Cal Raleigh was one of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars in 2025. The Seattle Mariners catcher crushed 60 home runs, finished second to Aaron Judge in the American League MVP voting, and captured his first Silver Slugger Award.
Nobody expected Raleigh to duplicate his 60-homer campaign in 2026, but the sharp decline in his production has been impossible to overlook.
Raleigh has fallen off a cliff
Through 316 at-bats this season, Raleigh is hitting just .161 with 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 26 runs scored and a .570 OPS.
That represents a stunning drop from his production a year ago. In 2025, Raleigh played 159 games and recorded 147 hits, 60 home runs, 125 RBIs and 110 runs scored. He also posted a .359 OBP and .589 SLG, establishing himself as one of baseball’s most dangerous power hitters.
Instead, Raleigh has struggled to come anywhere close to that level of production this season.
WILD statistic says it all
There are plenty of statistics that illustrate just how difficult 2026 has been for Raleigh, but one in particular may be the most eye-opening.
Barstool Baseball pointed out the incredible comparison on X:
Cal Raleigh in 2025: 60 HRs vs. Cal Raleigh in 2026: 51 Hits
That’s an incredible contrast. Last season, Raleigh hit more home runs than he has total hits this year.
Again, nobody expected him to hit another 60 home runs, but this degree of offensive regression is difficult to explain. The Mariners need Raleigh to be a significant presence in their lineup, particularly given the offensive expectations created by his breakout 2025 season.
Instead, the player who finished second in MVP voting has emerged as one of the biggest disappointments of the 2026 campaign.
For Raleigh and Seattle, the hope is that something eventually clicks. If the Mariners want to make a serious postseason push, getting their star catcher back on track could be absolutely critical.