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New York Yankees: Five Yankees that have exceeded expectations

By TJ Wengert

May 17, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Hicks (31) celebrates with shortstop Didi Gregorius (18) and right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. The Yankees won 11-7. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Hicks (31) celebrates with shortstop Didi Gregorius (18) and right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. The Yankees won 11-7. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees
Jun 1, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits an RBI single in the first inning during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

Aaron Judge

What if I told you… the MLB might just see its third player to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same season. The man’s name is Aaron Judge. I know you’ve probably never heard of him because no one ever talks about him!

All joking aside, Judge is having a season for the ages.  He was the Yankees top prospect and people around baseball figured he was a 25-30 homerun guy before coming to the Majors.

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He struggled last season as he hit .179, with four homeruns and ten RBIs over 84 at bats. With his high ceiling and small sample size, no one was thinking bust quite yet. And they were right to not be quick to judge (pun absolutely intended).

Among qualified batters, Judge leads the AL in batting average (.335), and homeruns (23), and tied for first in RBIs with Nelson Cruz (53). To show how big a surprise Judge has been, compare his numbers with what his projected numbers were, as ESPN had him as a .227 hitter with 20 homeruns and 56 RBIs.

Judge looks to be the leader of the new core four in New York, to go along with Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres and Dellin Betances. If Judge keeps these numbers up for the rest of the season, then look for Judge to be first MVP and Rookie of the Year winner in the same year since Ichiro in 2001.

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