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.

Monday's hero: During the run-up to the trade deadline, a common narrative about the Brewers was that as good as they were, they could really use a true No. 2 starter to slot behind Jacob Misiorowski during the playoffs. Names like Tarik Skubal and ex-Brewer Freddy Peralta were bandied about. Dustin May was acquired from St. Louis to help the rotation, though he didn't quite fit the bill as co-ace for the Miz. Rather than stumble because of the quiet deadline, the Brewers simply fashioned a playoff-worthy staff out of what they had. No one, save for reliever Aaron Ashby, has made a bigger impact on that plan than Robert Gasser. Gasser's six shutout, one-hit innings were easy to overlook because of Milwaukee's mid-game offensive onslaught in Game 3, but not only was he once again lights-out, but most of that wizardry happened before Milwaukee broke the game open. Gasser now has a 0.60 ERA for the playoffs. And as for those playoff rotation speculations, the thinking behind those was too inside the box. After all, the Brewers' innings leader this October is Ashby, who has all but clinched the top spot on our Mr. October leaderboard.

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.