The Eye-Popping Numbers Behind Aaron Judge, Munetaka Murakami's Power Surge

The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox sluggers have both been excellent so far in 2026.

May 6, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One of the most fun — and unexpected — parts of the 2026 Major League Baseball season so far has been the home run race between New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami.

Aaron Judge is Aaron Judge. This is his 11th season in the big leagues and there isn't a hitter in the league who strikes more fear into pitchers than him. Sure, there are plenty of superstars across the league, like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Mike Trout, among many others, but no one tears the cover off the ball like Judge. In 11 seasons so far, this is a guy who has 383 career homers, a .293 career batting average and a .412 career on-base percentage. He's going to get his homers, but he isn't one-dimensional. He'll get on base with the best of them. In fact, he's led the American League in on-base percentage in three of the last four seasons.

Murakami is in his first season in the big leagues after years shining for the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. He wasted no time adjusting to Major League Baseball and has 14 homers, one behind Judge for the league lead.

Let's take a deeper dive into these two sluggers after hot starts.

Aaron Judge

May 7, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits an RBI single against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Judge started the 2026 season off slowly, but that is a thing of the past. He has played in 38 games and is leading the American League in homers (15) and RBIs (29). On top of that, he's slashing .270/.401/.642. Judge was hitting .230 on April 25 with nine homers. Since then, he has slashed .366/.469/.878 with six homers and 12 RBIs over his last 11 games. Judge already holds the American League record with 62 homers in 2022. While this is the case, he reached 15 homers faster this season than in any other season of his career (37 games).

Unsurprisingly, his Baseball Savant page is pretty much all red. He's in the 100th percentile in expected slugging percentage, 100th percentile in barrel rate, 99th percentile in xwOBA, and 97th percentile in hard-hit rate, among others. This hot streak isn't stopping and we should see a lot more homers if these advanced metrics hold.

Munetaka Murakami

May 6, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) walks back to the dugout after strike out during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

It feels like Murakami and Judge have been trading the top spot on the MLB home run leaderboard on an almost daily basis. Right now, Judge has the crown, but Murakami has held the top spot at points this season as well. Right now, he's slashing .237/.369/.565 with 14 homers and 28 RBIs in 37 games played. So far in his young career, he has been a true three-outcome player: homer, walk or strikeout. He's second in the league in homers, tied for fourth in the American League with 28 walks, and is leading the league with 55 homers.

Murakami's Baseball Savant page is full of red as well. He's in the 100th percentile in hard-hit rate, 99th percentile in average exit velocity, 99th percentile in barrel rate, 96th percentile in walk rate and 95th percentile in expected slugging percentage.