New MVP poll gives Elly De La Cruz a chance to pass Reds' division rival

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong appears to have the 2026 National League MVP Award in the bag, but Elly De La Cruz's surge following the All-Star break has thrust the Cincinnati Reds' star into the conversation.

De La Cruz's efforts during the second-half — though impressive — will all but assuredly leave him well behind both Crow-Armstrong and Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the eyes of the voters.

But a recent poll conducted by MLB.com reveals that the Reds superstar could outpace Milwaukee Brewers' ace Jacob Misiorowski and finish among the top-3 for NL MVP honors this season. The 38 MLB.com contributors were deadlocked, with both De La Cruz and Misiorowski receiving the same number of votes.

Reds' shortstop Elly De La Cruz should place ahead of Brewers' pitcher Jacob Misiorowski in the NL MVP race

It's been a long time since a pitcher won the NL MVP Award. Former Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw took home the award in 2014 after going 21-3 while posting a 1.77 ERA and racking up 239 total strikeouts. He led the league in wins, ERA, FIP, ERA+, WHIP, and WAR.

Misiorowski's numbers are equally as impressive. He owns a 1.89 ERA in just under 170 innings of work. He's struck out 247 batters this season and has a league-best 0.803 WHIP. He's been the best pitcher in the National League this season, and as such, should be the unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young Award.

But is the MVP award best served to reward those players who only step onto the field once a per week for six or seven innings at a time? Misiorowski's efforts should be praised, but the Cy Young Award was created for pitchers. Before Kershaw's MVP win in 2014, 46 years had passed since the last hurler took home MVP honors (Bob Gibson, 1968).

De La Cruz is enjoying a career-year. Despite missing time midway through the season due to injury, De La Cruz has posted career-highs in home runs (28), batting average (.285), on-base percentage (.366), slugging percentage (.515), OPS (.881), and wRC+ (139). He could eclipse his run total (102) from 2024 with a strong finish this week and may end the season with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.

De La Cruz (6.3) and Misiorowski (6.5) are neck-and-neck in fWAR — every pundit's favorite statistic — but the Reds' infielder has also played spectacular defense this season, as evidenced by his 7 outs above average.

Neither De La Cruz nor Misiorowski are likely to receive any first-place votes, but the NL Central will be well represented during the offseason awards this year. Will Elly edge out The Miz? We'll have to wait another two months to find out the results, but this latest poll suggests the final number will be closer than you might think.

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