The New York Yankees are starting the 2024 season strong after not making the postseason in 2023. They have a 6-1 record and have won against the Houston Astros and two out of three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A group of MLB.com experts predicts that Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, outfielders for the Yankees, will be selected for the All-MLB Team just one week into the season.
Soto is expected to be among the three outfielders on the All-MLB First Team, while Judge is expected to be on the All-MLB Second Team, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan.
MLB introduced All-MLB Team honors in 2019. Fans are responsible for half of the vote, while a group of experts is responsible for the other half.
Soto and Judge Have Already Earned All-MLB Honors
Soto was named to the All-MLB First Team in 2020 and 2021 and the All-MLB Second Team in 2019. Judge received All-MLB First Team honors in 2021 and 2022 and Second Team honors in 2023.
Only Mookie Betts has been named to more All-MLB Teams than Soto and Judge. Judge’s most successful season was in 2022 when he hit an impressive 62 home runs and won the American League MVP Award.
Soto’s best season was in 2021 when he slashed .313/.465/.534 while leading the majors with 145 walks. He came in second in the voting for the National League MVP Award.
The Yankees got Soto in a seven-player trade from the San Diego Padres. He has already made several important plays in his first few games with the team, including cutting down the tying run at home plate in the ninth inning on opening day and giving the Yankees the lead in the ninth inning with a RBI single in the series finale.
“Soto's lifetime 157 OPS+ until the end of 2023 was the ninth-highest rating all time for a player through his age-24 season (minimum 2,500 plate appearances). Judge, on the other hand, led all players in home runs (253) and ranked second (minimum 2,000 PAs) in OPS+ (167) from 2017-23,” wrote Harrigan.
Yankees Duo Projections
Soto and Judge have already proven themselves as two of the best outfielders in baseball individually. Now playing together in the outfield, they are expected to make a significant impact for the Yankees.
According to Baseball-Reference, Judge, 32, is expected to have a batting average of .283, on-base percentage of .392, slugging percentage of .595 and hit 37 home runs with a league-leading .986 OPS in 2024. Soto, 25, is expected to have a batting average of .278, on-base percentage of .418, slugging percentage of .507 and hit 28 home runs. He is also expected to lead the majors in walks for the fourth time in his career.
On March 27, one day before the season started, FanGraphs projected the Yankees to win the division with 87 wins and a %72.0 chance of making the postseason. After the Yankees’ 6-1 start on April 4, their win projection is 90 games with an %83.7 chance of making the postseason.
Judge has had a relatively slow start to the 2024 season. He is 5 of 28 at the plate with just one home run. However, Soto has had a great start for his new team, batting .345/.441/.483 with four RBIs.
With a total of eight All-Star selections and seven Silver Slugger Awards between them, Judge and Soto have the potential to become one of the top duos in the majors.
