Yankees' Aaron Judge, Ben Rice Disrespected in Latest Power Rankings
Cue the Rodney Dangerfield quotes, because Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Ben Rice aren't getting any respect these days. At least, not from those outside the New York fan base.
MLB.com's latest Hitter Power Rankings have Judge in seventh place, sliding from the No. 1 perch in the previous list.
"Judge can still mash, obviously, but he's cooled down a bit by his standards," MLB.com's Jason Foster writes. "He'd hit just one homer over his past 14 games through Tuesday, which dropped his OPS from 1.035 to just .949.
"But he's still among the league leaders in homers and OPS, so this likely represents only a small blip," Foster adds. "Judge also had five hits over his past three games entering Wednesday, so don't be surprised to see him back in the top half of the list next time."
Voters in MLB.com's poll include David Adler, Jason Catania, Jared Greenspan, Thomas Harrigan, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Manny Randhawa, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru and Andrew Simon.
Judge still rules his court despite disrespect
Despite a May slump, which has seen the right fielder hit just .253 with five home runs this month, Judge is still tied for fourth in the majors with 17 home runs. He's eighth in slugging percentage (.554) and ninth in OPS (.934).
Is Judge as hot as the Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll, Astros' Yordan Alvarez, Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, Athletics' Nick Kurtz, Nationals' James Wood or Cardinals' Jordan Walker? Of course not. But the rankings are cumulative, and dropping Judge to seventh doesn't sit right.
Unfortunately, the disrespect doesn't end there.
No fried Rice for Yankees
Leaving Rice off the list altogether (although he did receive votes in the most recent poll) also doesn't sit right. The first baseman also has cooled off in May, hitting just .247 with six home runs. But his 1.006 OPS is still second-best in the majors, and his 16 home runs are sixth-best overall.
ESPN projects Rice will slug 46 home runs, and Judge will crack 49 homers this year. That still puts them within shouting distance of being just the second pair of teammates to hit 50 home runs in the same season, a feat accomplished by Roger Maris (61) and Mickey Mantle (54) in 1961. That isn't something that should be easily ignored.
Judge chasing history
Judge is also chasing some personal history. If the 34-year-old slugger tops 50 this season, he will do something not even Babe Ruth managed to do: hit at least 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons (and five times overall).
In addition, Judge is one of four players to hit at least 50 home runs in four seasons. The others are Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. If Judge goes for 50 this year, he will be the first player in MLB history to do so five times.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Yankees' Aaron Judge, Ben Rice Disrespected in Latest Power Rankings.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 10:41 AM.