New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.
He hit .500 with five homers and 11 RBI over that span, and has put the Yanks on his back as they make a run at the AL East top spot.
New York is now 29-20, with a four-game winning streak thanks to Judge.
Judge has turned up the heat in the last 10 days or so, just upon returning from a short absence due to a mild hip strain.
In his last eight games, he has seven (!) home runs, a 354 wRC+, and a whopping 16 RBI.
The incredible stretch of play by Judge has not only translated into wins for the Yankees, but it’s also fueling his own MVP case.
Yes, even after missing more than a week with the hip ailment, he has enough elite numbers to dream about a second award in a row as of now.
Of course, there is a whole lot of ground to cover, but the Yanks’ captain is already on his 2022 form and that means bad news for the rest of the league.
He has been so good recently that he already leads the league in OPS.
Here are your MLB OPS leaders 👏⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cDaEeLyBdz
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 23, 2023
The white-hot Judge has already leapfrogged fellow MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr. (in the National League) in OPS.
For the year as a whole, Judge is hitting .299/.400/.642 with 13 home runs in just 38 games.
Those rate stats look awfully close to the .311/.425/.686 he had last year, and he is on the upswing.
He is healthy, he is locked in, and he is determined to keep accumulating hardware.
The ultimate goal is to send his Yankees to the World Series, but individual awards are always welcomed.
NEXT: Aaron Judge Has Had A Week To Remember
