Jun 3, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

It’s safe to say that Aaron Judge is set to make *a lot* of money as a free agent ahead of the 2023 MLB season.

The New York Yankees‘ 6’7″ slugger cranked his MLB-leading 20th home run of the season in Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers.

Speaking of the Tigers, Judge now has just 10 fewer homers than the Tigers do as an entire team! Detroit has hit an MLB-lowest 30 homers on the season.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have 77 dingers as a team, good for seven more than any other team. Getting 20 homers from one player is a big help, of course.

Judge has more four homers than the second-highest total of 16 blasts from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, and nobody else in the majors has at least 15 homers. He has an MLB-best .679 slugging percentage, with the next-best mark being .642 from the Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramirez. He also leads the majors in OPS (1.059) and wRC+ (200).

There’s a long way to go, and it’s extremely difficult to sustain the production to this level, but Judge is currently topping the slugging numbers of his ridiculous 2017 Rookie of the Year season, when he hit 52 homers, slugged .627, and put together a 1.049 OPS and 174 wRC+. He was worth 8.8 wins above replacement (WAR) per FanGraphs in that 2017 season, while currently coming in at 3.2 WAR (third, behind Betts and Manny Machado).

Judge is looking like a very strong MVP contender for a Yankees team that entered Friday night with the best record in the majors at 36-15. And he’s looking very likely to get a mega contract this upcoming offseason.

Here’s a look at how the MLB world is reacting to Judge hitting his 20th homer of the season:

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

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