MLB's All-Surprise Team After 1st Month of 2026 Season
With roughly one month of the 2026 MLB season done, small sample sizes are starting to turn into legitimate trends, and that's true on an individual level as well as a team level.
Ahead we've selected our All-Surprise team, with a mix of veteran rebounds, post-hype prospect breakthroughs, role players turned impact performers and everything in between.
The 15-man team is made up of one player at each position on the diamond, one designated hitter, five starting pitchers and one relief pitcher.
Catcher: Liam Hicks, Miami Marlins
1 of 15
Stats: 75 PA, 158 OPS+, .328/.373/.552, 7 XBH (4 HR), 19 RBI
In a league where quality catching talent is in short supply, the Marlins appear to have unearthed a diamond in the rough when they selected Liam Hicks in the 2024 Rule 5 draft.
The 26-year-old logged 390 plate appearances as a rookie last season while splitting his time between catcher, first base and designated hitter. He finished with a respectable 95 OPS+ while tallying 20 extra-base hits and 1.3 WAR in 119 games.
With Nick Fortes traded last summer and Agustín Ramírez seeing more time at DH as a result of his defensive limitations, Hicks has carved out a regular role behind the plate and a prominent spot in the middle of the batting order for a Marlins team that has been sorely lacking in impact bats.
First Baseman: Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds
2 of 15
Stats: 94 PA, 164 OPS+, .278/.383/.595, 11 XBH (7 HR), 19 RBI
Sal Stewart was the No. 18 prospect on B/R's Top 100 prospect list to start the 2026 season, and he had a 122 OPS+ with five home runs in 58 plate appearances as a September call-up, so he has not exactly come out of nowhere.
Despite his strong debut last year, he still entered spring training needing to win a starting job, but he has quickly established himself as the everyday first baseman and cleanup hitter for a Cincinnati team off to a terrific start.
After hitting .309/.383/.524 with 34 doubles, 20 home runs and 80 RBI in 118 games in the upper levels of the minors last year, he has arrived sooner than expected as a game-changing bat slotted between Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez in the lineup.
Second Baseman: Jeremiah Jackson, Baltimore Orioles
3 of 15
Stats: 69 PA, 149 OPS+, .303/.319/.561, 7 XBH (5 HR), 17 RBI
On Nov. 25, 2024, the Orioles signed Jeremiah Jackson to a minor league deal. It wasn't a move that grabbed headlines. At best, prospect enthusiasts who remembered him as a promising Angels up-and-comer clocked the move, but to most it was a run-of-the-mill transaction.
Seven years after he was taken in the second round of the 2018 draft, he finally made his MLB debut last August, backfilling an Orioles roster that had been gutted at the trade deadline. He went on to post a 116 OPS+ with 17 extra-base hits in 48 games, and looked to be headed for a utility role in 2026.
However, an injury to Jackson Holliday has opened the door for him to see regular playing time at second base, and he has seized the opportunity, going from prospect bust to one of Baltimore's primary run producers.
Third Baseman: Oswald Peraza, Los Angeles Angels
4 of 15
Stats: 70 PA, 150 OPS+, .274/.348/.532, 8 XBH (4 HR), 8 RBI
Oswald Peraza was the No. 2 prospect in the Yankees system and a top 100 prospect leaguewide prior to the 2022 season. He played his way onto the team's postseason roster later that year after hitting .306/.404/.429 in 57 plate appearances down the stretch.
In 162 games over the next three years, exactly one full season's worth of action, he hit .176/.242/.265 for a 41 OPS+ with eight home runs, 35 RBI and minus-1.0 WAR.
The 25-year-old was traded to the Angels for a low-level outfield prospect last summer, and he has found a home with the Halos, splitting his time between second base and third base. He went 5-for-10 with two home runs in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium last week, providing a full-circle moment to his breakout performance.
Shortstop: Mauricio Dubón, Atlanta Braves
5 of 15
Stats: 82 PA, 123 OPS+, .299/.341/.455, 8 XBH (2 HR), 14 RBI
The Braves swapped glove-first utility players with the Astros during the offseason when they sent Nick Allen out in exchange for Mauricio Dubón, but the two-time Gold Glove winner has been thrust into a larger role with Ha-Seong Kim sidelined with a fractured wrist.
Considering how well Dubón has played, the Braves have an excellent problem brewing once Kim is healthy, though both players provide valuable versatility and manager Walt Weiss could simply play the hot hand.
With career-high marks in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity and barrel rate, this looks like more than just a hot streak for Dubón, and he has been a major contributor for a Braves team playing as well as anyone right now.
Outfield: Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals
6 of 15
Stats: 90 PA, 188 OPS+, .305/.367/.646, 12 XBH (8 HR), 16 RBI
Jordan Walker entered 2026 in serious danger of becoming one of the biggest prospect busts of all time.
The No. 4 prospect in baseball at the start of the 2023 season, Walker had a solid rookie season at the plate, but finished with negative WAR due to his defensive struggles. In the two years that followed, he hit .211 with a 69 OPS+ and minus-2.5 WAR in 162 games.
With arbitration looming next winter, he looked like a prime non-tender candidate if he didn't show marked improvement this season. Now he's one of the game's most productive sluggers, with the loud batted-ball metrics to believe his terrific first month could be sustainable.
Outfield: Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers
7 of 15
Stats: 84 PA, 198 OPS+, .382/.429/.632, 9 XBH (5 HR), 21 RBI
After he posted a 116 OPS+ with 27 home runs, 86 RBI and 3.8 WAR last season, Andy Pages might not read like an obvious inclusion for the All-Surprise team at first glance, but he's been on another level offensively.
So far this season, he has been the Dodgers' best hitter, which is no small feat given some of the other names penciled onto that lineup card.
Following a brutal 2025 postseason where he hit .078/.113/.098 with one RBI in 55 plate appearances, he has rebounded in spectacular fashion to open the 2026 campaign. With a staggering spike in his hard-hit rate from 37.2 to 58.2 percent, he's not just riding a hot streak, he's an improved hitter.
Outfield: Joey Wiemer, Washington Nationals
8 of 15
Stats: 50 PA, 182 OPS+, .341/.420/.568, 5 XBH (2 HR), 5 RBI
"After Jackson Chourio, he has arguably the highest upside in the Brewers' farm system," wrote Baseball America prior to the 2023 season while giving him 70-grade power and 60-grade speed.
He had 13 home runs and 11 steals over 410 plate appearances as a rookie, but batted just .203 with a strikeout rate near 30 percent. The following year he was traded to the Reds for Frankie Montas, and that kicked off a transition odyssey that saw him spend time with four different organizations in two years before landing with the Nationals in January.
He started the season with a bang, becoming just the second player since 1920 to reach base in each of his first 10 plate appearances to start a season, according to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Now he has a regular role as part of the Nationals outfield.
Designated Hitter: Dominic Smith, Atlanta Braves
9 of 15
Stats: 54 PA, 176 OPS+, .353/.370/.627, 6 XBH (4 HR), 16 RBI
If not for Jurickson Profar's 162-game PED suspension, Dominic Smith likely would not have earned a spot on Atlanta's Opening Day roster, but it is quickly shaping up to be one of the best bargain signings of the offseason.
Smith has been a productive bat at various times in his career, including a 168 OPS+ and 32 extra-base hits in 50 games during the abbreviated 2020 season when he received NL MVP votes. He also had a 113 OPS+ with five home runs and 33 RBI in 225 plate appearances for the Giants last season.
The 30-year-old has never quite entrenched himself as an everyday option across multiple seasons, but he has filled a glaring hole for the Braves, and his strong start is backed by some of the best batted-ball metrics of his career.
Starting Pitcher: José Soriano, Los Angeles Angels
10 of 15
Stats: 5 GS, 5-0, 0.28 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 13 BB, 39 K, 32.2 IP
The Angels handed José Soriano the ball on Opening Day, so he was expected to be a key cog in the starting rotation and one of the anchors of the staff. It's safe to say no one expected him to be the AL Cy Young front-runner heading into May.
A more diverse pitch mix has been the difference:
2025: Sinker (49.1%), Curve (26.7%), Splitter (9.2%), Four-Seamer (8.6%)
2026: Sinker (31.3%), Curve (26.5%), Splitter (23.8%), Four-Seamer (12.4%)
The 27-year-old had a solid season last year, posting a 4.26 ERA in 169.0 innings while making a career-high 31 starts, but he has gone from useful middle-of-the-rotation arm to being virtually unhittable through his first five starts.
Starting Pitcher: Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves
11 of 15
Stats: 4 GS, 2-1, 0.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 7 BB, 23 K, 23.1 IP
Right-hander Bryce Elder was a surprise All-Star during the 2023 season, but he served up a .310 opponents' batting average and 6.52 ERA in 10 starts the following year and quickly went from rotation staple to organizational depth.
The 26-year-old struggled again last season, posting a 5.30 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 156.1 innings. It looked like he was headed to Triple-A to open the 2026 campaign before a wave of injuries hit the Braves starting staff during spring training.
With a reworked approach that has him throwing more sliders, fewer sinkers and a new cutter, he has looked like a different pitcher, giving the Atlanta rotation a major boost when it sorely needed it.
Starting Pitcher: Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins
12 of 15
Stats: 5 GS, 3-0, 1.63 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 10 BB, 34 K, 27.2 IP
Taj Bradley has always had terrific stuff, evidenced by his 410 strikeouts in 385.2 innings during his first three years in the big leagues.
Unfortunately, those impressive strikeout numbers were accompanied by a 4.86 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, and he found himself demoted to Triple-A last season before he was traded from the Rays to the Twins in exchange for reliever Griffin Jax.
After serving up a 6.61 ERA in 31.1 innings over six starts with the Twins following the trade, he was far from a lock for the Opening Day rotation. An improved splitter that is generating a 43.8 percent whiff rate in support of his upper 90s fastball has helped him level up as one of the breakout pitchers of 2026.
Starting Pitcher: Emerson Hancock, Seattle Mariners
13 of 15
Stats: 4 GS, 2-1, 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 4 BB, 25 K, 23.2 IP
No team in baseball had a more set starting rotation entering spring training than the Seattle Mariners, with Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller all returning from the 2025 staff.
That left Emerson Hancock with limited upward mobility barring an injury, and the door opened when Miller suffered an oblique strain in late February.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 draft had not quite delivered on his draft pedigree in previous MLB opportunities, logging a 4.81 ERA in 162.2 career innings entering the 2026 season. Now he's making a compelling case to stick around once everyone is healthy thanks to a revamped pitch mix and terrific early results.
Starting Pitcher: Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians
14 of 15
Stats: 4 GS, 3-0, 1.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 7 BB, 25 K, 25.2 IP
With an undersized 6'0", 225-pound frame and a fastball that averages 93.2 mph, Parker Messick fits the prototypical high-floor, pitchability arm that Cleveland has done an excellent job developing in recent years.
He debuted with a 2.72 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 39.2 innings last season, but even with that strong performance there were still sustainability questions, and he entered spring training battling for a rotation spot.
In today's game of high-octane fastballs and wicked breaking stuff, there is still a lane for guys who can just flat-out pitch, and Messick is proving that with his fantastic start out of the No. 5 spot in the Cleveland rotation.
Relief Pitcher: Riley O'Brien, St. Louis Cardinals
15 of 15
Stats: 12 G, 6/6 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, 0 BB, 14 K, 12.1 IP
If not for the otherworldly start Mason Miller is off to for the Padres, we might be talking about Riley O'Brien as the best reliever in baseball so far this season.
Not bad for a 31-year-old journeyman who finally carved out a regular MLB role for the first time last season.
Prior to the 2025 campaign, O'Brien had a 10.45 ERA in 10 big league appearances with the Reds, Mariners and Cardinals. He handled some high-leverage duties down the stretch last season after Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton were traded, finishing with a 2.06 ERA and 8.4 K/9 in 42 appearances. Now he's closing games for a better-than-expected Cardinals team and pitching like an All-Star Game shoo-in.
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