Aaron Judge is on track to have one of the best offensive seasons in Major League history.
His two-homer game Wednesday highlighted another week where he finished with a batting average above .400, earning him his regular place atop our #HighFive list for Week 20.
1. Aaron Judge
With offense down across the Majors, what Aaron Judge is doing at the plate in 2024 is much more special than I think most people realize.
Consider this: Judge entered Thursday leading the Majors in home runs, RBI, OBP, slugging percentage, extra base hits and total bases while sitting second in batting average and walks.
Comparing his numbers now to his record-breaking 2022 season through 127 games, he has driven in more runs and has a higher in average, slugging percentage and OPS while sitting just two home runs off his pace.
Judge homered three times in the first two games of the Yankees series against the Guardians, including two on Wednesday night to raise his league leading total to 47.
The “dog days” of August do not seem to be slowing him down as this has been the best month of what will likely be his second career MVP season.
With a little over a week to go this month, he is slashing .450/.577/.933 with eight home runs, 18 RBI and 17 walks (eight of them being intentional.
2. Simeon Woods Richardson
Simeon Woods Richardson makes our #HighFive list for a second straight week thanks to two quality starts that led to two Twin wins.
Friday, in his home state of Texas against the Rangers he threw five innings and allowed just two runs on three hits.
Then on Wednesday, in hostile territory against a playoff hopeful San Diego Padre team, he went five innings allowing only one run on four hits and added seven strikeouts.
Woods Richardson continues to stack good starts together in what has been somewhat of a surprising rookie year.
That makes two solid starts in a row for Stroman, who struggled to end July and to begin August.
On Sunday he went six shutout innings, giving up just four hits and striking out five.
This after allowing just one run in five innings against the Rangers in his previous start.
Stroman also shined off the field last week when he awarded two $25,000 scholarships to two New York area college freshmen for his HDMH Foundation.
Although no date has been set, he should be slated to start against the Rockies in Yankee Stadium this weekend.
4. James Wood
With each passing week, James Wood gets more comfortable at the Major League level, leaving me to believe that by next season, he will find himself in the conversation for the best outfielders in the National League.
In his last seven games he is slashing .409/.500/.636 with four RBI, a home run and a stolen base.
Woods had his fourth career three-hit game on Wednesday and has hit baseballs harder than most of the Majors since he was called up.
At the young age of 21 he is fifth in the league in average exit velocity, trailing only Aaron Judge, Ohtani, Juan Soto and O’Neil Cruz
Aaron Judge sits atop Week 19 of our #HighFive List after becoming the fastest player in Major League history to reach 300 home runs. The Bronx Bro Bomber did it in just 955 games.
1. Aaron Judge
On last weeks #HighFive we discussed how teams were intentionally walking Aaron Judge on a nightly basis to avoid him doing damage. This time around, Judge was the one being disrespected, as the White Sox decided to give a free pass to fellow All-Star outfielder Juan Soto to take on Judge with two runners on; and he made them pay for it.
On a 3-0 count in the eighth inning, he hit his Major League leading 43rd homer of the season and the 300th of his career. He reached the benchmark in just 955 games, 132 faster than any player in history of the Majors. Over his last seven days Judge has a .480 batting average with two home runs, three doubles, six RBI and seven walks.
He currently has 110 RBI, which is on pace to be the most in his career, bettering the 131 runs he drove in from 2022.
2. Hunter Greene “Machine”
Hunter Greene’s National League Cy Young campaign is full steam ahead for the final six weeks.
He now finds his name amongst the top five for all Major League pitchers in ERA with a 2.83 following his seven innings of one run baseball in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Greene struck out eight while only walking one and surrendering four hits.
His lone run was given up via a home run by Nolan Arenado in the seventh. His .185 batting average against is the lowest in the National League and his 162 strikeouts tie him for fourth in the N.L.
Greene’s next start will be Monday when his Reds travel across the border to face George Springer and the Toronto Blue Jays.
3. Andrew “Cutch” McCutchen
Despite a tough stretch for his Pirates, Andrew McCutchen has done his part to keep their ship afloat by collecting hits in 10 of his last 11 games and slashing .348/.464/.739 with three home runs and eight runs batted over his last seven.
Two of the homers came in an extra inning loss to the Dodgers over the weekend, giving him 16 on the season. That leaves him only four away from his first 20 home runs season since he did it as a Philly in 2021 and the 10th time he reached the mark in his Hall of Fame worthy career.
This weekend McCutchen’s Pirates will host the American League Wildcard hopeful Seattle Mariners in what will be a make-or-break series for Pittsburgh’s playoff chances.
4. Simeon Woods-Richardson
Woods-Richardson threw a career-high seven innings allowing just two runs while issuing no walks and striking out seven in his start last Saturday against their American League Central rival Guardians.
He has been one of the better rookies in Major League Baseball this season, posting a 3.78 ERA through 102.1 innings in his 20 starts.
The stability he has given Minnesota by staying healthy has been a boost to a team that seems to always be dealing with the injury bug in their clubhouse: their latest victim being center fielder Byron Buxton who was placed on the 10-Day Injured List Thursday with a hip injury.
Woods-Richardson’s next start will be Friday night in his home state of Texas against the defending World Series Champion.
5. Devin Williams “The Airbender”
Devin Williams, the inaugural winner of the MLBbro.com “Bob Gibson Pitcher of The Year” award winner makes his first appearance on the #HighFive this season after a back injury sidelined him until late July.
Since then, he has only given up two hits and one earned run in his six appearances while striking out 10 and walking none. The highlight of his week came in his two scoreless and hitless outings against the N.L. West leading Dodgers.
Wednesday night he got out three former MVPs in a row, shutting down Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Mookie Betts took home his fair share of hardware this week and tied his career high in home runs to earn the top spot in Week 21 of our #HighFive list.
1. Mookie Betts
This week Mookie Betts was awarded two of baseball’s highest honors: Being named Rob Parker’s Home Boi Highlight and winning the National League’s player of the Week award.
He batted .346 with a .414 on base percentage, seven RBI, four doubles and four home runs which all came during the Dodgers three-game series in South Beach.
Friday night Betts knocked two out of the park; one gave the Dodgers a two-run lead in the 7th and the other tied the game in the 9th.
He would then win the game for the Dodgers with a go-ahead single in the 10th.
Wednesday night Betts tied his career high with 32 home runs when he took Mets Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom deep for Los Angeles’ only run.
This weekend Mookie Betts and the Dodgers will matchup with Josh Bell and the San Diego Padres.
2. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge is one of just three MLBbros to have two 50 homer seasons in their career. His bro bomb total for this season stands at 51 entering Thursday as he is now on pace to hit 63 home runs by October 5th, which would be an American League record and the most in the Majors since Sammy Sosa in 1999.
With the calendar turning to September those 51 give him 15 more than any other Major League player. Babe Ruth is the only other player to lead the league by at least 15 home runs entering the final month.
In addition to home runs Judge leads the Majors in RBI and OPS. He leads the American League with 78 walks.
This weekend the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays as they look to add some wins to Judge’s historic season.
3. Trayce Thompson
Trayce Thompson is looking for his first ring and the families second in 2022 this season as he continues to be one of the reasons the Dodgers ended August with the best record in baseball.
“He just has the ability to really slow the game down. It’s probably in his bloodline,” said manager Dave Roberts about Thompson who has raked his way into the lineup ever since Mookie Betts suffered an injury earlier this season.
Thompson hit his seventh home run of the season over the weekend in Miami and batted .421 this week with five RBI. two home runs, a .500 on base percentage and .842 slugging.
4. Josh Bell
Josh Bell is back to being one of the best switch hitters in baseball after he struggled to begin his tenure in San Diego. His last seven games he is batting .333 with a .467 on base percentage, four RBI and has drawn six walks. Bell now has his average at .278 with 16 home runs and 66 RBI this season.
.@JBell_19 Giving The Padres Exactly What They Need As They Make Playoff Push
A go-ahead grand slam and six RBI night Tuesday give Nick Gordon the fifth and final spot on the #HighFive. He finished the Twins victory 2-for-4 with six RBI to add to what has been a solid season for the former infielder now turned outfielder. He batted .320 this week with eight RBI and now has his average at .279 for the year.
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