The Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger awards, presented by FanSided, will be revealed on Tuesday, November 17, and the Atlanta Braves have a rooting interest in the results. While both Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II were unfortunately snubbed this season, first baseman Matt Olson made the finalist cut for this year’s Silver Sluggers. However, the competition for the award itself remains very fierce.
With four first-base finalists with strong cases of their own, Olson has his work cut out for him when it comes to actually winning his second Silver Slugger award. The announcement is just days away, so it is time to take a look at Olson's awards race, as well as the rest of the NL Silver Slugger finalists to see who should win and who should take solace in the fact that being named a finalist is an honor in itself.
Predicting all of the Silver Slugger winners in the National League this season
First Base
Jake Bauers, Brewers
Alec Burleson, Cardinals
Matt Olson, Braves
Rafael Devers, Giants
Prediction: Matt Olson
Getting right down to it, it feels like Olson will win a narrow race, even though his case is far from ironclad. Silver Slugger voters like counting stats, and Olson's 41 homers stand out as the loudest raw number from this group, and he DOES lead all NL first basemen in fWAR (4.0), although a good chunk of his overall value comes from his defence.
Anything could happen when you have four finalists for the same award, but Bauers feels like the biggest threat to Olson's chances for the Silver Slugger. Not only did he lead all of the finalists here in wRC+ with 143, but he also has the counting stats and the Brewers' 2026 narrative going in his favor. We are just wagering that Bauers gets more love as the utility choice (more on that in a second) than at first base, but it wouldn't be a shock if he overtakes Olson after the Braves star's end-of-season slump.
Second Base
Brandon Lowe, Pirates
Brice Turang, Brewers
Prediction: Brice Turang
This feels like a toss-up, with Lowe having slightly better power numbers (35 homers and a .233 ISO vs. Turang's 21 homers and .182 ISO), while Turang has a six-point edge in wRC+ at 127 and better all-around production. The edge goes to Turang here, but a group of managers and coaches giving Lowe the nod due to the loud power numbers could very well happen.
Shortstop
CJ Abrams, Nationals
Elly De La Cruz, Reds
Otto Lopez, Marlins
Prediction: Elly De La Cruz
While several position votes will likely be close, shortstop should not be one of them. Elly De La Cruz was pretty clearly the best-hitting shortstop in the NL this year, as he leads in fWAR (6.4) and wRC+ (139) while posting a 30/30 season. CJ Abrams does have some loud counting stats in his favor, but De La Cruz having a 20+ point edge in batting average and on-base percentage should be enough for a clear victory.
Third Base
Alex Bregman, Cubs
Max Muncy, Dodgers
Prediction: Max Muncy
This feels impossible to handicap, as third base was not particularly strong this year, and both Muncy and Bregman had very, very similar seasons. Muncy has the very slight edge in wRC+, so that will be the tiebreaker along with the whole "plays for the Dodgers" thing, but you can flip a coin for this one and the result wouldn't be out of place.
Outfield
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks
Jackson Chourio, Brewers
Seiya Suzuki, Cubs
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
Jordan Walker, Cardinals
James Wood, Nationals
Prediction: Pete Crow-Armstrong, James Wood, Seiya Suzuki
The NL outfield picture is relatively clear except for the last Silver Slugger spot. Pete Crow-Armstrong and James Wood have extremely strong cases, particularly Crow-Armstrong, who just won the NL MVP award as well. You can pretty much etch both of them in stone.
The third spot is tough, because all of them have roughly the same value, and all have their own warts depending on how you view the category. Jordan Walker and Corbin Carroll feel like the long shots to get the nod, and Fernando Tatis Jr. saw significant time at other positions on the field. Seiya Suzuki and his 134 wRC+ and 26 homers is the choice, but this is genuinely close.
Catcher
Hunter Goodman, Rockies
Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks
Prediction: Gabriel Moreno
Even if Baldwin hadn't slumped following his oblique injury, he still would have had a very tough time beating Gabriel Moreno for the catching Silver Slugger this year. After posting a 141 wRC+ and hitting .311 for the season, Moreno is an easy choice. Hat tip to Hunter Goodman for hitting 41 homers, but this isn't close.
Designated Hitter
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Prediction: Shohei Ohtani
This award will basically be Shohei Ohtani's to lose until the day he retires. Ohtani finished second place in NL MVP voting this year, so Schwarber never really had much of a chance, and voters are going to vote for Ohtani for a long, long time. Maybe the injuries eventually catch up with him, but not this year.
Utility
Jake Bauers, Brewers
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
Sal Stewart, Reds
Prediction: Jake Bauers
Sal Stewart had a tremendous rookie season, but this is a race between Bauers and Tatis Jr. for the award. While Tatis Jr. had a better season than many give him credit for, Bauers was basically THE reason why the Brewers' offense was good enough to win it all this year, and his offensive numbers across the board (aside from steals) are as good or better than the Padres star. We are expecting well-deserved recognition for Bauers here.
National League Team Award
Chicago Cubs
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
Washington Nationals
Prediction: Chicago Cubs
You would think the Dodgers or Nationals would have real cases for the NL team award, but the Cubs' offense was insane this year. A big reason why they were so formidable was that Crow-Armstrong went wild, but this was a Cubs lineup which had a 129 wRC+ for the season, which is 18 points better than second place in the National League. Another easy choice once you actually dig into the data a bit.
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