Aaron Judge brought back his record-breaking Mojo from 2022 this week and put on a power display for the ages. He became the first Yankee ever with multiple three home runs games in the same season after hitting three in last Friday’s contest against Arizona to earn himself the top spot on our final #HighFive list of 2023.
1. Aaron Judge
This season left us thinking what could have been if Aaron Judge did not injure his toe by running into the outfield wall one Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
Judge had his Yankees in prime position to make the playoffs and was on track to outdo his 2022 MVP campaign before going down.
Over his last seven games he slashed .478/.600/1.261 with 12 RBI, seven walks and five homers including the three versus Arizona with the other two coming in the same game Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.
Judge has 37 home runs which right now would be the second most ever for someone who played in 110 fewer games. Mark McGuire hit 39 in 104 games in the 1995 season.
He will look to make history during their final series against the Kansas City Royals over the weekend.
2. Jordan “Sky” Walker
The fourth youngest current player in the Majors put a nice bow on his rookie campaign with strong showing over his last seven games. We have to give a shoutout to Walker for raising his level of play on the defensive side of the ball.
He was a career third baseman in the Minors, but as the season has progressed, he’s gotten better and better at roaming the outfield. At the plate, Walker has a 13-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 22 of 24 games in September.
3. Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien refuses to fade away during the most important time of the year with his Rangers just days away from clinching their first American League West title since 2016.
Both of Semien’s hits in the team’s most recent series came this past Sunday when he launched two home runs in the same game, including his franchise-record 10th leadoff bomb of the year.
In the following series, they would take two of three over the Angels. Semien went a combined 4-for-12 with four runs scored, two RBI, a double and two home runs.
That now puts him at 29 home runs and 99 RBI on the year. If he is able to get to 100, Semien will join Mookie Betts, Ronald Acuna Jr, Charlie Blackmon and Darin Erstad as the only leadoff hitters in MLB history with 100 RBI in a season.
4. Josiah “Sway” Gray
All-Star Josiah Gray set the tone for what looks to be a promising 2024 season with a great ending to 2023. Gray shut down the American League East champions and playoff bound Baltimore Orioles in his final start of the year Tuesday night.
He took home the loss in what ended up being a 1-0 contest after giving up one earned run in six innings while striking out seven and allowing five hits and walking two. After a tough month of August Gray finished off the year strong posting a 2.95 ERA in September with a .241 BA against and 23 strikeouts in 21.1 innings pitched.
Gray ends his first ever All-Star season with a 3.91 ERA and 22 homers allowed. Last season he had a 5.02 ERA and gave up a league-high 38 homers.
5. Devin “The Airbender” Williams
Devin Willams has been the most unhittable pitchers in the Majors this season and anchors the best pitching staff in the Majors. In his first year as the Brewers full-time closer Willams set the bar high for himself with 36 saves, five coming in his last seven appearances.
Over that span, Williams has given up only one run on two hits while striking out 10 in seven innings. He has not given up a run since September 2nd and has a 1.56 ERA this season. The Brewers have a legitimate chance to make some noise in the playoffs with solid pitching and a loaded bullpen.
If they can get the ball in “The Airbenders” hands, especially with a lead late, Milwaukee has a fighter’s chance to capture the National League pennant.
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