The Cuban baseball player Andy Pagés continued to have the best season of his career on Wednesday by hitting his 18th home run of the 2026 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a solo home run against pitcher Emerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners.
The home run was not just another offensive statistic: it solidified the Cuban center fielder as the third most valuable player in that position by fWAR (wins above replacement) throughout MLB in the 2026 season, with 3.3 units, according to data reported by analyst Francys Romero.
fWAR is one of the most comprehensive metrics in modern baseball because it integrates offensive, defensive, and baserunning contributions to quantify how many victories a player adds over a replacement-level minor league player.
The standings among the league's central gardeners at the close of Wednesday were as follows:
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs) — 7.0 fWAR
- Ceddanne Rafaela (Boston Red Sox) — 3.4 fWAR
- Andy Pagés (Los Angeles Dodgers) — 3.3 fWAR
An fWAR of 3.3 by the end of July is considered an All-Star level performance, reflecting that Pagés not only hits for power but also contributes with his glove in the outfield.
The 2026 campaign of the player from Pinar del Río has been a constant crescendo since the first month.
In April, he led the batting average of all MLB with .413 and was the first player in the league to reach 20 runs batted in, with just five home runs at that time.
On May 6, he starred in an historic afternoon against the Houston Astros by hitting three home runs and driving in six runs in a single game, raising his total to eight home runs and 33 RBIs.
He was selected for the first time to the MLB All-Star Game, held on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he was the starting outfielder for the National League.
Pagés was one of seven Cubans selected for the All-Star 2026, along with Yordan Álvarez, Aroldis Chapman, Raisel Iglesias, Randy Arozarena, Yandy Díaz, and Miguel Vargas.
The player, born in Havana on December 8, 2000, signed with the Dodgers as an international prospect in 2018 at the age of 17 and made his Major League debut on April 16, 2024.
In his previous season, he recorded .272, 27 home runs, and 86 RBIs, with a standout performance in the World Series, and in his career, he has accumulated 55 home runs, 190 RBIs, and a batting average of .264 in the regular season.
With 18 home runs and outstanding performance both offensively and in the outfield, Pagés is already surpassing his pace from the 2025 season and aims to finish the year as one of the most complete players in his position in the league.
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