After seven months of baseball, it all comes down to this. The commissioner's trophy will be in the building at Rogers Centre for Game 6 of the World Series on Friday night, as the Toronto Blue Jays look to put the capper on a dream season with a stunning upset over the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Toronto took one heck of a punch in an 18-inning loss in Game 3, but as they've done all year, the Jays responded, winning the next two at Dodger Stadium to head back home with a commanding 3-2 lead.
One more win, and the title will be coming back to Toronto for the first time in over 30 years. But that's not the only hardware to be handed out at some point over the next two days: There's also World Series MVP honors, and after a roller-coaster series full of flashbulb moments on both sides, the race still feels wide open.
Who has the edge entering Game 6? And what might change with one more big performance? Here are the likeliest candidates to take home the trophy.
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Who's the World Series MVP frontrunner ahead of potential clinching Game 6?
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Series stats (through five games): .364/.500/.636, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 6 BB, 2 SO
Vladdy didn't post eye-popping numbers in the first two games of this series, but if you watched the quality of his at-bats, you knew it was just a matter of time before the eruption came. Sure enough: Guerrero Jr. is 5-for-14 with a blistering 1.312 OPS in Games 3-5, including two consecutive games with a homer.
You could make an argument that Guerrero Jr.'s go-ahead, two-run homer off of Shohei Ohtani in the third inning of Game 4 was the single biggest swing in this series to date; coming off a heartbreaking loss in Game 3, Toronto already trailed 1-0, and if Ohtani settled in and pitched the Dodgers to another win, there's no telling where we'd be right now. He's the been the most impactful hitter on the team one win away from a title, and it certainly doesn't hurt that he's the Jays' biggest star and emotional leader.
2. Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays
Series stats (through five games): .471/.500/.647, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO
For as good as Vladdy's been, though, he's not actually Toronto's leader in OPS so far in this series. That honor instead goes to Barger, who got the Fall Classic started with a bang with his instantly iconic grand slam in Game 1 and has just kept on mashing since. Especially with the injury to George Springer and Daulton Varsho struggling, Barger has been a godsend to this lineup, tapping into every bit of the pop he showed during the regular season (while also flashing some leather, too).
Really, Barger has done just about all he can to make his MVP case; the Jays might not even be in this series anymore without him. He just has the misfortune to share a lineup with Guerrero Jr., who's been every bit as good while also bringing the sort of narrative punch that a lesser-known player like Barger can't quite provide.
3. Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays
Series stats (through five games): .471/.500/.647, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO
Really, I could just throw up a highlight reel of Yesavage's start in Game 5 and call it a day.
All TWELVE of Trey Yesavage's strikeouts tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZrHqxrgUkm
— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2025
Fanning 12 without walking a single batter while allowing just one run over seven innings, in the World Series, as a rookie, at Dodger Stadium? It doesn't get much cooler than that, and it adds just one more item to Yesavage's growing legend since being called up to the Majors in September. If this were simply an award for the single most impressive individual performance, his outing in Game 5 would get the nod.
Unfortunately, this is a series-long award, and there are a couple of things working against Yesavage's chances here. The first is that he struggled in his first start in this series, allowing two runs with seven baserunners in just four innings of work. The second is that he's a starting pitcher, which limits his ability to make an impact on games in which he's not scheduled to get the ball. Barring an unexpected relief appearance, we've already seen the last of him in this series, while Guerrero Jr., Barger and others get to make a closing statement.
4. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Series stats (through five games): .316/.500/.895, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 7 BB, 5 SO; 0-1, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
The Dodgers feel like heavy underdogs at this point. But when you're so unstoppable at the plate that the opponent more or less stops pitching to you entirely, and you can start on the mound as well, there's only so far you can fall on a list like this. Los Angeles isn't dead quiet yet, after all, and if they do in fact win two straight to snatch this series, you can bet that Ohtani will be the biggest reason why — and will almost certainly take home MVP honors, unless the only teammate below him in these rankings does it instead.
Ohtani was great on the mound in Game 4 before things unraveled in the seventh inning, and he leads all hitters in OPS in this series. He's the best baseball player on the planet; he just hasn't gotten the help he needs.
5. Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
Series stats (through five games): .333/.458/.667, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 4 SO
Kirk's resurgence during the regular season after a down 2024 was one of the biggest reasons why the Blue Jays won the AL East and captured the No. 1 overall seed to begin with. And he's been even better in this World Series, one of the toughest outs in Toronto's lineup who also just so happens to be one of the best defensive catchers in the game.
His 5-foot-8 frame and his incredible contact skills make him nearly impossible to strike out, and he's also done a ton of damage at the plate in this series, with huge homers in Games 1 and 3. Given his pitch-to-pitch impact behind the dish, you could argue that he's had an even bigger impact than guys like Guerrero Jr. and Barger, and if he shows out again in either Game 6 or 7, he might still rocket up these rankings.
6. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
Series stats (through five games): 1-0, 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 SO
Again, the only way that a Dodger wins MVP is if they somehow bounce back to win each of the next two games. And it's really, really hard to envision that happening if Yamamoto isn't sensational in Game 6 on Friday night. This Los Angeles lineup (outside Ohtani, at least) is mired in a miserable slump, and the bullpen (outside Roki Sasaki, at least) is almost impossible to rely on. Yamamoto is going to have to be great, and he's going to have to chew up innings — much like he did in his complete-game gem in Game 2.
If he does it again, or at least comes close, he's going to be hard to deny, no matter how incredible Ohtani has been. His impact will have been that significant in two games that the Dodgers absolutely had to have.