Those who closely follow Major League baseball often concede that their opinion on “who is better” can differ from Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Value-Based Rating (VBR) or other analytical statistics.

Armed with those numbers as of July 6, a dose of personal “eye tests,” and injury status, I give you my 2026 All-Star Break Top 10 Black MLB Players.

1. Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds P — Starting pitching is baseball’s highest-priced commodity and Burns, a 2026 National League All-Star, is among MLB’s best. He sports a 10-1 record, has a stellar 2.40 ERA and is among league leaders with 97⅔ innings pitched. Add 116 strikeouts compared to just 31 walks and a chance to win 20 games. He’s top dog.
2. James Wood, Washington Nationals LF — Wood leads MLB in runs scored (77), walks (68), total bases (186), games played (90) and plate appearances (420). He’s durable and carries a .269 batting average, 23 home runs and 56 RBIs. It’s no wonder he made the NL All-Star team, and he should be a starter instead of a reserve.
3. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees RF — This is not a declaration of who is MLB’s best Black player. It’s Judge. But this is a snapshot of where we are at right now. Judge is injured with no return in sight. However, his numbers keep him on my list. In his 59 games played, Judge posted 17 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .238 batting average. He is still in the top five of all Yankees’ batting categories.
4. Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals RF — Named an All-Star for the first time, Walker’s breakout season has been the catalyst for his team’s surprising campaign. Walker is an All-Star based on his .292 batting average, 20 home runs and 67 RBIs. Opposing runners respect his arm and Walker also has 11 stolen bases.
5. Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins CF — When Buxton plays, he plays great. In 2026, he avoided injury until hip soreness sat him down for a few games. He quickly returned and remains at pace to easily top the most games played in any of his 11 MLB seasons (126 in 2025.) He is hitting .271 with 25 home runs and 45 RBIs. He could finish No. 1 at season’s end.
6. C.J. Abrams, Nationals SS — If he were a bit better defensively, he would likely be No. 1. Abrams leads the NL in RBIs with 61 and has socked 18 home runs with a .269 BA. Throw in 13 stolen bases and a dramatic reduction in strikeouts compared to the 2025 season when he went down via strikeout 125 times in 144 games. He is the NL starting shortstop in the All-Star Game.
7. Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins 2B — Edwards’ .302 BA is a rarity in today’s game, and he is among MLB’s best second basemen defensively. He has six home runs and 35 RBIs and is invaluable to the surprising Marlins. He has walked 49 times in 91 games compared to 47 in 139 games last year. Add 13 stolen bases to his superb season.
8. Michael Harris II — Atlanta Braves CF — Harris is having his best MLB season by far. His center-field defense has saved the Braves runs repeatedly and his .301 BA is among league leaders. Harris has 16 home runs, 48 RBIs and 15 walks. He is easily on pace to top his career numbers in all three categories and is instrumental in the Braves’ run to the NL East summit.
9. Taj Bradley, Twins SP — Finally, another pitcher. Bradley is a dandy one, posting a 7-3 record in 16 starts with a respectable 3.86 ERA. The Twins are one of the AL’s offensively challenged teams and Bradley could have a few more wins if his team scored a few more runs. He has fanned 102 batters and walked just 38.
10. Mookie Betts, L.A. Dodgers SS — When I compile a similar list at season’s end, Betts will likely be much higher. A slow start and stint on the injured list kept his numbers down. Betts has heated up. He has 11 home runs and 29 RBIs, but three home runs and nine RBIs have come in the last 10 games. Betts smacked the 300th home run of his career on June 24 against the Twins and has 302 total.

The post Looking at my Top 10 Black MLB players list appeared first on St. Louis American.

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With his 2026 Home Run Derby win, Jordan Walker silenced a sold-out Philadelphia crowd that believed Kyle Schwarber was finally about to claim the title on his third try.

With his parents watching from the stands, the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder delivered a walk-off blast to left field on his final swing Monday night, edging Schwarber 12–11 in Major League Baseball’s newest Derby format. The win makes Walker the first player in franchise history to take home the Derby crown.

“I can’t even describe how it means to win it,” Walker told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “It was a lot of swings, a lot of pressure, but I think I just had fun no matter what. Every round I was having a good time.”

MLB introduced a revised structure this year: each of the eight contestants received 20 swings to hit as many home runs as possible. If the final swing left the yard, the hitter kept going until a ball stayed inside the park. Without a clock or bonus-round distance requirements, players could settle in and focus solely on making clean contact.

Boston Red Sox star Willson Contreras set the early bar with 13 home runs. Walker matched him, securing a spot in the semifinals. Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone (8) and Chicago’s Munetaka Murakami (9) fell short, while Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero advanced with 12. New York Yankees rookie Ben Rice hit seven.

Philadelphia’s hometown favorites — Schwarber and Bryce Harper — closed out the opening round. Schwarber hit 10 to move on. Harper managed eight and was eliminated.

The semifinal round shifted to 15 swings. Schwarber found his rhythm immediately, launching nine home runs to eliminate Contreras. Caminero pushed Walker in the other matchup, but the Cardinals outfielder advanced with a 6–5 win.

That set up the final the Philadelphia crowd wanted — and the finish they didn’t expect.

Schwarber hit 11 of his 15 swings over the fence, drawing roars from fans who believed the moment belonged to him. Walker opened with four homers, then climbed to 10 with one swing remaining. He needed perfection to win — and delivered six straight home runs to stun Citizens Bank Park.

Walker sealed the Derby with a 407-foot shot to left.

His win adds a new chapter to the Cardinals’ All-Star history. No player in team history had ever won the Home Run Derby — until now.

“I knew I was in a good position, but I know anything can happen, too,” Schwarber told Rogers. “And Jordan was unbelievable there … so you can’t say enough about how he was able to kind of slow the moment down and lock it in.”

Information from Espn.com contributed to this report.

The post St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker claims franchise’s first Home Run Derby crown appeared first on St. Louis American.

Based on reporting by St. Louis American.

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The WNBA couldn’t and wouldn’t have survived for 30 years if it wasn’t for Black players, and third-year Indiana guard Caitlin Clark isn’t the league’s savior. Like the old axiom, these two points can be true.

The first truth is indisputable: ever since the ceremonial jump ball before Game No. 1 between Los Angeles and New York in 1997, the likes of Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker and many, many other Sistahs over the course of three decades have carried the W. But this truth too often has been overlooked or undervalued, especially since the arrival of Clark two summers ago.

Coppin State Sport Management Associate Professor F. Michelle Richardson has followed America’s longest-running women’s pro league since day one.

“I was at the first WNBA game, I was a Nike intern in 1997 with the Los Angeles Sparks,” she proudly said in an MSR phone interview last week. Later, “I was the first Nike intern for the Washington Mystics in their first season (1998).” Dr. Richardson is both a longtime fan and studies race and sport. She co-authored book chapters on Black women’s sports experiences at HBCUs, Black female hockey fans and their experiences, and Black females’ experiences beyond sport.

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Expectedly, the latest controversy involving Clark and Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas hasn’t escaped Richardson either.

“I don’t think people hate Caitlin Clark,” continued the professor. “We have the bad actors who are trying to use her for an agenda.”

The oft-popular notion, or falsehood, that Clark is some Superwoman who swooped in to save the W, and Black females somehow are her Kryptonite. Too many believe that: 1) Black players are jealous of the White player, and 2) Clark is a de facto victim. None of which is true.

Even GOP lawmakers in Washington have gotten into this: ESPN last week reported a group of Republican U.S. Congress members wrote and sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, demanding that the league must protect the Fever star. So instead of passing bills on protecting voting rights or strengthening gun control, they are more concerned with whether or not Clark is fouled during games.

It’s the WNBA, not the ACC (always Caitlin Clark).

The pro game is physical, and up to this point Clark hasn’t yet adjusted to it, Richardson pointed out.

“I was watching that game (on June 24 between Indiana and Phoenix),” she said of the contest in which Phoenix’s Thomas got tangled up with Clark. League officials reviewed the play, calling a flagrant foul and suspending Thomas for one game. “Alyssa Thomas is a very physical player. I won’t say (Thomas) did it purposely, but I have seen (Clark) flinging her body, trying to sell a foul. She’s arguing with her coaches … and you’re trying to tell the refs how to do their job when you haven’t improved at your game.”

Richardson agrees that the WNBA took too long to effectively call out the so-called Clark fans who have shown their racist colors in spewing their hate on social media against Black W players. Thomas and her family have received death threats after the incident. Other Black players have said it is often uncomfortable to play at Indiana due to some fans’ racist behavior toward them.

“Cathy Engelbert has done a terrible job at taking care of this,” said Richardson.

Back to the first truth: this year’s All-Star Game in Chicago later this month will feature six Black starters, including Minnesota’s Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard, and eight Blacks among the reserves, including Lynx guard Courtney Williams. WNBA Legends Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon are serving as honorary general managers and will draft the two All-Star rosters.

“I love Olivia Miles,” declared Richardson of the All-Star rookie starter. However, she and other players’ performances thus far this season “once again (is) being overshadowed by this Caitlin Clark fallacy that she’s the best on the planet, she’s not,” reiterated the Coppin State professor. “And Caitlin is not the savior. They got to stop this narrative.”

Wolves wrap up Summer League play in Vegas

The Minnesota Timberwolves at press time have completed their scheduled four NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas (July 9, 11, 13, 15). If the Wolves don’t advance to the four-team playoffs, they will play a fifth game on either July 17, 18 or 19.

“I just want to prove myself,” 6-foot-7 forward Devin McGlockton told MSR after a practice before the team left for Vegas. He is one of nine rookies on the Wolves’ summer squad. “My greatest strength is just my effort. I give 100% to my rebounding. I’m relentless on the glass.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

Copyright © Charles Hallman

Charles Hallman

Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. More by Charles Hallman

Based on reporting by Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

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