Soto and Judge poised for a solid year, predicts MLB expert

Tuesday January 30, 2024

The addition of Juan Soto to the Yankees roster has ignited immense excitement within the MLB community, with manager Aaron Boone stoking the flames of anticipation. MLB.com correspondent Sara Langs predicts that the pairing of Soto and Aaron Judge will position the Yankees as one of the most formidable offensive teams in the upcoming season.

“We already know the duo of Soto and Judge will be fun to watch, but it’s projected to be historic, too. ” wrote Sara Langs on MLB.com.

Highest expectations on Soto and Judge

Based on projections by FanGraphs’ Steamer, the forthcoming season holds the potential for Juan Soto to carve his name alongside an elite cohort of players, while simultaneously etching a chapter of history for the New York Yankees. The Yankees‘ recent roster enhancements have assembled a constellation of stars, hinting at the possibility of breaking or equaling various records in the imminent campaign. Sara Langs, reporting for MLB.com, has distilled some compelling insights from these projections, particularly focusing on the performances anticipated from Soto and Judge.

Juan Soto is poised to lead the league in Weight Runs Created Plus, a metric quantifying hitting productivity. If he attains this feat, he’ll join an illustrious group of only five players achieving such a milestone through their age-25 season, alongside luminaries like Mike Trout, Mel Ott, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb. On the other hand, Aaron Judge stands as one of only six Yankees players to have ever topped the league in wRC+. Additionally, Soto is forecasted to dominate the league in walk rate for the fifth time in his career, a distinction unparalleled by any other player through their age-25 season.

Though Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is FanGraphs’ choice for the leader in WAR, Soto and Judge trail closely with projections of 6.7 WAR and 6.2 WAR, respectively. Should they fulfill these projections, they would become only the third pair of Yankees teammates to clinch top-three finishes in WAR since 1972. The Yankees’ starting lineup, bolstered by Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, and Anthony Volpe, suggests an offensive juggernaut poised to strike fear into opposing teams throughout the season.

What do you think? Leave your comment below.