Judge and Jury
Aaron Judge (NYY): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
It is a fun time to be a Yankees fan as Aaron Judge and a jury of his peers laid down the law with authority in the Bronx with 5 HRs as a team in the 10-3 win over Colorado. Judge hit his 50th and 51st, which was part of back-to-back-to-back HRs by himself, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Listen, I am a big fan of Bobby Witt, Jr., but the AL MVP conversation has to start and end with Judge at this point. He has as many HRs (10) as strikeouts in his last 15 games and that ratio is even crazier over his last 7 games (7 HR to 2 Ks). The Pinstripes spent a lot of time jogging on Sunday and it will be interesting to see if they can carry over this momentum into September and the playoffs.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday:
Eugenio Suárez (ARI): 4-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
After a brutal start to the season, Eugenio Suárez has looked like his old self over the past month and it has coincided with Arizona’s resurgence offensively and in the win column. Suarez is hitting .314/.352/.636 with 9 HRs over his last 30 games and looks poised to eclipse his 22-HR mark from 2023.
Addison Barger (TOR): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Addison Barger’s rookie season has not exactly gone as planned, but then again not much has for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024. At this point, Toronto is just assessing what they have to work with going into 2025 and more performances like this over the last month of the season will go a long way towards securing Barger a look for next season’s roster.
Connor Norby (MIA): 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI.
It has been a tough season for Miami after reaching the playoffs in 2023, but some shrewd deadline trades have brought an influx of intriguing young talent to South Beach. Connor Norby has quickly showcased why he was so highly thought of in Baltimore and is looking like a steal from the Trevor Rogers deal. Since coming over from the Orioles, the 24-year-old infielder is hitting .375/.400/.792 with 2 HRs and only 5 strikeouts in 24 at-bats.
Garrett Stubbs (PHI): 4-4, 3B, 2B, 3 R, RBI, HBP.
It feels like once every Sunday a backup catcher goes and has a big game and we have to do a write-up on him despite having little to no fantasy relevance. Well Philadelphia backup Garrett Stubbs was that guy on Sunday, reaching base in all 5 of his plate appearances. The 31-year-old veteran is hitting just .216/.310/.281, but at least he has set a career-high in at-bats for a season.
Colt Keith (DET): 3-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB.
While the playoffs look a bit out of reach for the Tigers, September could still be a fun month in Detroit as the team’s collection of talented young hitters is starting to round into form. Former top prospect Colt Keith understandably struggled during the first few months of 2024, but has turned it on since the All-Star Break, hitting .289/.331/.406 in that span.
J.D. Martinez (NYM): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
J.D. Martinez didn’t make his Mets debut until late April, but he has been an important part of an underrated lineup this season. His 15th HR of 2024 gave the Mets an early lead and it was the 330th of Martinez’s impressive career.
Jurickson Profar (SD): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
With the Mets having increased their lead to 2-0, Padres All-Star Jurickson Profar came up big in the 8th inning with his career-best 21st HR of the season, a 2-run shot to tie the game. Profar has quieted down a bit since his torrid start, but the 31-year-old is still having easily the best season of his career and is a big reason San Diego is poised to make a run in the playoffs.
Alex Bregman (HOU): 2-5, HR, R, RBI.
While his on-base percentage has abandoned him in bizarre fashion in 2024 (.367 for his career, .316 in 2024), it is good to see that Bregman has still maintained his power stroke. A solo shot off Orioles reliever Burch Smith in the 7th inning gave Houston the lead for good and gave Bregman his 21st of the season, just four behind Yordan Alvarez for the team lead.