Aaron Judge has slipped to seventh in MLB.com’s latest Hitter Power Rankings, after a brief cool-down. Ben Rice, a Yankees slugger, is left off the list altogether—though he received votes. Both players still carry elite home run totals and OPS marks, while Ju
Aaron Judge has long been treated like Yankees’ royalty—until the newest Hitter Power Rankings came out.
In MLB.com’s latest list, the reigning New York star is placed in seventh. That’s a drop from the No. 1 spot on the previous rankings, and it’s noticeable in a way Yankees fans don’t like to ignore. The slide comes with a specific kind of evidence: MLB.com’s Jason Foster writes that Judge “can still mash. ” but has cooled down “by his standards.” In the stretch leading into Tuesday. he hit just one home run over his past 14 games. dropping his OPS from 1.035 to .949.
Foster also points to what could make this feel temporary. Judge still sits among the league leaders in both home runs and OPS. He also had five hits over his past three games entering Wednesday, a detail that leaves the door open to a quick bounce back in the next ranking update.
For all the talk of a dip, the numbers show why the disrespect doesn’t land easily.
May has not been Judge’s month. The right fielder hit .253 in May while adding five home runs. Yet he remains tied for fourth in the majors with 17 home runs. His slugging percentage is .554, eighth in baseball, and his OPS is .934, ninth.
So when Judge’s placement shifts to seventh, the question becomes simple: is this a real fall—or just a short stretch being weighed too heavily in a cumulative ranking?
The answer is complicated because the knock on Judge is only half the story.
Ben Rice doesn’t just fall—he’s left out entirely.
Rice is not included on the Hitter Power Rankings list at all. Even so, the poll does remember him in a small way: he received votes in the most recent poll. The problem for Yankees supporters is the optics. In May, Rice cooled off too, hitting .247 with six home runs. Still, his production doesn’t match the omission. His OPS stands at 1.006, second-best in the majors, and his 16 home runs are sixth overall.
When the league’s rankings treat two Yankees sluggers this differently—Judge sliding to seventh, Rice getting no placement—it creates a familiar kind of frustration: the kind that comes when elite output feels undercounted.
The streak of raw power hasn’t gone anywhere. ESPN projects Rice will slug 46 home runs and Judge will crack 49 homers this year. If that projection plays out. they would still be within reach of a rare Yankees-and-MLB landmark: the second pair of teammates to each hit 50 home runs in the same season. That feat has happened only once before, when Roger Maris hit 61 and Mickey Mantle hit 54 in 1961.
Judge, though, isn’t just chasing team milestones. He’s chasing personal ones with a longer spotlight.
At 34 years old, the Yankees slugger has his eyes on a record not even Babe Ruth owned. If Judge tops 50 home runs this season. he would become the only player to hit at least 50 homers in three consecutive seasons—something Ruth never did. The bigger list is even tougher: Judge would join the small group of players to reach 50 home runs in four seasons. a list that includes Ruth. Mark McGwire. and Sammy Sosa. Going for 50 in 2026 would also make Judge the first player in MLB history to do it five times.
The rankings may be about momentum, and the voters may be counting the last few weeks harder than the long arc. But with Judge tied for fourth in home runs at 17, and Rice sitting with a 1.006 OPS and 16 home runs despite a May dip, the Yankees story feels plain.
Even with the “disrespect,” their numbers are still loud—and the history they’re chasing is still right in front of them.
Aaron Judge Ben Rice Yankees MLB.com Hitter Power Rankings Jason Foster OPS home runs May slump Roger Maris Mickey Mantle Babe Ruth power rankings