The New York Yankees are off to a 3-2 start to the season, with Aaron Judge having an explosive series against the Milwaukee Brewers, blasting four home runs and driving in 11 RBIs. Despite his stellar performance and winning the AL MVP last season, ESPN ranked Judge fourth on their recent Top 100 list. This ranking has sparked strong reactions from fellow players.
Pirates star Andrew McCutchen, when commenting on the second-ranked Bobby Witt Jr., expressed his disbelief: “I like Bobby Witt [Jr.]’s skill set, and he did some great things last year. But what Judge has done for a couple of years now, it’s hard to put [Witt] above him.”
Tommy Pham, McCutchen’s teammate, shared similar sentiments: “You’ve got Judge as the fourth-best player? Am I tripping here?” He went on to argue, “Look at Judge’s numbers. Judge can’t be that low. With all due respect, everybody above him on the list is a great player — Mookie [Betts], Bobby, Ohtani is a unicorn. But Judge had a Barry Bonds season last year.” By many metrics, Judge indeed had one of the greatest seasons ever by a right-handed hitter, leading the league with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs while earning his second AL MVP award. While Shohei Ohtani’s top spot is understandable, the rankings of Witt and Betts at two and three, respectively, seem to be the source of contention.
Despite a slow start last year, where he didn’t hit his fourth home run until late April, Judge’s early power surge this season — hitting his fourth home run before March ended — could be fueled by the ESPN ranking, possibly motivating him to pursue his 62-homer record consistently.
Seven Yankees made the list, including Judge, but notable absences include Gerrit Cole, who is sidelined for the season due to an elbow injury. Max Fried, Devin Williams, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe, Carlos Rodon, and Cody Bellinger also appeared.
