MLB MVP Ladder: Aaron Judge leaps his Yankees teammate with a never-ending power surge

What a luxury it was for the New York Yankees the first month of the season to have a team good enough to win games while still waiting for Aaron Judge’s bat to wake up.

Even as the 2022 MVP was hitting just .197 through the first 33 games, New York held a 20-13 record knowing it was just a matter of time until Judge started contributing in a massive way.

And boy did that time arrive.

Over the 39 games since May 3, the Yankees are 29-10 and Judge is hitting .391 with 19 home runs in that span. The stretch has catapulted him ahead of teammate Juan Soto for the top spot in our latest AL MVP ladder.

Odds via BetMGM. Stats accurate from start of Sunday, June 16.

American League MVP Ladder

1. Aaron Judge, Yankees (-125)

It’s not that Judge lifted his average from below .200 to over .300 in a month’s time that has him making his ladder debut at the top. It’s how he did it, using his trademark power to drive in runs at an unreal clip. He leads the majors in both home runs and RBI after more than doubling his April HR total in May. And his 18 RBI halfway through June are as many as he had in all of March and April combined.

2. Juan Soto, Yankees (+500)

I said it was a luxury for the Yankees to not need Judge playing well to win games, right? Well, Soto is the reason why. He slides one spot from the last ladder only because of how well Judge is now playing. But his production isn’t sliding. Soto is second in the AL in average and OPS and third in RBI.

3. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals (+500)

Witt’s .326 batting average continues to lead the AL, and he also leads the majors with 59 runs scored thanks in part to his 20 stolen bases. He was the one bright spot for Kansas City against the Yankees last week, going 8-of-16 from the plate with three XBH and three RBI.

4. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles (+450)

Only Judge has more homers than Henderson’s 21 and a better WAR than Henderson’s 4.9 this season. A nine-game hitting streak entering Sunday had the 22-year-old’s batting average trending in the right direction too.

5. José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians (+2000)

Ramírez joins Judge as an AL ladder debutant thanks to a similar May power surge. With 11 homers and 33 RBI in May, the Guardians third baseman now ranks top-five in the majors in both categories. He’ll need to pick it back up in June to keep pace, though.

National League MVP Ladder

1. Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves (+1000)

Ozuna has top-five MVP odds, but +1600 puts him at exactly fifth — because it’s not expected that a DH not named Shohei Ohtani will actually finish this high for the award. However, if he keeps hitting at the rate he’s been hitting since last August, he’ll make it interesting. Ozuna leads the majors in batting average, while also ranking second in RBI and third in homers. He’s raking.

2. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (+2500)

Betts’ odds took a big dip Sunday after he was hit by a pitch that broke his left hand, which obviously hurts his chances to stay in contention. Even before the injury, Betts’ numbers had taken a dip in May. And since the start of June, he was hitting just .220. That said, he was still over .300 on the season with a .900 OPS, making him a strong candidate through this part of the season.

3. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (+185)

Ohtani had a better May than Betts, but he hasn’t been immune to the Dodgers’ struggles either. He’s hitting .216 in June with 14 strikeouts in 13 games. Like Betts, the slump hasn’t been enough to knock him out of the NL’s top five of many statistical categories, including average and home runs.

4. William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers (+1800)

Contreras holds steady at No. 4 on the ladder thanks to another strong month in May where he matched his 21 RBI from the previous month to hold steady in the NL’s top five. He’s also hitting over .300 on the season while catching for a top-10 staff in wins and ERA.

5. Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies (+4000)

There are several players who could have gotten this fifth spot, but I gave the nod to Bohm because 55 RBI are hard to ignore. That number comfortably puts him second in the NL, and he’s doing it without a ton of power. Just a steady presence each at-bat.