton and Jeffers were in the lineup and hitting the Twins won. Without them, the Twins lost. Pretty compelling case for their value right there. Beats someone who showed up and was mediocre all season.

[killercarewoliva]

Josh Bell received one vote. I thought the object of the game was to score runs. now somebody will write back. well there's a lot more to it than just scoring runs. you have defense. he doesn't play defense. he put 96 runs on the board. I'm not sure but I think second to that was 81. most valuable player is Josh Bell and please sign him for next year because this team's not going to replace 96 runs batted in that easy.

[Andy MacPhail]

I'm sorry but Keaschal few good plays in the OF, Buxton makes looks very routine. I know that Buck didn't look good playing injured, but he was elite when he was healthy. His stats were on top of the teams totals even considering his incomplete playing time. IMO, if we remove entirely Buxton's impact on the team (no matter how incomplete it was) compared to Keaschal, Clemens, Lee or Bell's; the team would suffer the most. That's the definition of team's MVP.

[Blyleven2011]

I really liked Kody Clemens defense wherever he played and his production at the plate was enough for consideration though he kind of fizzled towards the end of the season …

keaschall is a fun player to create excitement on the bases , his defense will improve in right field , better than wallner but we were spoiled by Kepler …

morris was very good until he fizzed towards the end of season …

we didn’t have a player that was consistent for the whole season …

Players either had a good start and fizzed or a slow start and managed to elevate their game …

no mention of Bell , I guess RBIs really don’t matter …

 

[mikelink45]

I really like Keaschall and I think he will be okay in the field if left at one position.  I too would have had Bradley first, but on a team that underperformed all over the diamond, Keaschall was definetly the most consistent and potentiall most importand bat.  The difficulty in finding an MVP when a team has a losing record is defining what is valuable.  

[jmlease1]

15 minutes ago, killercarewoliva said:

Josh Bell received one vote. I thought the object of the game was to score runs. now somebody will write back. well there's a lot more to it than just scoring runs. you have defense. he doesn't play defense. he put 96 runs on the board. I'm not sure but I think second to that was 81. most valuable player is Josh Bell and please sign him for next year because this team's not going to replace 96 runs batted in that easy.

Keaschall actually scored the most runs for the Twins: 86. Bell was second at 78, with Clemens at 74.

People don't take RBIs all that serious as a stat is because it's been shown over and over that they're more a result of opportunity than skill. Bell did ok as a DH for the Twins, but provides no defense, nothing on the bases and it's pretty hard to argue that he was one of the 5 best hitters on the team. As a hitter, he was closer to Brooks Lee than he was to Luke Keaschall. Bell did very well with his opportunities, but he damn well better when he spends the entire season hitting in the 3rd-5th slots. (Lee spent most of his season hitting 6th-9th)

Keaschall's a fine choice for MVP; I might have gone with Bradley who did a lot to hold the rotation together through all the injuries (not to mention a crappy bullpen). But I think Keaschall has a really bright future and had a very good year, especially once they pulled him off 2B.

[DJL44]

10 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I really like Keaschall and I think he will be okay in the field if left at one position. 

I think he will be okay if they move him to left field. That is the position that maximizes his athletic talent (speed) and minimizes his weakness (arm). If they play Keaschall in RF and put Jenkins or Rodriguez in LF I will spend some of my time next summer yelling at the television. This team has to stop causing self-inflicted problems on defense.

[Brandon]

Clemens extra value comes from playing good defense at multiple positions.  His ability to play CF was discovered out of necessity.  And he continually moved where needed.  

Morris and Gomez were probably under consideration until their last month or so of the season.

My vote would be for any of the top 5.  

[Patzky]

39 minutes ago, killercarewoliva said:

Josh Bell received one vote. I thought the object of the game was to score runs. now somebody will write back. well there's a lot more to it than just scoring runs. you have defense. he doesn't play defense. he put 96 runs on the board. I'm not sure but I think second to that was 81. most valuable player is Josh Bell and please sign him for next year because this team's not going to replace 96 runs batted in that easy.

Some people think you can just put anyone into that spot and he'll generate runs, just like you can just pencil anyone into a defensive spot and it'll work out ok.

No..

[Andy MacPhail]

IMO. the Twins should have a top position player award besides MVP. Under these circumstances, I'd consider Bradley as MVP.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I agree with the OP, Keaschall was the team's MVP last year and it wasn't particularly close with Buxton and Jeffers being unavailable for so much of the season. No one can argue that Keaschall wasn't the team's best hitter and best base runner. He was, and once again it wasn't very close - there wasn't anyone in his range. His Defense at 2B was very bad and it might even have been worse in CF, no question, but he improved in RF and was above average by year end if you believe the analytics which here match the eye test. The guy is 23 and just started playing the OF on a regular basis. He will be  be a better OF next year. Players actually do improve over time with repetition and practice. I think he'll settle in as an above average but not elite corner OF. I'll take that from a guy who is becoming one of if not the best leadoff hitters in baseball. In short, Keaschall was a very good but not great player last year who could be getting better, but if he's your MVP that says something important about your team.   

This exercise does really show the Twins key weakness - we don't have the 2 or 3 truly elite players that championship contenders all have to carry the team through the tough times and shine in the playoffs. We don't have the 2026 Brewers Jackson Chourio, Turang,  and elite bullpen, the 2025 Dodgers Yamamoto, Freeman, Ohtani, etc. Buxton was that for half a season but that's the best he can be - elite for half a season. We're not going to be able to buy that player as a free agent. They're too expensive and want to play for a contender which means they generally won't come to the Twins in their current condition. That's a fact we need to accept to help determine strategy going forward. You can't get better unless you acknowledge where you are.

So what do we need to do to be the championship contender we say we want to be? Quit playing around the edges so much. Don't just sign or trade for another decent but not great veteran DH, another 4th starter, a 6th or 7th inning reliever, etc. like we did last year. That helps but won't get us where we want to go. Try to trade for a true middle of the order bat -  I would dangle Ryan plus to try to get that guy. If we can't get that player through a trade, and I think we probably can't, continue and accelerate the roster turnover process we started last year. No more vet placeholders who are "nice players" playing every day. Commit. Play Keaschall, Jenkins, Culpepper, Lee, EmRod, and Roden pretty much every day. See if 4 of them can occupy the first 5 spots in the batting order with Buxton getting the other for now. Bring up Houston early to mid-season to play SS with Culpepper moving to 2B. If that means Clemens becomes a Super UTL/DH/1B guy and Lewis goes somewhere else so Roden can play 1B most days, do it. Re-sign Jeffers even if the contract is an overpay and too long so there's a glide path for Lackey starting with a 1/3 share in 2028, going to a 2/3 share in '29 and '30.  Pitch Abel, Preilipp, Matthews, and Rojas in the rotation at the expense of Ober and Kremer (bullpen or trade bait) and see if there are any #1 or #2 starters in that group. Commit to Morris and/or Gomez as your closers, and maybe even put one of Rojas, Matthews or Festa in the BP getting high leverage innings. There's nothing wrong with surrounding these guys with some vets to ease the transition, guys like Buxton, Jeffers, Lopez, and Hoffman, but don't play guys like Bell, Ober, Clemens, Kriedler, Kremer, etc. at the expense of the young guys. Play the young guys. See what you have and see if you've got those 2-3 stars we need. It may be ugly, but it's the best way to get to where we want to go if we have the talent to get there. If it turns out we don't, blow it up and start over. Don't play to be decent to good, play to be very good to great.   

[Linus]

I would have went with Taj but Keaschall is fine too. His offensive profile is really important for the Twins. Regarding his best defensive fit there has to be a reason they put him in right instead of left. Perhaps he is more used to the spin of the ball off the bat playing the right side of the field?  Or are there significantly fewer balls hit to RF compared to LF?  I believe the only comment by a Twins official is Shelton saying he didn’t want to mess with Larnach by moving him around which is bizarre (and I don’t believe it). 

[jmlease1]

32 minutes ago, Linus said:

I would have went with Taj but Keaschall is fine too. His offensive profile is really important for the Twins. Regarding his best defensive fit there has to be a reason they put him in right instead of left. Perhaps he is more used to the spin of the ball off the bat playing the right side of the field?  Or are there significantly fewer balls hit to RF compared to LF?  I believe the only comment by a Twins official is Shelton saying he didn’t want to mess with Larnach by moving him around which is bizarre (and I don’t believe it). 

I actually do believe the reason Keaschall played RF rather than LF was because Shelton thought it was the best way to maximize Larnach, by keeping him comfortable. It's the biggest knock I have against Shelton for the season and something to watch about how he handles the roster in the future. They put keaschall in RF because Shelton had locked in on Larnach as his primary LF and RF was "open". We saw this was Austin Martin too. Once Wallner got sent down, Larnach should have been asked to move to RF, but they didn't do it. And that's on Shelton.

Keaschall easily makes more sense in LF, and hopefully a) Larnach is moved on in the offseason, b) Keaschall spends as much time as possible prepping to play in LF, and c) Shelton actually plays him there. (While I expect Rodriguez and Jenkins to be on the 26-man to start the season next year, they both make more sense to play at RF or CF than Keaschall does)

[MeleMouth]

23 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I actually do believe the reason Keaschall played RF rather than LF was because Shelton thought it was the best way to maximize Larnach, by keeping him comfortable. It's the biggest knock I have against Shelton for the season and something to watch about how he handles the roster in the future. They put keaschall in RF because Shelton had locked in on Larnach as his primary LF and RF was "open". We saw this was Austin Martin too. Once Wallner got sent down, Larnach should have been asked to move to RF, but they didn't do it. And that's on Shelton.

Keaschall easily makes more sense in LF, and hopefully a) Larnach is moved on in the offseason, b) Keaschall spends as much time as possible prepping to play in LF, and c) Shelton actually plays him there. (While I expect Rodriguez and Jenkins to be on the 26-man to start the season next year, they both make more sense to play at RF or CF than Keaschall does)

The Twins have been locked into a failing strategy of prioritizing power over defense and strikeouts. They are probably now seeing the error of that strategy and are going to prioritize contact skills and defense. Unfortunately, they are late to that party, as shown by the teams playing in the ALCS and NLCS.

Knowing the Twins, their late pivot to the styles currently being played by TBR/CLE/MIL will happen right before those teams find another competitive advantage for the Twins to be late to. Who knows, maybe the next competitive advantage will be to prioritize power over contact. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

I would have went with Taj but Keaschall is fine too. His offensive profile is really important for the Twins. Regarding his best defensive fit there has to be a reason they put him in right instead of left. Perhaps he is more used to the spin of the ball off the bat playing the right side of the field?  Or are there significantly fewer balls hit to RF compared to LF?  I believe the only comment by a Twins official is Shelton saying he didn’t want to mess with Larnach by moving him around which is bizarre (and I don’t believe it). 

RF gets about 360 chances in a season and LF gets 300 (roughly 2 per game). RF has more difficult chances. CF gets 450 (3 per game) 2B 600, SS 650, 3B 450. 1B gets 1400, but over 1100 of them are catching a thrown ball. Overall, the defense creates about 19 of the 27 outs in a game. OF gets 7 and the infield gets 12 (averages).

I think spin might be the answer for why he moved from 2B to RF, but long-term he needs to figure out spin in LF.

[Jacksson]

NOT HARDLY.  Won by a guy without a proven defensive position.  Second goes to a guy that disappeared after the All Star Break?  Kody Clemens got hosed: he should have been #1.  RECOUNT THE VOTES !!

[Linus]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

RF gets about 360 chances in a season and LF gets 300 (roughly 2 per game). RF has more difficult chances. CF gets 450 (3 per game) 2B 600, SS 650, 3B 450. 1B gets 1400, but over 1100 of them are catching a thrown ball. Overall, the defense creates about 19 of the 27 outs in a game. OF gets 7 and the infield gets 12 (averages).

I think spin might be the answer for why he moved from 2B to RF, but long-term he needs to figure out spin in LF.

Interesting- you could win a bar bet or two on more balls being hit to right. 

[JBK]

 

RBI's don't matter to today's stat nerds.  Neither do wins for pitchers.  Josh Bell deserved more than one vote.