Every now and then, MLB releases its power rankings: a list that tries to express a combination of who is good and, mostly, who is hot among teams in the league.
They also release their “hitter power rankings”, which is basically the same exercise, but with batters.
Here is their latest installment of the hitter power rankings:
Power moves only. pic.twitter.com/B8QOP7JWQo
— MLB (@MLB) June 17, 2022
There should be no question about the number one player on the list: Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is leading the league in home runs, with 25, and it isn’t really close.
He is on his way to a historic season and will be a very rich man when he signs his next contract.
It was, in all honesty, a bit surprising to see a fellow Yankees slugger on the list.
No, it’s not Giancarlo Stanton, and it isn’t Gleyber Torres, either: it’s Matt Carpenter.
Carpenter Has Taken The League By Storm With Limited Playing Time
His appearance on the list is somewhat shocking not because he doesn’t deserve it (he has, after all, hit six homers in just 11 games), but instead, because he hasn’t really been playing all that much.
But he sure has made his starts count.
The lefty-swinging veteran has an incredible .286/.412/.964 line with 10 runs and 13 RBI in just 34 plate appearances.
He was signed as a castoff a few weeks ago, when the Texas Rangers released him from their minor leagues.
The Yankees snatched him and signed him to an MLB contract.
He is, however, in danger of losing his roster spot eventually because of the numbers game, not because he is playing poorly.
In any case, the Bombers are more than grateful for his contributions, and the player is thankful, too, because the team helped him be on the map again.
It has been an incredible ride, one that hopefully can last a little longer.
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