Can Aaron Judge Really Take the Triple Crown?

Aaron Judge is in the business of hitting bombs and, right now, business is good. He crushed his major league-leading 22nd home run on Monday and broke the record for the fastest ever recorded exit velocity on a batted ball the night before. The hype surrounding the rookie sensation who was seemingly built in some kind of baseball laboratory has reached an unprecedented level and sportsbooks – along with the rest of the sporting world – have begun to take notice.

They’ve started cranking out betting props for what the six-foot-seven, 280-pound outfielder will be able to accomplish this season and Sportsbook has put together a list of options that’s headlined by the question that many in baseball have already asked – will Judge pull off the coveted Triple Crown?

For those who don’t know, to win the Triple Crown, a hitter must finish the season leading his league in batting average, runs batted in and home runs, something Judge was briefly on pace to do earlier this week before Nelson Cruz passed him in the ribbie department.

The Triple Crown is considered to be one of the most difficult accomplishments in sports and to put that into perspective, consider that only one man – Miguel Cabrera – has achieved the feat in the last 50 years.

Miggy, who finished his Triple Crown season batting .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBI, just barely edged out Curtis Granderson and Josh Hamilton for the major-league home run lead that year and he had to clear the fence on the third to last game of the season in order to do it. Cabrera is considered to be the best pure hitter of his generation and when he won the Triple Crown in 2012 he was in the midst of a three-year hot streak.

There’s no doubting that Judge is a monster but can he keep up this ridiculous pace and put himself on a list with the MLB’s absolute best in his first full season in the bigs? The jury is still out on that one but the numbers, which have him on pace to smash Mark McGwire’s rookie home run record and finish with 129 RBI, are encouraging, to say the least.

He’ll (obviously) have to stay healthy to achieve those numbers and I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there’s likely going to be a slump in his future. Pitchers should adjust to the behemoth sooner or later and for a guy as big as Judge, keeping that average up will be no simple task.

That said, it seems Judge can hit the ball wherever he wants to and defensive shifts have been completely ineffective against the slugger so far. If he continues to be content with keeping the rock inside the yard and crushing the hangers when they come – the Triple Crown is definitely within reach.

Will Aaron Judge win the Triple Crown?
  • Yes +3300
Odds as of June 14 at Sportsbook
Will Aaron Judge Lead the MLB in Batting average at the end of 2017?
  • Yes +1000
  • No -2500
Odds as of June 14 at Sportsbook
Will Aaron Judge Lead the MLB in Home Runs at the end of 2017?
  • Yes +300
  • No -500
Odds as of June 14 at Sportsbook
Will Aaron Judge Lead the MLB in RBI at the end of 2017?
  • Yes +500
  • No -1000
Odds as of June 14 at Sportsbook
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