Major League Baseball announced its Silver Slugger finalists on Monday, with players like Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, the New York Yankees pair of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. highlighting the list.
Ohtani and Judge, the overwhelming favorites to be named the NL and AL MVP winners, respectively, are virtual shoo-ins to be named Silver Sluggers as well.
Ohtani, 30, just had a historic season, becoming the first player in MLB history to ever record a 50-50 season, hitting .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 134 runs, 59 stolen bases and a whopping 1.036 OPS.
Should he return to pitching next season, it’s possible he won’t be such a menace on the basepaths, making his 2024 campaign a truly unique effort.
Judge, 32, remained the sport’s most prolific home-run hitter, finishing the 2024 season with a .322 batting average to go along with MLB-leading marks in homers (58), RBI (144) and (OPS) 1.159.
Witt is a virtual lock to win a Silver Slugger as well, despite tough competition from Gunnar Henderson (.281, 37 homers, 92 RBI, 21 stolen bases, 118 runs, .893 OPS) at shortstop. In most seasons, Witt would have been a viable AL MVP after hitting .332 with 32 homers, 109 RBI, 211 hits, 125 runs, 31 steals and a .977 OPS, all while leading the Royals to the postseason for the first time since 2015. His batting average and hits led all of baseball.
Judge, however, almost assuredly will spoil Witt’s MVP chances, though the 24-year-old appears to be well on his way to compiling a fantastic career, with many awards to come.
Soto, 26, feels like a safe bet to join Judge as a Silver Slugger after hitting .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBI, 128 runs and a .989 OPS. It was arguably the best season of his career, and came at the perfect time, as he’ll hit free agency this winter and is on pace to earn the next massive contract in the sport.
