The New York Yankees are neck and neck with the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. As the team fights for division supremacy, Juan Soto has caught fire. Former MVP Aaron Judge even called Soto the greatest hitter in baseball.

Soto has stayed hot and in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, he hammered his career-best 36th home run – a 427 foot bomb to center field.

The 25-year-old All-Star has been on an absolute tear of late. Last week he had the first three-homer game of his career. After going deep again the following day Soto became just the sixth Yankee ever to have six or more home runs in a four-game span. The incredible feat from August 11-14 had Soto join Yankees legends Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

The four-time Silver Slugger winner joined New York in an offseason trade with the San Diego Padres. The Yankees signed the seven-year veteran to a one-year, $31 million deal that allows Soto to enter free agency after the season. His remarkable year in pinstripes has set Soto up for a very lucrative long-term contract.

Juan Soto is slugging for the Yankees

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Aug 14, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a home run against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.
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In 2024 the former batting champ has 25 doubles, 36 home runs, 93 RBI, 106 runs scored and an MLB-leading 106 walks. Soto has a 1.034 OPS, an OPS+ of 186 and 7.4 bWAR in 123 games for the Yankees so far.

Soto’s previous career high for homers was 35, which he hit in 162 games with the Padres last season. He also had 34 home runs with the Washington Nationals in 2019.

Judge homered twice in Wednesday’s game. He’s now up to an MLB-leading 47 home runs on the season. The Yankees have needed every bit of the pair’s offensive production this year as the team is in a tight race with the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Yankees entered play on Wednesday 20 games over .500 and a half game behind the Orioles in the division.