#HIGHFIVE | Top 5 Black & Brown MLB Players (Week 21)

We are dancing into September, the final month of the regular season and the official beginning of the race for pennants and playoff spots.

It is also the final chance for players to make their cases for MVP considerations, and Yankees All-Star Aaron Judge has put his name atop the ballot with his play and the team’s current hot streak. 

For that, he takes the top spot on Week 21 of our #HighFive List.

1. Aaron Judge  

We have been saying it all year, and it becomes clearer and clearer with each passing day; Aaron Judge should have his name in every conversation when discussing who should win the American League MVP award.

Even though Judge was named as a starter for the American League All-Star team, he still has gone underappreciated and undervalued on talk shows and other media outlets.

 

 

Last week Judge was in the four spot on our #High/Five list and also earned the honor of being named Rob Parker’s Home Boi Highlights.

Judge has yet to slow down, specifically since the trade deadline where the Yankees went from basement dwellers to the front runners to make it into the one game wild card play-in.

Over his last seven games, Judge is batting .500 yes .500!! He has powered three home runs and driven in 10 RBI while posting a .893 slugging percentage and an on base percentage over .540.

The numbers for Judge over his last 26 games have put the rest of the Majors on notice, as he continues to prove he is a top 10 player in the game.  He is slashing .368/.456/.684 with six doubles, eight home runs, 28 RBI and four steals 

The Yankees now claim a two-game lead for the top wild card spot and will look to extend it against Cedric Mullins and the Baltimore Orioles.

 

2. Devin Williams

Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year Devin Williams got off to a slow start to begin his sophomore campaign, but lately he has shown he is one of the top relief pitchers in the game.

 

During the month of August, Williams pitched 14 innings and did not give up a single earned run.  He also struck out 22 batters and only walked three.

Williams is proving this year that last year’s Rookie of the Year season was no fluke. 

Over his last 30 games, Williams has a 0.32 ERA in 28 innings with 43 strikeouts, a 0.93 and only one earned run.

Last season, in 27 innings he had a 0.33 ERA with 53 strikeouts and a 0.63 WHIP

3. Josh Bell

Most parts of the Nationals 2021 season may be forgettable, but the play of Josh Bell cannot go unnoticed.  He has been a regular on our #High/Five list as last week he found himself and the five spot.

 

Bell’s week was highlighted by a two-homer performance against the Mets on Sunday.

His hitting streak was extended to nine games with an RBI single Thursday against the Phillies and he also has hits in 14 of his last 15 games.

Over his last seven games Bell is batting .400 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored.

This weekend Bell and his Nationals travel to Sunny South Beach to take on Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Miami Marlins.

4. Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton is the heavyweight champion of all Big League batters, and he claims the four spot on our #High/Five list as he continues to storm through the second half of the season.

Stanton put on a light show in the batter’s box last week.  He homered in four consecutive games then added another one three days later.

During Stanton’s last seven games he has four home runs, seven RBI, four runs and a .778 slugging percentage.

The two Twin Towers of Power in New York will travel to Baltimore for a Labor Day weekend series against the O’s.

5. Derek Hill

Derek Hill makes his first appearance this season on our #High/Five list this year and becomes the second Tiger to claim the honor after Akil “The Thrill” Baddoo.

Hill is one of the best young defenders patrolling center field that the Majors has to offer, but his first career time hitting home runs in back-to-back games is what propelled him this week.

Over his last seven games, Hill is hitting .333 with a .667 slugging percentage, two home runs and four runs scored.

This weekend Hill and the Tigers will battle against the wild card hopeful Cincinnati Reds.