Tigers have two top-5 MVP candidates per ESPN, and neither is Tarik Skubal

The 2026 season for the Detroit Tigers hasn't exactly gone to plan. Coming into the year, they were a top postseason contender and the likely AL Central winners.

Now, entering July, the Tigers are 38-50, 8.0 games out of the AL Central lead, and at risk of missing the postseason entirely. Detroit might be a trade deadline seller this season; that's how bad things are going. But, individually, there are some great performances.

ESPN's Bradford Doolittle shared that the Tigers have two players who are top-five in ESPN's MVP ranking despite the bad season. But, surprisingly, Tarik Skubal is not one of those MVP candidates.

Tigers have 2 top-5 MVP candidates, and Tarik Skubal isn't one of them

Doolittle shares that Kevin McGonigle comes in fourth with a 135.0 AXE (which is a statistic ESPN created measuring a player's impact, with 100 as an average player), and Dillon Dingler is fifth with a 130.6 AXE.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is first with a 142.2 AXE, Houston Astros DH Yordan Alvarez is second with a 139.2 AXE, and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics is third with a 137.2 AXE.

McGonigle isn't far off from taking the top spot, and Dingler isn't too far behind either. Of course, it's going to be very hard for them to win this award, as the Tigers are not in great shape to make the postseason.

While they could win the MVP while not seeing the Tigers make the playoffs, it would take a truly incredible year for either Dingler or McGonigle to win the award.

McGonigle has a .284 batting average, seven homers, and an .819 OPS this season. Those aren't terrible numbers, but they aren't exactly of the MVP-variety.

MORE: 3 reasons why Braves are perfect fit for Tarik Skubal at MLB trade deadline

Where he makes up the most ground is his bWAR, which is at a very impressive 4.5 as July begins. It's one of the best marks in all of MLB, second only to Witt at 4.7 bWAR in the American League.

Dingler, meanwhile, has 3.3 bWAR as a catcher, posting 19 homers with a .269 batting average and an .861 OPS this season.

He's 10th in bWAR among all AL players, and has been one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball this season. Dingler has been a good defender as well, which helps his bWAR be one of the best marks of all players in the AL this season.

While neither Tigers player is likely to win the MVP this season, it's still very cool to see both McGonigle and Dingler, two young players who will stick around for a while, both proving to be among the best players in the sport.

Even if 2026 isn't a good year for the Tigers, they can at least take solace in the fact that both McGonigle and Dingler proved to be legitimate MVP-caliber players.

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