Who is hero of the 2026 MLB playoffs?

To try to answer to that question, we're tabulating the cumulative win probability added figures for every player in the postseason. But we've added a twist: The deeper we get into the playoffs, the more weight the WPA carries. The division series counts double the wild-card round, then we'll double it again for the championship series and, finally, once again for the World Series.

This means that players who shine in the early rounds can still get on the leaderboard, but it's more difficult. Coming through when the championship leverage is at its highest is what becoming an October hero is all about.

Sunday's hero: With the LCS launched, the value of each WPA performance doubles from the previous round. Thus, Aaron Ashby not only takes the night for his two shutout innings in protection of Milwaukee's narrow 2-1 lead in Game 1 of the NLCS, but he jumps to the top spot overall. Ashby has been a standout multi-inning option for Milwaukee all season and so far in the postseason, he's thrown 7⅔ scoreless innings while pitching in four of the Brewers' five games. The Milwaukee bullpen collectively leads all postseason teams with a barely-there 0.38 ERA, a big reason why the strategy of the Padres and Dodgers to get Jacob Misiorowski out of his starts early has only marginal value. It's not like it gets much easier.

Methodology

As mentioned above, each player's win probability added (WPA) is tracked on a per-game basis. Each round of the playoffs counts double that of the previous round. The tabulation is then converted to an AXE-style index in which 100 represents the average for all postseason players. The "Change" column looks in the changes in AXE numbers from the previous day for players who were in action. You can sort this column by clicking on it to see the day's heroes.