Best Designated Hitters 2026: 10 Best Designated Hitters in MLB Right Now

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Best Designated Hitters 2026: 10 Best Designated Hitters in MLB Right Now

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Fri, Feb 27, 2026 ·

7 min read

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Who is the best designated hitter in MLB right now? Now a four-time MVP, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is obviously the best DH in MLB. Behind Ohtani, however, there are a few veterans and emerging names who ahve established themselves as premier sluggers in the designated hitter role.

Let's dive into our list of the best designated hitters in MLB right now. For this exercise, we're focused on players who will primarily be used as a designated hitter in 2026.

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

For a majority of this list, the comparison of MLB stats will be for designated hitters to their peers. That's not the case with Ohtani. Over the last three seasons, he (1.037) and Aaron Judge (1.109) are the only MLB players with a 1.000-plus OPS in over 500 plate appearances. He also leads the majors in home runs (153) and runs scored (382) and has the second-most RBI (327) with the ninth-most stolen bases (99) over that span. Even in 2025 alone, he ranked third in homers (55), second in OPS (1.014) and first in runs scored (146). Ohtani is the best designated hitter in baseball, and there isn't a close second.

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2. Kyle Schwarber , Philadelphia Phillies

If not for a once-in-a-century player, Kyle Schwarber would be the best designated hitter in MLB. Since joining the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022, he's put up a .349 OBP with 187 home runs, 434 RBI and an .856 OPS. The numbers over the last two seasons—94 home runs, 236 RBI, .365 OBP and .890 OPS—are even more impressive. Schwarber is now coming off a 2025 campaign where he ranked first in RBI (132), second in home runs (56) and seventh in OPS (.928). Given his advanced metrics—98th percentile average exit velocity (94.3 mph), 99th percentile barrel rate (20.8 percent) and 100th percentile Hard-Hit rate (59.6 percent)—there's no reason to think his production will tail off this year.

3. Yordan Alvarez , Houston Astros

Yordan Alvarez is one of the best hitters in MLB when healthy. Unfortunately for the Houston Astros , their All-Star designated hitter has missed 177 games over the last three years, and playing through wrist and hand issues in 2025 resulted in a .273/.367/.430 triple-slash line with a .797 OPS. For many players, those would be fantastic numbers. They just pale in comparison to Alvarez's stats from 2022–24, when he posted the seventh-most home runs (103), the fourth-highest batting average (.303) and the third-best OPS (.988) among all players with at least 1,000 at-bats. If Alvarez is healthy, which he certainly looked in his brief September return (1.035 OPS), he is arguably a top-five hitter in all of baseball.

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4. Brent Rooker , Athletics

Best Designated Hitters 2026 — Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

From 2020–22 with the Kansas City Royals , Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres , Brent Rooker compiled a -1.1 bWAR with just 10 home runs and a .200/.289/.379 triple-slash line and a .668 OPS across 240 at-bats. Since landing with the Athletics , he's put up 30-plus homers every season with a .268/.343/.509 triple-slash line and an .853 OPS, earning a 9.9 bWAR. Rooker doesn't seem likely to replicate his 2024 numbers—.293 batting average and .927 OPS—but he ranks fifth among primary designated hitters in OPS (.845) over the last three campaigns.

5. Yandy Diaz , Tampa Bay Rays

Yandy Diaz always seems to fly under the radar since he plays for the Tampa Bay Rays. He's coming off a season where he put up a .300/.366/.482 triple-slash line with 25 home runs and an .848 OPS. Playing in a minor-league ballpark has nothing to do with it. After all, Diaz posted a .302/.383/.453 line with an .836 OPS from 2022–24, earning a 10.1 bWAR in that three-season span. He only has modest power for his position, but Diaz's .277 batting average over the last four seasons is fourth-best among DHs entering the 2026 season.

6. Eugenio Suarez , Cincinnati Reds

After signing with the Cincinnati Reds, who have Ke'Bryan Hayes at third base, Eugenio Suarez will be serving as a designated hitter in 2026. His second stint with the Seattle Mariners didn't go well—.682 OPS and .189 batting average—but he had an .897 OPS with 36 home runs with the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to being moved. Suarez doesn't get on base a ton—.313 OBP over the last three seasons—but he's put up 101 home runs (33.7 per season) and 315 RBI (105 per season) in that span. Spending half his time back at Great American Ballpark, Suarez could put up 35–40 home runs with an OPS hovering around .800.

7. George Springer , Toronto Blue Jays

If we're ranking the best designated hitters based purely on MLB stats in 2025, George Springer would be much higher. However, we also have to take into consideration his durability and past production. Last season, Springer's OPS (1.020) was just a single point off Shohei Ohtani's and he struck out in nearly 10 percent fewer of his plate appearances. It helped the Toronto Blue Jays star record the highest OBP (.415) at his position. However, he also compiled just a .738 OPS with a .248 batting average from 2022-24 across 1,671 at-bats. Now 36 years old, with a history of injuries and inconsistent production, Springer is a regression candidate in 2026.

Read More: MLB Award Predictions 2026

8. Christian Yelich , Milwaukee Brewers

Nearly eight years removed from Christian Yelich winning NL MVP, the 34-year-old now primarily serves as the Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter. He stayed healthy in 2025, playing in 150-plus games for the first time since 2022, but his OPS (.909 to .795) and triple-slash line (.315/.406/.504 to .264/.343/.452) plummeted this past year. He's still capable of going nuclear with the bat for a stretch—.936 OPS in June and .973 OPS in August—but the lingering back issues and the inconsistency have taken away a lot of what he used to be.

9. Kerry Carpenter , Detroit Tigers

After getting a taste of the majors in 2022, Detroit Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter has proven himself to be one of the more underrated players in baseball. Carpenter's 2025 campaign—a .788 OPS, 26 home runs, and a .252/.291/.497 line—did represent a dip from his .858 OPS and .280 batting average in the previous two seasons combined. However, he did have an .812 OPS from April through August, missing some time with a hamstring injury. It's reasonable to think Carpenter could deliver another campaign with 20-plus home runs, 60-plus RBI and an .800 OPS.

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10. Ivan Herrera , St. Louis Cardinals

Ivan Herrera won't turn 26 until June, so he might only be scratching the surface of his potential. What's impressive is that the St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter has an .823 OPS with a .290 batting average over the last two seasons in 617 at-bats. Among DHs with 400-plus plate appearances in the last two seasons, Herrera ranks seventh in batting average and 10th in OPS. If he can tap more into his power in 2026, reaching 20 home runs, there's an outside shot of an .800 OPS.

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