Aaron Judge took his first career ejection personally as he has been on a planet which few can reach ever since.
In his last seven games he is slashing .381/.535./.952 with five RBI, six walks and three home runs, one being a 467ft shot to the left field bleachers in Target Field to begin what ended up a 4-for-4 day at the plate.
The Yankees captain earns the top spot on Week 7 of our #HighFive List.
Aaron Judge
Ever since being ejected a few Saturday afternoons ago, Aaron Judge has gotten back to being one of the best hitters in the Majors.
He hit just .220 with six home runs through the entire month of April and already has five to go along with a .378 average more than halfway through May.
Despite the slow start, Judge finds himself near the top of the American League leaderboard in most hitting categories including leading the A.L. with 14 doubles and 34 walks while ranking in the top five for OPS, home runs, slugging and on base percentage.
Judge’s Yankees will host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game series this weekend.
Marcus “Stro Show” Stroman
Marcus Stroman bounced back from his worst start of the season and threw a gem against the Minnesota Twins Wednesday night to earn the second spot on our #HighFive List.
He got his third win of the year by throwing six shutout innings and allowing only two hits on two strikeouts and three walks.
“Mechanically, I thought I was battling a little at the beginning,” said Stroman. “But I thought as the game progressed, I started to feel stronger and stronger.”
Stroman’s record now stands at 3-2 and he lowered his ERA to 3.33.
As a staff the Yankees have the second lowest earned run average in the Majors at 2.95, slightly behind their longtime rival Red Sox.
His next start will be Monday against the Mariners in a series that could see the return of shortstop J.P. Crawford to Seattle’s lineup.
Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts takes the third spot on this weeks #HighFive after a week that included him moving solely into fifth on the all-time leadoff home run list with 50 and four multi-hit games.
That lead-off home run was Betts’ seventh of the year and came by way of a bro-on-bro crime against San Francisco Giants starter Jordan Hicks.
After going 0-for-5 last Friday night against the Padres, Betts has registered two hits in each of his last four games. He also finds himself ranked second on Major League Baseball’s “Hitters Power Rankings.”
His Dodgers will welcome the Cincinnati Reds for a four-game series this weekend were they will face fellow #HighFive member Hunter Greene Saturday night.
Hunter Greene
Hunter Greene calls Arizona home in the off-season so it was no surprise he looked comfortable in his start in Phoenix against the D-Backs earlier this week.
He got the win after going seven innings and giving up just two earned runs on five hits and six strikeouts.
His 72 strikes thrown out of 101 pitches were the most strikes he has thrown in any start during his career.
“I had to come through for the guys right there,” said Greene in his postgame interview. “We have been working hard so I was just trying to do my job. I have worked on my fastball and it will continue to get better throughout my career. I know how good it is and how good it can be so I just need to trust it.”
Greene’s ERA now stands at 3.27. His next start will come in his hometown of Los Angeles when he faces a star-studded Dodgers lineup this Saturday night.
Giancarlo Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton rounds out this week’s #HighFive as the Yankees became the first team to ever have three players make the same #HighFive list.
For years now nobody in Major League Baseball has hit baseballs harder than Stanton and that trend has continued into 2024.
MLB began releasing new data that can collect batters’ swing speed as well as barrel rate (hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the bat).
Stanton’s average swing hits 80 mph which is the highest in the Majors.
Over his last seven games he has a .310 average with three home runs and four RBI.
It is also important to note that Stanton has played in 39 of 41 games this year.
His best ability has always been availability, and if he is there to consistently provide protection for Judge and Soto, the Bronx Bombers will be a tough out.
Hunter Greene went Beast Mode in his last start against the Miami Marlins allowing no runs and only one hit on the way to earning his fourth win of the season.
For that, the Reds rookie flamethrower takes the top spot in Week 17 of our #HighFive list.
1. Hunter Greene
Hunter Greene became the first pitcher in baseball’s modern era to have three games in a season where he went six plus innings with eight plus strikeouts and only one hit when he did it Monday night in South Beach.
He went six innings, striking out eight and not allowing a single walk or earned run.
Three times this season Greene has thrown at least 38 pitches over 100 MPH in a single game, which is good for the highest three totals in that category since 2008. The next closest pitcher to Greene is Mets Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom who only hit the century mark 33 times.
It was his fifth time striking out at least eight batters as he currently sits in the top 10 for the National League with 127 K’s.
Greene’s next start will be Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.
2. Nick Gordon
Nick Gordon quietly accumulated an average of .471 and an on base percentage of .500 during his last seven games to give him the second spot on our #HighFive list.
Gordon has seen his role grow larger and larger each month this season and after going from utility bench player to now full-time starter and part-time center fielder.
Before this week he had been hitless in his previous seven games, but after July 27th he went on a five-game hitting streak in addition to a few game winning sac flies before it was snapped.
On the season Gordon is hitting .271 with a .730 OPS, 17 RBI and four homers.
3. Aaron Judge
The biggest and baddest slugger in baseball resides in the Bronx (for now) and he added another credential to his historic 2022 season by winning the American League Player of the Month award for July.
In 25 games Judge slashed .333/.446/.806 while leading the Majors in home runs and RBI.
His 32 RBI for the month matched a career high from September of 2017, and his 13 home runs are just under the 15 he had in that same season which ended with him winning the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Last weekend Judge hit the 200th home run of his career and he now leads the Majors by a wide margin with 43, only trailing Barry Bonds 2001, Mark McGwires 1998 and Babe Ruth’s 1921 for the most through a player’s first 106 games.
Judge brings his Yankees into St. Louis for a three game series this weekend.
4. Tim Anderson
The American League All-Star starting shortstop has been appealing a three-game suspension this week after an argument with an umpire after a strike call led to him being ejected.
However Anderson’s beef was justified, as the pitch does not appear to hit the zone at all, but I am sure the fact his White Sox were trailing the last place Oakland A’s played a factor as well.
Despite that Anderson is 11-for-30 for a .367 average in his last seven games with hits in nine straight games and in 20 of 22 games.
Anderson currently ranks second in the National League and fifth in the entire Majors with a .313 batting average. A decision on his suspension should come sometime this weekend during their series against Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers.
5. Byron Buxton
The man who hit the game-winning home run for the American League in this year’s All-Star Game is still mashing a few weeks later as he sent three to the seats in his last seven games.
He has been dealing with a knee injury this year that has required him to not play the field as much as he would like.
Despite not always getting to show off his best tool, his defense, Buxton still leads the team in WAR and is on track to finish with one of the highest OPS+ ratings for a center fielder in Twins history.
He is currently fourth in the American League with a career-high 26 home runs but will need to continue to raise his batting average which is at just .221 through these final two months of the season.
Few people on this planet play the game of baseball better than Byron Buxton. The five-tool outfielder for the Minnesota Twins has been a constant force for the team everyday he is penciled in the lineup. He takes the top spot in Week 10 of our #HighFive List after winning the American League Player of the Week award for the second time in his career.
1. Byron Buxton
“I’m just trying to go up there and hit line drives through the ball,” Buxton told reporters. “Through it, not over it. Just stick with that kind of mentality. They just keep carrying it a little bit further.”
Buxton now has 18 home runs this season tying him for second most with reigning Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso.
Byron Buxton was named the American League Player of the Week after hitting five home runs with an OPS of 1.095, seven RBI with an average of .333.
One statistic that shows Buxton’s speed and power is his 44 home runs since he last grounded into a double play – most homers between a double play since they began being tracked in 1940.
Buxton has five home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored and a .240 average over his last seven games.
After helping the Twins win two out of three games against J.P. Crawford and the Seattle Mariners will take Minnesota to the desert for a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2. Michael Brantley
Michael Brantley is batting .429 through the first two weeks plus of June and has a hit in every game helping him earn the second spot on our #HighFive List.
The five-time All-Star has put himself in the elite category of hitters throughout his career. He is one of the only players to have a batting average .300 for the last four consecutive seasons – and hit .299 in 2017.
This season Brantley has drawn more walks (28) than strikeouts (24) so far. Over his last seven games he’s hitting .385 with four RBI, four walks and six runs scored. This weekend Brantley and his Astros welcome the Chicago White Sox into Houston.
3. Aaron Judge
Just keep the “All Rise” soundbite on loop for the rest of the season. Major League Baseball’s current home run leader continued the campaign for the first MVP award of his career this week earning him the third spot on our #HighFive List.
Judge hit his 25th home run of the season Wednesday night off of American League Cy Young contender Shane McClanahan. Judge iss officially on pace for 65 home runs, just seven less than Barry Bonds 73 in 2001.
He has homered in six of his last 11 games and became just the second player to hit 100 home runs in the current Yankee Stadium. Only Mark Teixeira has more (113). On his current pace, Judge could officially become that stadium’s home run king by July.
Judge is batting .296 with three home runs, four RBI and seven runs over his last seven games.
This weekend, Judge and the Yankees have a huge series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
4. Taijuan Walker
Taijuan Walker deserves some respect on his name after his 10-strikeout performance against the Angels on Sunday Night Baseball this past weekend.
Walker went six innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits during his third start on the Mets west coast road trip. Those 10 K’s were the most for Walker since 12 last June.
The 2021 All-Star has been solid on the mound this season. He’s got an 3.08 ERA with 35 strikeouts and a 4-2 record for a Mets rotation that has been hampered early with injuries.
If you take away a rough outing against the Phillies back in May, Walker’s ERA would be at 2.44 and he would probably be getting major consideration for his second-consecutive All-Star berth.
Walker’s next start will come Saturday at Citi Field against the Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Miami Marlins.
5. George Springer
George Springer had reached base safely in 24 consecutive games, before the streak was snapped Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
It was the longest streak in the Majors at the time. Despite it being snapped, Springer is still having one of the best comeback seasons in baseball.
Due to injuries, Springer only played in 78 games last season which was his lowest total since his debut season in 2014.
Baseball’s most explosive leadoff hitter is on track to make his fourth-career All-Star team as he is batting .271 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI as he tries to keep a Blue Jays team that came into the season with high expectations above water.
Cedric Mullins continues to make history on the field as he joined seven Baltimore Orioles, including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, Don Baylor and Paul Blair as members of the 20 home run 20 stolen base club.
He has also been one of the hottest hitters on the planet as he has hits in 19 consecutive games after a three-hit performance in the finale of the Tigers series
For that, he takes the top spot in Week 18 of our #High/Five list.
1. Cedric Mullins
The Orioles centerfielder would have a real shot an American League MVP award if he was on a winning team.
Mullins was named as Rob Parker’s Home Boi Highlights pick after eclipsing the feat.
Over his last seven games, Mullins has an average of .345 with two home runs, three RBI, two stolen bases and seven runs scored.
“CM Storm” has climbed his way into the top four in the race for the Major League Baseball batting title, but Astros Michael Brantley still sits on top and has extended his lead over the past few days.
During the 8th inning of Miami’s game against the Mets last Thursday, members of their broadcast team downplayed Brinson’s power and ability to bat out of the cleanup spot.
Well, as quickly as a SpongeBob “A few moments later” scene comes up, Brinson lined a two run double to the right field gap to ice the Marlins win.
Brinson was 12-for-25 this week for a .480 average, three home runs, 10 RBI and three walks.
His Marlins take on the Chicago Cubs in Sunny South Beach this weekend.
3. George Springer
It’s only been a few weeks since the Blue Jays began playing games in Toronto again, yet George Springer is already bigger than Drake in Canada; at least to the Rogers Centre faithful.
Last week Springer had the top spot on our #High/Five list after earning his third career Player of the Week award, and even though he fell a few spots, he’s still raking since he came off the IL.
Springer hit a go-ahead three run home run late in Sunday’s game to lift the Blue Jays over a Boston Red Sox team that they are battling neck-and-neck for a Wild Card spot.
In addition to Major League Baseball’s “Field of Dreams” game Thursday which featured a matchup between the White Sox and the Yankees, the Sox had three total Prime time games this week.
Anderson homered on the first pitch of the first-ever Sunday Night Baseball game broadcasted live on ABC.
Then, less than 24 hours later, T.A. played in a game broadcasted on ESPN against the Twins and would homer in the games first at bat as well.
Anderson currently sits eighth in the league in batting average. Over his past seven games, he batted .281 with four RBI and four runs scored.
5. Lorenzo Cain
Since coming off of the Injured List July 27th, World Series Champion Lorenzo Cain has been finding his stride at the plate, as he has recorded a hit in 10 of his last 11 games.
Cain decided not to play during last year’s Covid shortened season, but this year he is getting a chance to show great verteran leadership as he is a part of an outfield that includes fellow MLBbros Jackie Bradley Jr. and Tyrone Taylor.
Over his last seven games, Cain is batting .269 with five RBI, two steals and three runs scored.
This weekend Cain and his Brewers will take on Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Steel City.
Tim Anderson had a lot to say this week after being left off of the American League All-Star roster.
But instead of words, the White Sox shortstop used his bat to campaign for why he should be in Denver.
And Anderson’s bat spoke volumes. He batted over .430 this week, including going 4-for-4 in Wednesday’s game against Minnesota.
For that, he claims the top spot for Week 14 on our #HighFive list.
1.Tim Anderson
T.A. is one of the anointed faces of the game of baseball, and the sport will be missing out on something special by not having the R.B.I. Baseball cover boy at this year’s All-Star game.
He has the second-highest batting average for all American League shortstops at .307 and has added 29 RBI, 14 steals and a .768 OPS on a first-place White Sox team that has been riddled with injuries since spring training.
Over his last seven games, he has a .433 batting average with seven runs and a .485 OBP. Anderson also has recorded multiple hits in three of his last four games and is riding a nine-game hitting streak.
He’s reached base safely in his last eight plate appearances, including three walks, four singles, and a double.
Even legendary Hall of Famer Frank Robinson had a lot to say about Anderson missing out on the 2021 All-Star game. His batting average is currently the ninth highest in all of baseball and hopefully, he will use his snubbing as fuel to the fire during his quest for a second batting championship.
Frank Thomas fighting for Tim Anderson's life out here
We have pleaded his case this entire season, and last Sunday we finally got what we wanted; Mullins is a Major League All-Star.
The 5-foot-8, multi-faceted phenom started celebrating his achievement mid-game during a matchup against the Los Angeles Angels Sunday by hitting a game-tying, pinch-hit single then following that with a go-ahead home run.
This week, Mullins hit three home runs while batting .321 with six RBI, five runs and a stolen base. He is leading all American League outfielders in hits, total bases, OPS, and his 3.9 WAR is the highest for all outfielders and sixth-highest in the Majors.
These five players will be representing #MLBbro Nation after the MLB announced its All Star reserves Sunday. @_teammill is in the Leadoff spot to tell you about the three bro’s who will be joining Aaron Judge and Marcus Semien in the Mile High City https://t.co/EqK2DxY31Rpic.twitter.com/KOI4uVApjH
Mets’ outfielder Dominic Smith is making his first appearance on our #HighFive list this season. His year has been up and down, but lately, he has become one of the most consistent players in New York’s lineup.
Smith had the first two-homer game of his career last Thursday against the Braves. Then followed that with a home run off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole a few games later.
Dominic Smith stays hot with a classic Yankee Stadium homer off Gerrit Cole to the short porch in right.
That's Smith's third homer in his last 13 innings.
He batted .375 with six RBI and eight runs over his last seven games and added a web gem when he jumped into foul grounds to snag a ball out of the air.
This weekend, his Mets welcome MLBBro Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pittsburgh Pirates to CitiField for a four-game series.
4. Aaron Judge
This season for the Yankees has been disappointing, but the Tower of Power Aaron Judge has responded to the bright lights and been one of the best players in baseball this entire season.
Last Thursday night, he was named an All-Star starter for the American League outfield and also became just the fifth Yankee ever to hit 20 home runs before the All-Star break in three straight seasons.
One of those home runs came during a Bro-on-Bro crime when he launched a ball to the right-field bleachers of Yankee Stadium against Taijuan Walker to break up his no-hit bid in the sixth inning.
Judge is one of baseball’s top sluggers so it is a little disappointing he is not participating in one of the most anticipated Home Run Derby’s in recent memory, but he needs his rest as a big second half by him is a must if the Yankees, who currently sit just two games above .500, want to get back into contention for the American League East pennant.
This season has been a resurgence for Andrew McCutchen and after what he’s done to Chicago Cubs’ staff during this series, he may want to get a permanent residency in their batter’s box and on our #HighFive list.
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