Rookies dominated Major League Baseball's first weekend of the 2026 season, hitting 15 home runs through the first three games—the most since 1900—and posting a 1.008 OPS, the highest mark in history. Cleveland Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter and Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart earned American League and National League Player of the Week honors, respectively, marking just the second time rookies have swept the opening awards. The class set multiple records, including a .622 slugging percentage and a .308 batting average, the third-best since 1900.
Through every team's first three games, MLB rookies combined for unprecedented production, according to Elias. They achieved 15 home runs, a 1.008 OPS, a .622 slugging percentage and a .308 batting average, trailing only 1938 and 1968 for batting average since 1900. This outburst rewrote the record books from the season's outset, previously matched only in 2016 when Trevor Story and Tyler White took home the early Player of the Week awards. DeLauter posted a 1.571 OPS with four home runs, joining Story as the only players to hit four in their first three career regular-season games. He homered against All-Stars Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Andrés Muñoz, including a 96.6 mph fastball to the opposite field from Muñoz. Guardians teammates called his start 'stupid.'
