If there were a five-week MVP award, Aaron Judge would definitely snag it in the American League. He’s had an incredible run this season, and it’s impressive to see how consistently he performs through these 33 games. His batting average is nearly at .400, which is something hard to achieve.
Now, I say this with a bit of caution—Judge seems to shine in almost every category when we think of value. However, right now, Max Fried may just be the Yankees’ most critical player. It’s important to focus on that “valuable” label here because context plays a huge role in these discussions.
If the Yankees had opted to bring back Juan Soto instead of investing heavily in Fried, I suspect they wouldn’t be in as good a position now. They’ve had challenges with their pitching staff, especially with Gerrit Cole sidelined until at least June. With Lewis Gill and Clark Schmidt all vying for starting roles but now facing their own setbacks, the Yankees are running low on options. When Schmidt had to step back, Marcus Stroman also fell out of the rotation, leaving the team with limited depth in Triple-A.
