Yankees’ Aaron Judge overwhelmingly predicted to retake AL homer crown from Cal Raleigh

Yankees’ Aaron Judge overwhelmingly predicted to retake AL homer crown from Cal Raleigh originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the New York Yankees this upcoming season, but there’s no more obvious reason than Aaron Judge.

He’s still one of the best hitters in all of Major League Baseball, and while he might not have won the American League home run title last season thanks to Cal Raleigh’s slugging 60 homers, there’s no reason to believe Judge can’t win the crown back.

Manny Randhawa of MLB.com shared that, of 57 MLB.com staff members polled for season predictions, Judge was predicted to be the AL home run champion in 2026 in a landslide.

Aaron Judge predicted to win-back AL HR crown

“Home Runs. AL: Aaron Judge, Yankees. This one was a landslide,” Randhawa writes. “He’s the most feared and consistent home run hitter in the game.”

While Raleigh, the Seattle Mariners superstar catcher, hit 60 home runs for an MLB catcher record last season, he’s been a far more inconsistent hitter than Judge has been.

Across his Major League career, Judge has routinely shown the ability to reach 50-plus home runs in a season. It’s also not just about the consistency; he’s also able to reach ridiculous season totals as well.

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Last year, he hit 53 homers, and in 2024, he had 58 home runs. His down year in 2023 was a 37-homer season, but the year before, he hit 62 home runs to break the AL home run record for a single season.

Back in 2017, he hit 52 home runs, which was his breakout season, which warned Major League Baseball about the kind of player he would become.

Now, Judge is one of the most feared hitters, and for good reason. He has 368 career home runs, and the majority have come in the last four seasons.

There’s no reason to believe he can’t reclaim his home run crown this upcoming season after Raleigh stole it in 2025. Judge is awesome, and is predicted to lead the AL in home runs by the overwhelming majority of MLB.com staff members.

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