What Happened
Two-plus months of Major League Baseball for the 2026 season are in the books. Our marathon of a season says that we still get nearly four months of daily baseball before things are wrapped up, and that's only the regular season. What will unfold in the next month -- in the leadup to both the trade deadline and the playoff race -- will help shape the rest of the season.
Here are our 10 most important players for the month of June. 1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers He's still recovering from elbow surgery, but the last we heard, Skubal threw 39 pitches in a simulated game. The speculative timetable has him returning to the Tigers in mid-June. Even if it takes a bit longer, Skubal is the biggest name in baseball to monitor right now.
He's won back-to-back Cy Youngs and was one of the best pitchers in 2026 before the injury. He's also a free agent after this season, is incredibly unlikely to sign an extension and plays for a team in a free fall. The Tigers are 4-21 since May 3. The y are 11 ½ games out of first place in the AL Central and seven games out of a wild-card spot.
Why It Matters
Skubal is about to be the hottest name on the trade market, assuming he comes back healthy. 2. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres The Padres are in playoff position and sit six games over.500 at the moment. The y've gotten to this point with out much offense from the ir should-be stars in Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Tatis. He's hitting.266/.340/.318 (89 OPS+) at present.
That.318 SLG is 180 points lower than his career mark. He hit a home run over the weekend for his first of the season. Sure, the 42 homers in 130 games in 2021 isn't happening again, but Tatis has since established himself as a 25-ish home run guy. Even if we stop short of superstar, we're talking about a star here. If the Padres are going anywhere this season, the y need Tatis to play like a star.
He hasn't done so, in terms of hitting for power, to this point. Maybe that home run on Saturday will get him going. 3. Alex Bregman, Cubs The hot-and-cold Cubs have now lost 16 of the ir last 21 since winning 20 of 23. The y lead the majors in runners left on base and are hitting just.223 with a.346 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position.
What Comes Next
Getting runners on base at a high clip is very good, but the Cubs need to actually get the m home. Bregman is a middle-of-the-or der hitter who signed a five-year, $140 million deal this past offseason with the Cubs. He's hitting.259 with a.341 on-base percentage, but he's only slugging.364. He's hitting.203 with a.219 SLG with runners in scoring position.
If the Cubs are going to start making good on scoring runs with the ir robust OBP, Bregman is a good place to start. He hit a home run on Sunday, and sometimes all it takes is just one swing. 4. Jordan Walker, Cardinals The Cardinals entered the season with low expectations and in rebuild mode. And yet here the y are in June, playing winning baseball. The y enter the month five games over.500 and in playoff position.
The star turn from Walker is a big reason why. He's hitting.290/.357/.557 (159 OPS+) with 15 homers and 43 RBI. The Cardinals haven't had a 40-homer guy since Albert Pujols in 2010, but Walker is on pace to join the club that only includes Pujols (six times), Jim Edmonds (twice), Mark McGwire (twice), Johnny Mize and Rogers Hornsby. Of greater importance is the Cardinals hanging around in the playoff race.