#HIGH FIVE | Top MLBbro Players (Week 4)

Aaron Judge is continuing his case to be the highest paid player in baseball when this off-season comes around.

He told the media he wouldn’t talk about his contract once the season started but his early season MVP campaign is speaking volumes. He takes the top spot in Week 4 of our #HighFive list after hitting five home runs and carrying the Yankees to an 11-game winning streak.

 

1. Aaron Judge

Funny how the Yankees went on the longest winning streak in the Majors this season after a two-home run game from Aaron Judge a few weeks ago ignited the team.  Since then, Judge, who entered Thursday tied for first in MLB with two other players (nine home runs), has been one of the best players in baseball.

 

 

He was named Rob Parker’s Homeboi Highlight this week after homering in four out of five games and posting a batting average over .400.

In all, Judge has hits in 12 out of his last 14 games and has his Yankees sitting with the best record in the American League East and tied for the best record in the Majors with their crosstown rivals, the Mets.

Judge and the Yankees had their winning streak snapped Wednesday after the home plate umpire decided to call a few strikes that were near his ankles, but despite that Judge has driven in 13 runs, scoring seven, had a .867 slugging percentage with a .333 batting average over his last seven games.

2. J.P. Crawford

J.P. Crawford joined Aaron Judge as the only two MLBbros named to Major League Baseball’s April Team of the Month. He hit .360 with nine RBI and three home runs that were followed by some top-notch bat flips.

 

Crawford currently leads the American League with a .452 on-base percentage and ranks in the top five for both Wins Above Replacement and OPS.

Crawford had his 11-game hitting streak snapped a few days ago, but immediately began a new one the following day going 2-for-4 and scoring a run, in a game that Dusty Baker clinched his 2,000th win as a manager.

Over his last seven games, Crawford is batting .400 with a .600 slugging percentage and five runs scored.  He’s on pace to have a 30-homer season and potentially a Silver Slugger award in his trophy case next to his Gold Glove.

3. Mookie Betts

Like our own Dante Miles said, it was only a matter of time before Betts got out of his early season slump. He’s given Dodger fans a glimpse of what MVP Mookie brings to the table.

He has collected nine hits in his last seven games including two home runs. One come last night against their rival Giants that had one of their fans nearly in tears after he caught it.

Entering Thursday, Betts was tied for the Major League lead with 23 runs scored this season which is a good sign knowing he has yet to reach his full form in the batters box. He is batting .346 with a .577 slugging percentage and three RBI over his last seven games.

 

4. Josiah Gray

 

Josiah Gray went into the Bay and tore it up during his start last Sunday against the San Francisco Giants. Gray bounced back after taking his second loss of the season. He tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in a big way, firing six scoreless innings of one hit baseball.

Gray did not give up a hit through the first 4.2 innings. He was able to keep the Giants off the board despite giving up a season-high four walks. He only struck out three batters, but one came on a nasty slider with the bases loaded to kill what could have been a major rally.

 

Gray earned three wins for the Nationals as he continues to earn his stripes this season.

On the season, Gray has a 3-2 record with 31 strikeouts and a 3.12 ERA.  His next start will be Saturday night under the bright lights of Los Angeles against the Angels.

5. Giancarlo Stanton

Last week he became the seventh-fastest player ever to reach 350 home runs with a first inning bomb against Baltimore.  

Along with making history at the plate, Giancarlo Stanton began the week showing he is no liability in the outfield by making one of the most impressive catches we have seen this season.

 

Monday came around and Stanton made one of the best catches we have seen this entire season when he robbed Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman with a leaping catch at the wall.

Stanton once again leads the league in average exit velocity at 97.4 MPH and has the highest max exit velocity recorded when he hit a 119.8 MPH liner earlier this season has been just as important as Aaron Judge to the Yankees lineup during their most recent hot streak.

Over his last seven games Stanton is batting .321 with two home runs, four RBI and an on-base percentage over .400.