2023 AL MVP odds: Can Aaron Judge go back-to-back?

While it seems impossible that Aaron Judge could repeat his historic season in 2022 in which he set the American League record for home runs (62) and led the AL in a ton of hitting metrics, he might be doing it one year later as the Yankees heat up, winners of seven of 10.

The Yankees slugger is tops in the AL in home runs, slugging percentage and OPS while on pace for 61 home runs despite missing a handful of games this season. This is impacting his WAR numbers, he is seventh in WAR for position players per Baseball-Reference, but is second in offensive WAR, decimals behind Bo Bichette. He is hitting slightly worse for average, but Judge is a clear MVP contender behind the Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani, like Judge, is putting up similar numbers on both sides of the plate with 12 home runs, 33 RBI's and a .263 batting average while also pitching a sub-3.00 ERA with an AL high in strikeouts per nine innings and hits allowed per nine.

It's worth noting that the Yankees have not been as successful as the club was in 2022 with the AL East better than ever. The Rays have the best record in baseball and every team is above .500. Last season, Judge benefitted from a record setting season while also leading a division winning team. However, not only is the division better, but Ohtani is on a team that is above .500, keeping his odds in tact as the favorite.

It was around this time last year that Judge emerged as a threat to Ohtani and surpassed him en route to a historic season. Could something similar be in the air as the calendar flips to June?

2023 AL MVP odds

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.