Five years after his historic rookie season, Aaron Judge finds himself back in the heart of the American League MVP voting. The 30-year-old super slugger will find out if he picks up his first MVP award when the results are unveiled Thursday night.
Judge broke the AL single-season home run record last season, hitting 62 homers while slashing .311/.425/.686 and driving in 131 runs. The right fielder is the clear-cut favorite to win his first MVP award after leading the league in most offensive categories.
However, Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani figures to make an intriguing case to take home his second consecutive MVP award. The 28-year-old cranked 34 homers and posted a slash line of .273/.356/.519. Ohtani also recorded a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 28 starts this season. Yordan Alvarez of the Astros is the third finalist for the award but is considered a long shot.
