New York Yankees AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge was given this award for the third time this season.
This New York Yankees’ slugger has been rewarded for another dominant month at the plate.
On Tuesday, superstar Aaron Judge locked up his third AL Player of the Month award this season.
To say that Judge was locked in at the plate in August is an understatement. The AL MVP favorite slashed .389/.530/.865 across 26 games last month while tallying 12 home runs and 24 RBI. He was also walked 25 times in August with ten of those being intentional. For the season, Judge is slashing .326/.459/.711 with 51 long balls and 124 RBI.
Judge’s 12 homers put him back on pace to hit the 60-home run mark yet again this year. In 2022, he of course hit 62 which broke Roger Maris’ 61-year-old record for home runs in a season by an American League player.
The honor likely means that Judge is trending towards his second AL MVP Award this year. Judge and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. have been going toe-to-toe this season at the dish. Witt is slashing .338/.392/.611 with 30 home runs and 28 stolen bases. Any other season and Witt would be the favorite for the MVP, especially with the Royals hanging onto the final AL Wild Card spot to begin September.
In the NL, second-year star Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks took home the Player of the Month for August. Carroll, who had his share of struggles earlier in the season, slashed .280/.342/.700 in August, belting 11 home runs and 24 RBI. Only Judge and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hit more home runs than Carroll for the month.
Judge continues to lead the majors in most offensive categories including home runs, RBI, walks, total bases, slugging percentage, and OPS+. He still has a chance at the Triple Crown if Witt stumbles over the next month and Judge continues his torrid pace. He sits just 12 points behind Witt in batting average with a sizable lead in home runs and RBI.