The New York Yankees have a strong chance at having either Aaron Judge or Juan Soto take home the 2024 American League MVP award according to a recent poll.
MLB.com listed out their top five candidates for MVP in both leagues and had both superstar Yankees outfielders place in the top three. Judge took the top spot while Soto came in at No. 3.
Joining the Yankees’ electric duo in the rankings were 3B Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox) and 3B Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians) who tied for No. 5, SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals) at No. 4, and SS Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles) at No. 2.
Yankees: Aaron Judge is primed to take home his second AL MVP
Judge is tearing through the Majors in 2024. The Fresno State product leads the big leagues with 34 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a jaw-dropping 1.112 OPS. Judge has led the Yankees to a 58-40 record, good for third in the AL and fourth in the MLB. The Yankees are also 24-8 in games where Judge recorded a home run and also 24-8 in a different set of games when he’s recorded multiple hits.
He has a favorable advantage over the pack. Astonishingly, the 32-year-old places in the 100th — yes the 100th — percentile in xwOBA (.468), xSLG (.722), hard hit percentage (61.5 percent), with a batting run value of 50 per Baseball Savant.
Juan Soto is nipping at Judge’s heels for AL MVP honors
Soto is right behind Judge and could very well take home MVP when it is all said and done. The 25-year-old is second in the Majors in runs and is impressing with his efficiency at the plate. Soto is slashing .295/.426/.558 and putting fear in opposing pitchers, as he’s been walked the most among all sluggers in the MLB 79 times.
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As usual, Soto’s value to the Yankees is nonpareil. He owns a 5.0 WAR. New York would not be in the position they’re in without his contributions. The case against Soto is the slight decline in his play on a month-by-month basis. His batting average, runs and homers have all decreased from where they were in April by the month.
Can Judge & Soto edge out strong competition in the AL?
As well as both Judge and Soto have played, their contemporaries have legitimate cases themselves. Henderson leads the Majors with 78 runs. Witt Jr. is second in the aforementioned category with 75 and also owns the third-best batting average among all hitters at .323. The Royals’ standout infielder adds to that body of work with nine triples, which trails only Red Sox CF Jarren Duran who has 10 and a league-leading 125 hits.
Ramirez is doing work on the 2024 campaign with 23 home runs of his own, which ranks No. 3 in the American League, and 77 RBIs which is No. 2 behind Judge. Devers is also impressing with a .295 batting average but his six errors at third base may cost him.
