Getty Aaron Judge #99 and Juan Soto #22
The 2024 MLB season hasn’t even reached the All-Star Break, but the New York Yankees have already monopolized conversation surrounding the AL MVP race. On June 16, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote that team captain Aaron Judge and newly acquired Juan Soto are “clear front-runners” for the title, which would be Judge’s second time winning the award and Soto’s first.
“The AL MVP… is either slugging center fielder Aaron Judge or slugging right fielder Juan Soto,” Heyman wrote, having conducted an unofficial poll to choose between the two players in the Yankees’ clubhouse. “It’s close enough that the vast majority of about a dozen Yankees personnel canvassed Sunday called it a draw or declined to choose. One said Judge flat-out, two seemed to lean Judge, and one said Soto. Other than that: blank ballots.”
As of June 17, Judge was slashing .299/.425/.686 to lead MLB in OPS (1.111), home runs (26), RBIs (64), and walks (57) and ranking second in on-base percentage (.425) and doubles (22). Soto, in his first season with the Yankees, is leading MLB in on-base percentage (.433) and ranks second in OPS (1.025), fifth in batting average (.315) and RBIs (55) and sixth in home runs (18).
Race for AL MVP
In his June 16 analysis, Heyman acknowledged that Judge and Soto aren’t the only sluggers with a shot at AL MVP this season — but they’re definitely the most obvious choices.
“Cases certainly also could be made for Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Guardians third baseman José Ramírez,” Heyman wrote. “But a check of the stat leaderboard is clear. Judge is first in most categories, Soto second.”
Henderson has been dominant for the Baltimore Orioles since his debut in August 2022, but this season, he’s stepped up his performance. As of June 17, the 22-year-old was slashing .274/.370/.588 to rank fifth in MLB in OPS (.958) and second in home runs (22), behind only Judge.
The Kansas City Royals‘ Bobby Witt Jr. is leading MLB in batting average at .327, and with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs, he’s poised to have a career-best season. José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians is also having a very strong year, slashing .269/.330/.534 with 62 RBIs (second-best in MLB) and 18 home runs.
Still, it’s hard to deny that Judge and Soto appear to be in a league of their own, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal musing on June 7 that the two sluggers may be “the best combination of a right- and left-handed hitter in the history of the game.”
And if it’s up to Judge, Soto will be the one who takes home the AL MVP title this season.
“Juan’s definitely got my vote based on what he’s done all year, coming up big to making great defensive plays,” Judge told Heyman on June 16. “The guy’s always on base for me. He makes my job a lot easier. He and [Anthony] Volpe are the engine of this offense.”
Yankees Still Poised for World Series Contention
As of June 17, the Yankees led MLB with a record of 50-24 and run differential of +124, but they haven’t been able to pull away from the competition. After the Yankees lost two straight games to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend ending June 16, the Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies are now just 1.5 games back, and the pressure is on New York to tighten up their roster.
While Judge and Soto have been unstoppable this season, there are obvious cracks in the rest of the Yankees’ lineup. With the July 30 trade deadline approaching, Fox Sports’ Deesha Thosar projected on June 7 that retooling the right side of the infield could be a priority.
““Anthony Rizzo, in particular, has disappointed with a career-low OPS in the final year of his Yankees contract,” Thosar wrote. “Gleyber Torres had a better May than he did April, and he’s been serviceable since coming out of that early-season slump, but he still sports an 81 OPS+ and has been embroiled in trade rumors throughout his Yankees tenure.”
Thosar continued, “Rizzo and Torres … have been able to hide behind the behemoth that is Judge/Soto/[Giancarlo] Stanton, but if there’s a deal that makes sense to upgrade the right side of the infield, the Yankees should take it.”
The Yankees have gone 14 seasons without winning an AL Championship, and after a disappointing 2023, the team came into this year with a lot to prove. With Judge and Soto leading the team, the Yankees are brimming with World Series potential, but tightening up the rest of the offense at the trade deadline will be a crucial step.