Aaron Judge heating up at the perfect time for Yankees, his MVP pursuit

After coming out slow upon returning from the IL, Judge has found his timing and rhythm, a scary proposition for the rest of the league. 

Cal Raleigh has been great, but Aaron Judge is the MVP

Seattle Mariners star catcher Cal Raleigh is having a fantastic season, and it deserves to be recognized, but the numbers don't lie: Judge should be the MVP. Judge reigns supreme in almost every statistical category other than HR and RBI — he has 47 home runs and 101 RBI compared to Raleigh's 53 HRs and 113 RBI. However, Judge has played eight fewer games, which could easily have tightened that gap.

Voter fatigue is real, and the 33-year-old has won the award two of the last three years, so he has that going against him. But having seen how much the Yankees struggled in his absence (they went 4-6 this season when he was sidelined), and when he's not performing at his best, it's fair to wonder where they would be without Judge.

Not to mention, while Judge has gotten hot as we approach the most important time of the year, Raleigh has cooled off, batting just .203 in his last 20 games. With 15 games remaining, how each of them performs to finish the year could weigh heavily as one of the ultimate deciders.

We truly are splitting hairs when choosing between these two stars having historic seasons, though it feels like some people are just pushing Judge aside because this is what he always does. The fact of the matter is that what he does is unlike anyone else in Major League Baseball, and we need to appreciate it.