Surprising MLB stat leaders: Ben Rice, Munetaka Murakami and 2026’s biggest breakouts

The early stages of an MLB season are always fun. We see some surprise contenders jump out to hot starts, some presumed contenders stumble out of the gates and, of course, see some players put up numbers that make us say, ‘Wait, he’s doing what?”

That has been the case and then some in 2026, with a ton of baseball’s stat leaders being players you simply wouldn’t expect. With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, we’ve decided to dive into some of baseball’s most surprising stat leaders and figure out whether they can keep up their early pace.

The most surprising MLB stat leaders early in the 2026 season

From unexpected breakout bats to a reliever leading MLB in wins, this season’s leaderboards have been full of names that even plugged-in fans might not have predicted. Here are the surprise leaders who have stood out most through the first two months of the season.

MLB OPS and slugging percentage leader: Ben Rice, New York Yankees

That a Yankee is pacing MLB in both OPS and slugging percentage isn’t surprising – it’s which Yankee it is. You’d expect this to be Aaron Judge, but instead, it’s Rice, who’s in just his second full MLB season.

Rice was a pleasant surprise for the Yankees last year with 26 home runs and a .834 OPS, but he’s taken a massive step forward with a .671 SLG (up from .499) and a 1.077 OPS. Judge is also great in both categories with a .598 SLG and .999 OPS, and he has one more home run (16) than Rice’s 15, but you could make a case that Rice has been the better and more valuable hitter for the Yankees this year. History shows us that Judge will almost certainly lead the Yankees in basically every category when it’s all said and done, but Rice putting up these numbers over nearly two months is pretty incredible considering he was a relative unknown until last year. 

American League home run leader: Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox

Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber leads all of baseball with 20 home runs, but Munetaka, Chicago’s star rookie slugger, is the leader in the American League with 17. And it’s a bit ironic that these are the two names pacing baseball considering the primary player comp for Murakami heading to the U.S. was Schwarber given both hit a ton of homers, strike out plenty and don’t hit for much average.

Murakami’s power was never a question after a fabulous career in Japan. The question, rather, was whether he’d make enough contact to where that power was a legitimate in-game threat. With 17 homers and a .934 OPS, so far, so good. There are plenty of big-name sluggers Murakami is outpacing in the American League, too, such as Aaron Judge (16), Yordan Alvarez (15) and Byron Buxton (15). Murakami’s contributions have also led to some team success as the White Sox are a surprising 24-22 entering Monday.

MLB batting average and hits leader: Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins

Lopez has been one of 2026’s biggest breakouts. After OPSing under .700 each of the last two years for Miami, Lopez’s .344 batting average and 63 hits lead not just the Marlins, but all of baseball. His .344 average is nearly .100 points higher than his 2025 finish (.246) and he’s on pace for more than 200 hits. He’s also hitting the ball far harder than he ever has either of the last two years. 

The Marlins are still looking to take another step towards contention, but it appears they have a long-term building block atop the lineup in Lopez, who still has yet to hit arbitration. 

MLB RBI leader: Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have so many great players that you’d expect to be listed here, namely Shohei Ohtani or Freddie Freeman, but instead, it’s Pages, who has followed up on his impressive 2025 campaign in monster fashion.

The young outfielder swatted 27 homers last year and drove in 86 runs, and he’s already at 41 RBIs in just 47 games played. With Ohtani off to a slow start at the plate by his lofty standards, Pages has been L.A.’s go-to guy in terms of run production, and he’s taken the ball and run with it. He’s also second on the team behind Max Muncy with 10 home runs. 

MLB stolen base leader: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians

Ramirez has been one of baseball’s best players for nearly a decade, and he’s led the league in stats like doubles a few times. One of the more underrated elements of his game is his baserunning, as the veteran Guardians third baseman has stolen at least 20 bases every year since 2018 outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign when he swiped 10 in 58 games played. 

Ramirez currently has 20 steals and has been caught just twice. He’s beating out noted speedsters like Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz and Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson. 

Part of why I’m such a fan of Ramirez leading MLB in steals is that he’s off to a poor start at the plate, especially considering he’s been one of the league’s most consistent hitters for years now. His .758 OPS isn’t too bad, but Ramirez is hitting just .229 through the weekend. He’s taking his walks, though, with 35 (seventh in baseball) and is making an impact on the bases as he waits for his bat to really get going. That’s pretty cool considering Ramirez is in his 14th season. 

MLB on-base percentage leader: Nick Kurtz, Athletics

Kurtz had the unenviable task of following up on his ludicrous rookie campaign where he swatted 34 homers with an OPS over 1.000. The power hasn’t quite been there (eight home runs), but that could be due to how pitchers are treating the young Athletics slugger.

Kurtz’s .432 OBP is the best the big leagues has to offer, and that’s thanks in large part to his MLB-leading 44 walks (tied with Baltimore’s Taylor Ward). Kurtz has a walk rate over 20% (99th percentile) and rarely chases (22.1%, 88th percentile). We’ll likely see Kurtz start to hit the ball over the fence soon as his exit velocity and hard-hit rate numbers are both elite, but at the very least, he’s showing he will stay in the strike zone and still do plenty of damage, which, considering how young, he is is a scary sight for MLB pitchers everywhere.

MLB wins leader: Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers

I won’t dive too deep into why I think pitcher wins are a silly stat, but the fact that Milwaukee’s Ashby, a reliever, leads the league here certainly doesn’t help change my mind. 

And that’s no shot at Ashby at all. In 21 appearances, the southpaw has a 2.17 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 29 innings of work. He’s been dominant for a Brewers team that, once again, pitches exceptionally well. 

The days of pitcher wins dominating Cy Young conversations are, thankfully, long gone, but someone’s got to pick up the ‘W’ for their team, and so far, Ashby has been the beneficiary. 

MLB ERA leader: Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees

The Yankees have had a great start to the year on the mound, with Schlittler being their best arm thus far. Schlittler looks like the early frontrunner for AL Cy Young. It’s important to note that Schlittler is in just his second MLB season after making 14 starts in 2025, and now, he leads all qualified starters with his dazzling 1.35 ERA through 10 starts. 

The tall right-hander throws a ton of fastballs, be it 4-seamers, sinkers or cutters, and opposing hitters have had no answer for it to date. Schlittler has allowed one or fewer runs in all but two of his 10 starts this season, and even then he gave up three runs over five innings two times in April. He’s coming off nine strikeouts and just one run allowed in 6 2/3 innings in a Yankees win over the Mets on Friday.

And while he doesn’t qualify due to innings pitched, I have to talk about Ohtani here. The four-time MVP is healthy and thriving on the mound, which is great news for him and the Dodgers and bad news for opposing hitters everywhere. To keep him healthy, the Dodgers have utilized a six-man rotation with some built-in breaks, and Ohtani has made just seven starts thus far. But those seven starts have been spectacular as he owns an 0.82 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 44 innings. Again, he doesn’t qualify for leading baseball in ERA due to innings – he is close, though – but it’s well worth mentioning. With how good he is at the plate, it’s easy to forget how dominant Ohtani can be as a pitcher.