Yankees Star Judge Surprisingly Not Considered Heavy AL MVP Favorite by Executives

In a recent poll, the star of the New York Yankees wasn't the overwhelming MVP front-runner

Mar 27, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) follows through on an RBI double against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the start of the season underway for the New York Yankees, the franchise will be focusing on trying to weather the storm of injuries early on. 

On Opening Day, the Yankees began the campaign on a positive note with a nice 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. 

In the win, New York saw some of their young stars rise to the occasion with early home runs that set the tone. 

It is very important that the rising stars of the Yankees continue to get better this year, especially on offense. 

Coming into the season, New York knew that they would be relying heavily on Aaron Judge in the middle of the batting order. After the loss of Juan Soto, there is no debate about whom the best hitter on the team is in 2025. 

Now, the captain of the Yankees will be trying to lead his group in a year that does have some uncertainty. However, when he’s on the field, there isn’t much need to worry. 

Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com (subscription required) recently polled 18 MLB executives about who would win the American League MVP.

"I mean Judge might already have three in a row if not for an injury -- and Ohtani," said one AL exec. "He's my pick until further notice."

Surprisingly, despite that vote of confidence, Judge only received four votes total. 

Seeing the reigning American League MVP only receive four of the 18 votes is a bit shocking. Judge is coming off arguably the best season of his career, and he has won the award in two of the last three years. 

If not for getting injured in 2023, the slugger might already have three AL MVP's in a row. 

Last season, the captain slashed .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. The slugging percentage being over .700 is some video game-type numbers for the 32-year-old, and he will be looking to replicate that. 

While this should still be Judge’s award to lose, he will have some stiff competition once again from Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals. 

Even though there have been concerns about the lineup for the Yankees coming into this season, the unit has always been good as long as Judge is playing. However, his true worth and why he should be a heavy favorite for AL MVP is what happened to the offense in 2023 when he missed time. 

The unit not only struggled, but New York missed the playoffs entirely. 

Until proven otherwise, the Yankees slugger should be considered the heavy favorite to win the AL MVP. 

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