The New York Yankees are running it back in 2026, and one man makes that a decent decision on his own. Aaron Judge won his third MVP last year, beating out Cal Raleigh's 60-homer campaign. He then led the Americans at the World Baseball Classic to mixed results. What are some bold predictions for Aaron Judge's 2026 season with the Yankees?
It is hard to have a bold prediction about Judge's career at this point. Win an MVP? He's done that three times. 60 homers? Done that. Make the World Series? Of course. But there is a white whale out there for Judge to capture. The Yankees winning a World Series is not solely up to him, but it would certainly help his legacy.
Here are our three bold predictions for Aaron Judge's 2026 season.
Aaron Judge hits 60 homers
He has done it once, but Judge will once again slug 60 homers for the Yankees in the regular season. His 2022 campaign stands alone in American League history as the only one to feature 62 long balls, and he'll scare that record this year. Since the 2021 season, Judge has 249 homers, which is 55.9 per 162 games. So if he plays every day, 60 isn't far out of the realm of possibility.
Judge should be protected in the lineup by lefties Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. The Yankees are putting a lot of stock into Rice as their starting first baseman this year. And if that pays off, it could help Judge significantly. Making sure there are left-handed threats around him in the lineup is key to making sure he gets pitches to hit.
There have only been 10 60-homer seasons in MLB history. Sammy Sosa, with three, and Mark McGwire, with two, are the only players with multiple 60-homer campaigns. Judge could become the only player with multiple 60-homer seasons without connections to performance-enhancing drugs.
A Gold Glove finally comes to The Bronx
In the World Baseball Classic, Aaron Judge threw out two runners from right field at third base. Players forgot a doctrine that AL East base-runners have learned for years: Just Don't Run on That Guy. This year, Judge will let it fly enough times for voters to realize that he deserves a Gold Glove for his right-field prowess.
Judge may already have a Gold Glove, but he had to move to centerfield to make room for Juan Soto in 2024. That is where he dropped the fly ball in Game 5 of the World Series, which put a damper on the narrative around his defense for the 2025 season. Add in an elbow injury that took him out of right field for weeks, and he never had a chance in 2025.
Now, the narrative is that Judge's defense is underrated. That was true for years before his World Series gaffe, but his home-run power took over the national attention. If Judge adds a Gold Glove to his resume, it will continue his incredible Hall of Fame career. Last year, Wilyer Abreu won the American League Gold Glove in right field, but Fenway Park can get weird and open up the door for Judge, who plays an easier right field in Yankee Stadium.
The October performance story finally dies
There was hope among Judge supporters that he could kill the big-game performance storyline with a dominant WBC. He had his moments for Team USA; he went 1-8 with five strikeouts in the final two games. He followed up Bryce Harper's game-tying homer in the ninth inning of the championship game with a strikeout. While the narrative may be unfair, there is only one thing Judge can do to change it.
A career .822 playoff OPS would be great for many of the best players in the league, but compared to Judge's career regular-season mark of 1.028, it is lackluster. The Yankees should make the postseason easily, and when they get there, Judge will turn it up to another level. As he showed last year, that is not the only thing the team needs to succeed. But the narrative can only die by showing it in the biggest moments.
The Yankees have only missed the playoffs once in Judge's career. It was in 2023, the year he hurt his foot running into the Dodgers Stadium wall. If he stays healthy, they'll get there, and the captain will finally shine.
