Yankees Superstars Rank In Top 10 of Top 100 Players
The New York Yankees are a team built on superstars, and those superstars were a significant part of ESPN’s recent list of the Top 100 players in Major League Baseball.
In fact, three of them were ranked in the Top 10.
Aaron Judge, who is the captain and broke Roger Maris’ American League home run record in 2022, was No. 2 on the list. He’s followed by the Yankees’ newest acquisition, Juan Soto, at No. 3. Pitcher Gerrit Cole, who recently won his first Cy Young, was No. 7.
Judge had one of the most productive seasons in the AL in 2023. He hit 37 home runs and drove in 75 runs while he slashed .267/.406/.613/1.019 in 106 games. It was the fewest games he played in a 162-game season since the 102 he played in 2019.
Judge missed a good portion of the season after the right toe injury he suffered while running down a ball at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It didn’t require surgery, but it took him nearly two months to return from the injury.
With a full year of health, Judge could return to hitting 50 or more home runs in 2024. But he’ll have help from Soto, who will take over in right field as Judge slides over the center field.
Soto has proved to be one of the most gifted players in the game since he broke in with the Washington Nationals. He’s in his final year of team control and the Yankees traded five players in December to pry him away from the San Diego Padres. The Yankees are also paying him an arbitration-record $31.5 million in 2024.
He’s worth it. He slashed .275/.410/.519/.930 with 35 home runs and 109 RBI. He broke his own career high in home runs by one and came within one RBI of tying his career high. He did all of that while earning his third All-Star Game berth and playing every game in a season for the first time.
Cole finally won his first Cy Young after several near-misses. He went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 2023, making 33 starts, and his ERA led the American League. He made 33 starts for the second straight season.
He threw 209 innings, giving up 157 hits, 64 runs (61 earned) and 20 home runs. He struck out 222 and walked 48. He finished with a 0.81 WHIP and allowed hitters to bat .206 against him. It was the second straight season in which Cole held batters below a .210 average.
Cole is currently waiting to find out more about his sore elbow, one that caused Yankees officials to have it undergo an MRI.
The only other Yankees player in the Top 100 was shortstop Anthony Volpe at No. 95. Last season he became the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove and a 20-20 season at the plate.
