Aaron Judge, Ben Rice Now Are MLB’s Most Dangerous Power Duo

The New York Yankees sluggers have combined to launch 17 homers so far this season.

Apr 17, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) doubles during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While the New York Yankees are in the middle of a bit of a cold stretch, they have a duo putting up power numbers unlike most teams around the league.

On Sunday, both Aaron Judge and Ben Rice crushed homers early on against the Kansas City Royals. For Judge, it was his ninth homer of the season. For Rice, it was his eighth homer of the season and fourth straight game with a long ball overall.

Starting off with a bang 🫡#RepBX pic.twitter.com/iHMvjJh82V

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 19, 2026

Ben Rice has homered in FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES! pic.twitter.com/2WMDyz1TGA

— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2026

The Yankees Duo Stand Alone In MLB

Apr 19, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after hitting a two run home run during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In the process, the Yankees duo made a bit of history. MLB's Sarah Langs shared on X that Judge and Rice are just the third Yankee duo to rack up eight-plus homers in the team's first 22 games of a season.

"Yankees duos with 8+ HR each in team’s first 22 games: 2026 Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, 2022 Judge, Anthony Rizzo, 1956 Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle," Langs wrote.

That's not all. Judge and Rice are also leading the league right now as a duo with their 17 combined homers, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

"Aaron Judge has 9 HRs, Ben Rice has 8. Their combined 17 are the most of any teammates in MLB," Hoch wrote.

Who saw this duo coming as the top one in the league right now through just over 10 percent of the season? Certainly not many people. The Los Angeles Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker, but they have combined to hit eight homers. Mookie Betts is a star, but is injured. Ohtani and Max Muncy have combined to hit 11 homers.

Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker of the Houston Astros have combined to hit 14 homers. The Yankees are the only team in baseball with two guys with eight or more homers. Mike Trout and Jorge Soler have combined to hit 12 homers. Brandon Lowe and Oneil Cruz have combined to hit 13 homers. Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz have also combined to hit 13 homers.

What Judge and Rice are doing right now isn't being matched by any other duo in Major League Baseball right now and it has been historic for the Yankees in general. All in all, there's a lot of firepower in New York right now. Imagine if these two could keep this pace up throughout the campaign? Judge has nine homers in 22 games. That's a pace of 66 homers in 162 games. Rice has eight homers in 21 games played. That's a pace of 61 homers across 162 games.