Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Schwarber lead MLB's 8-man 40-homer club in 2026

Eight players hit 40 or more home runs in 2026, one more than in 2025 and the most in a season since 10 did it in 2019. Over the last decade the club has ranged from zero in the 60-game 2020 season to that 2019 peak: eight in 2016, five in 2017, three in 2018, 10 in 2019, five in 2021, four in 2022, six in 2023, four in 2024 and seven in 2025. The record is 17, set in 1996.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Schwarber shared the major-league lead with 45 apiece. Pete Alonso was third with 43. None of the eight is a free agent this winter.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF — Chicago Cubs: 45 home runs

Crow-Armstrong's season was the most complete in baseball. He tied for the MLB lead in home runs and tied for fourth with 41 stolen bases, which made it only the seventh 40/40 season in history, joining Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) and Shohei Ohtani (2024). It is the first by a Cubs player, and at 24 only Rodriguez (22) and Canseco (23) did it younger.

The center fielder hit .280/.372/.570 with 107 RBI and 119 runs. His 157 wRC+ (park- and league-adjusted, where 100 is average) ranked second in the majors, his 10.6 fWAR led MLB by 3.6 wins, and he was baseball's best defender at +41 (16 Defensive Runs Saved and 25 Outs Above Average). He is the first Cubs player to lead the majors in home runs since Sammy Sosa in 2000, and the first with 40 since Derrek Lee hit 46 in 2005. Chicago went 89-73 and earned an NL wild card, then was swept by San Diego in the Wild Card Series.

Kyle Schwarber, DH — Philadelphia Phillies: 45 home runs

A year after his career-high 56, Schwarber matched Crow-Armstrong for the MLB lead, making him the first Phillies player to lead the majors since Ryan Howard in 2008. It is his fourth 40-homer season, after 46 in 2022, 47 in 2023 and 56 in 2025. He hit .232/.354/.503 with 97 RBI and a 130 wRC+, worth 2.9 fWAR mostly as a designated hitter, and his hardest-hit ball of the year left the bat at 116.8 mph, tied for eighth in baseball. The Phillies went 88-74 and took a wild card before Atlanta beat them 2-1 in the Wild Card Series.

Pete Alonso, 1B — Baltimore Orioles: 43 home runs

In his first season in Baltimore, Alonso finished third in the majors in homers and posted his fourth 40-homer season, after 53 in 2019, 40 in 2022 and 46 in 2023. He hit .267/.363/.522 with 113 RBI and a 148 wRC+, sixth in MLB. He also ranked fourth in both Hard-Hit rate (56.2%) and average exit velocity (93.9 mph). The Orioles finished 79-82 and missed the playoffs.

Yordan Alvarez, DH — Houston Astros: 42 home runs

Alvarez led the majors in all three slash-line categories, hitting .316/.432/.601, and his 181 wRC+ was the best in baseball by 24 points. His 42 homers, tied for fourth, are a career high (his previous best was 37 in 2022). He ranked third in fWAR (6.8) and average exit velocity (94.4 mph), seventh in Hard-Hit rate (53.8%), and hit the second-hardest ball in the majors this year at 118.5 mph, behind only Oneil Cruz. Houston won the AL West at 81-81, then was swept by the White Sox in the Wild Card Series.

Junior Caminero, 3B — Tampa Bay Rays: 42 home runs

Caminero followed his 45-homer season at 21 with 42 at 22. He and Eddie Mathews, in 1953 and 1954, are the only players in history with two 40-homer seasons by age 22. Caminero hit .276/.360/.524 with 101 RBI and a 142 wRC+, eighth in MLB, and his 116.9 mph maximum exit velocity tied for sixth in the majors. The Rays had the American League's best record at 98-64, swept the Yankees in the Division Series, beat Cleveland in six games in the ALCS and are playing Milwaukee in the World Series.

Ben Rice, 1B — New York Yankees: 41 home runs

In his first 40-homer season, Rice hit .264/.363/.534. His slugging percentage ranked third in the majors and his 149 wRC+ fifth. The Yankees went 93-68, beat Boston in the Wild Card Series and were swept by Tampa Bay in the Division Series.

Matt Olson, 1B — Atlanta Braves: 41 home runs

Olson reached 40 for the second time, after his 54 in 2023. He hit .251/.321/.502 with a 122 wRC+, ranked 10th in Hard-Hit rate (52.0%), and played strong defense at first base: 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average. Atlanta won the NL East at 94-68, beat Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series and lost to the Dodgers in four games in the Division Series.

Hunter Goodman, C — Colorado Rockies: 41 home runs

Goodman's 41 homers are only the 10th 40-homer season by a primary catcher in MLB history, a list topped by Cal Raleigh's 60 in 2025 and Salvador Perez's 48 in 2021. He hit .245/.310/.529 in 574 plate appearances, with the fourth-best slugging percentage in the majors and a 112 wRC+, which accounts for his home games at Coors Field. Colorado finished 58-104, the worst record in baseball.