Mookie Betts got his half started with an epic game against the Dodgers biggest rivals then followed by joining the 200-career home run club, giving him the top spot in Week 16 of our #HighFive list.
1. Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts carried his MVP caliber first half of 2022 into the second part of the season as his Dodgers now have their National League West division lead reached 11.5 games.
Betts hit a bottom of the eighth inning three-run game winning home run in one of Major League Baseball’s top three rivalries: the Giants vs Dodgers Thursday night in the first game back from a brief All-Star Break.
That put a cap on an impressive five-run comeback, and Betts put the final bow on the victory with a diving catch to end the game.
Saturday night he hit the 200th homer of his career and number 201came shortly after that via a leadoff shot off former Dodgers top prospect and current Washington National Josiah Gray.
This week Betts is batting .300 with three homers, five RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base.
He will take his Dodgers into Denver, Colorado for a four-game series beginning Thursday night.
2. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge continued on his quest for the greatest season ever by a New York Yankee with five home runs in his last seven games and a .393 average at the plate.
Judge leads the Majors with 38 home runs as he continues on his pace to become the first player to hit 60 home runs in a season since Babe Ruth did it in the stone age of 1927.
Those 60 would be two more than former Philadelphia Phillie World Series Champion Ryan Howards’ 58 in 2006 and still 13 behind home run king and seven-time MVP Barry Bonds.
What’s Poppin’ features the best bro in the game. @TheJudge44 blasted his league leading 38th HR of the season yesterday against the @Mets. Judge has the second best 82 RBI and third best OPS at 1.035.
What’s Poppin’ Monday through Friday – only on https://t.co/DG3CFND3cB pic.twitter.com/4sXRkWiIg3
— MLBbro.com (@MLBbrodotcom) July 27, 2022
Judge sits second in RBI and third in OPS and will be battling with Shohei Ohtani for this season’s American League MVP award.
This weekend the Yankees will take on Michael A. Taylor and the Kansas City Royals for four games in the Bronx.
3. George Springer
It seems like the entire Blue Jays rosters carries themself with the same swag as All-Star outfielder George Springer whose .300 average and Gold Glove caliber defense has helped Toronto go 8-2 in their last 10 games including a 28-5 beat down of the Boston Red Sox last Friday.
George Springer – Toronto Blue Jays (18) pic.twitter.com/P5NzTiF4Qk
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) July 27, 2022
His biggest hit this week came in grand fashion by way of a grand slam against the Cardinals this past Tuesday.
That was his 18th of the year and capped off a 3-for-5 day at the plate. It was also the end of a five-game hitting streak, as well as a streak of 10 hits in 11 games.
On the year Springer is batting .255 with a .807 OPS, 47 RBI and 10 steals.
This weekend Springers Blue Jays welcome Riley Greene, Akil Baddoo and the Detroit Tiger to the Six.
4. Trayce Thompson
Trayce Thompson is not the only member of his superstar family getting it done on the west coast as he gets the four spot on the #HighFive list after hitting .409 in his last seven games.
Before the Dodgers called up the younger brother of 2022 NBA Champion and half of the Splash Bros Klay Thompson to the Major League squad, they were below .500 and had only won seven out of 17 games.
Now they are 23 games above .500 and have an 11.5 game lead in the National League West.
Even though he is not a full-time starter, Thompson has been able to put together solid at bats to go along with trusty outfield defense for one of the most loaded lineups in the Majors.
He has hits in five straight games and in six of his last seven.
Thompson is slashing .267/.359/.815 with three home runs and seventeen RBI this season.
5. J.P. Crawford
J.P. Crawford and his Mariners just keep winning and it always seems like he is exactly in the middle of it all. Crawford’s solid month of July comes on the heels of June where his average was just .202 and served a four-game suspension for his part in the benches clearing brawl between the Angels and M’s.
That fight seemed to not only spark the Mariners who are 20-5 but also Crawford who is batting .292 with three doubles and a triple since. This week Crawford batted .259 with three runs, three walks and seven hits. His Mariners have a huge series in Houston against Dusty Baker in the Astros who are accountable for three of four losses this month.