Watching the New York Yankees play in Sacramento over the weekend made me wonder how many home runs Aaron Judge would hit if he played half of his home games at Sutter Health Park. It’s a launching pad.
A combined 12 home runs were hit over the three games played between the Yankees and Athletics. The Yankees took two of three games against the A’s and moved to 23-17 on the season.
We’ve reached the 40-game mark, so now is a good time to look at some stats that have defined the Yankees until this point in the season.
254
Stat: Aaron Judge’s wRC+
Barry Bonds holds the record for the best season in MLB history, achieving a 244 wRC+ in 2002. He had a slash line of .370/.582/.799, totaling 46 home runs, 110 RBIs and 198 walks. Judge’s slash line through 40 games stands at .409/.494/.779, with an MLB-leading 14 home runs. A 254 wRC+ indicates that Judge is 154 percent better than the average MLB hitter in 2025. He is competing in a different league than everyone else.
There’s not much else to say about Judge’s greatness. Boone struggles to describe what he’s watching from Judge. All that there is to say at this point is do not take watching him for granted. Hitting in today’s game is so difficult, and Judge consistently makes it look like it’s a video game played on the easiest mode.
Max Fried’s 1.05 ERA leads the major leagues, and the Yankees are 8-0 when the left-hander pitches. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
1.05
Stat: Max Fried’s ERA
Fried was not the Yankees’ first choice in free agency. But so far, he’s outperforming the Yankees’ first choice: Juan Soto. After the 40-game mark, Fried’s fWAR is 1.3 and Soto’s is 1.1. This is not to suggest Fried was or was not the better long-term investment, but the Yankees must be thrilled with the production they’ve received from their No. 1 starter.
Fried’s 1.05 ERA leads MLB, and the Yankees are 8-0 when the left-hander pitches. Fried is an intriguing pitcher because he isn’t an elite strikeout artist, yet he delivers top-tier results. Typically, the best starters in the sport accumulate strikeouts in bunches, but Fried is around league average in strikeout rate and below average in whiff rate. He achieves results through unpredictability in his pitch mix; Fried can feature six pitches in any given start. He’s also one of the best at generating soft contact because of his arsenal and the ability to change speeds in each at-bat.
The Yankees needed an ace-like performance from Fried after Gerrit Cole went down with Tommy John surgery. They’ve received that and more from Fried.
Ben blasts his 1st career grand slam 💥 pic.twitter.com/9pXkbGcviW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 11, 2025
.829
Stat: Yankees’ MLB-leading OPS
Entering the season, I thought the Yankees’ offense would take a step back without Soto. Through 40 games, I could not be more wrong. The Yankees’ offense is elite. Eighteen teams have an OPS below .700. Only five teams have an OPS over .750. That demonstrates how dominant the Yankees have been offensively.
It sure helps to have Judge leading the way, but the Yankees also have Ben Rice, who is inside the top 10 in OPS (.937), and Trent Grisham (.978), who would be inside the top 10 if he reached the qualified at-bat threshold. Paul Goldschmidt also ranks inside the top 20.
The Yankees have nine players who have at least a 100 wRC+, and Giancarlo Stanton has yet to make his season debut.
.286
Stat: Yankees pitchers’ wOBA against
Not only do the Yankees have the best wOBA (weighted on-base average) as a team, but their pitching staff also ranks first in wOBA. The Yankees might have some flaws that need to be addressed before the trade deadline, but this is a good team that could certainly win the title.
The Yankees’ pitching staff ranking first is also impressive because Devin Williams has looked awful, Cole is out for the year, and Luis Gil, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, has yet to throw a single pitch.
There was some thought going into the year that the pitching department would have massive concerns with Cole’s and Gil’s injuries, but they’ve been much better than expected.
Minus-4
Stat: Yankees’ team OAA
One of the main focuses this offseason for the Yankees was improving their team defense. So far, the Yankees’ defense, statistically speaking, has been worse than it was last year. The Yankees finished last season with seven outs above average, ranking 14th in MLB. This year, they’re at minus-4 OAA, good for 19th.
There are a few reasons why the Yankees are performing poorly defensively: Jasson Domínguez has minus-5 OAA in left field, ranking in the bottom 1 percentile in MLB; Grisham’s defense in center field is massively overrated (minus-2 OAA) because of frequent poor jumps; and Anthony Volpe has not been as crisp as he’s been through his first two seasons at shortstop.
The Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball despite grading out poorly defensively because of a superb offense and excellent pitching. It’s also why the narrative that has been built over the offseason that the Yankees couldn’t win a championship because of poor defense was always overblown. Good pitching and good offense far outweigh a good defense in baseball.
Minus-3.1
Stat: Yankees’ BsR
Another area the Yankees hoped to improve over the offseason was getting better on the basepaths. Technically, they have. The Yankees don’t rank last in base running runs above average; they rank 28th. They’re the fifth-worst team in extra bases taken percentage and the sixth-worst in stolen base percentage.
Again, combating bad base running is possible with good pitching and good offense. If the Yankees don’t win a title, it’s likely not going to be because the Yankees’ defense or base running was poor; it will be because they didn’t have enough offense or enough good pitching performances.
(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)