Ronald Acuna Jr. - National League
After suffering a torn ACL that ended his 2024 season just 49 games in, Acuna returned to prime form.
The 2023 National League MVP finished the 2025 season with 21 home runs, 42 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 95 games.
After hitting a home run in his return to the diamond on the first pitch he saw, Acuna would finish the year slashing .290/.417/.518 - still being voted to the National League All-Star team this season.
Acuna is a five-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and former Rookie of the Year (2018) who is 87 hits short of 1,000, 14 home runs away from 200, and 41 RBI from 500 in his career.
The Atlanta star is in the final year of his contract with club options for the next two years - each year worth $17 million.
Jacob deGrom - American League
DeGrom received Tommy John surgery for the second time in 2023, forcing him to miss the entire 2024 season.
In 2025, deGrom came back looking like his old self - finishing the season with a stellar 2.97 earned run average in 30 starts (12-8 record).
The 37-year-old and two-time Cy Young Award-winner gave up 122 hits and 37 walks through 172.2 innings with 185 strikeouts.
He had six starts in 2023 for Texas before he was out for the season, unable to take part in the team's World Series run at the time.
In 12 professional seasons, deGrom has only had two years where he finished a season with an ERA above a three.
The five-time All-Star won the ERA Title in 2018 when he finished with a league-best 1.70 ERA - only the third starting pitcher to post that ERA, or better, since Greg Maddux in 1995, the other being Zach Greinke (1.65) in 2015.
DeGrom will enter his fourth year of his five-year, $185 million deal with Texas. He still has a club option for the 2027 season when the veteran will be pushing 39 years of age.
