Major League Baseball

Is Yankees' Aaron Judge the best player in MLB?

Published Jun. 14, 2022 7:37 p.m. ET

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It was a busy week across the MLB world, with a host of interesting trends and stunning developments across the sport.

From Tony La Russa's decision-making to Aaron Judge's greatness, Ben Verlander was here to offer his thoughts with "Buy Or Sell?" on his "Flippin' Bats" podcast.

Check it out!

Aaron Judge, Tony La Russa and more on this week's buy or sell

Ben Verlander goes over this week's buy or sell where he discusses if the Angels will make the playoffs, if Aaron Judge is the best player in baseball and more.

Will the Atlanta Braves to win the NL East?

The defending world champs struggled early this season but entered Tuesday's action on a 12-game winning streak. They are currently 35-27, five games behind the Mets, and Verlander said heading into the season he thought they could be even better this year. Now, he's not so sure.

Buy or sell?: Sell

"I still feel fine about my prediction. They can certainly get into the playoffs, and I believe they will. But I'm a believer in the Mets. … They are going to win the division. I still think the Braves are going to get into the playoffs and will be a problem when they get there. But I will say, sell on them winning the NL East."

Will the Angels make the playoffs?

The Angels started the season hot, then went on a 14-game losing streak that led to the firing of manager Joe Maddon. They enter Tuesday's action in third place in the AL West at 29-33, 8.5 games behind the Astros. Can they get it together to grab a postseason spot?

Buy or sell?: Buy

"This team is starting to come back to the team that they were. This team is talented enough to make the playoffs. That's why I'm buying. This is my roundabout answer of saying I am buying that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are good enough to grab one of the now, three, wild-card spots. They're too talented not to."

Is Aaron Judge the best player in baseball?

The Yankees slugger is having an epic season, leading baseball in home runs (24), slugging percentage (.686) and OPS (1.077). But is he MLB's best player?

Buy or sell?: Sell

"If I am starting a team tomorrow, who am I taking? … Am I taking Aaron Judge first? No. I think I'd go with Ronald Acuña or … Mike Trout. Mike Trout is one of the greatest of all time and he's still playing. And he's still really good. … But nobody is playing better than [Judge] right now, which makes this an interesting conversation."

Is Nickelback a great choice for every single walkup song?

It was less than a week ago that the Angels were mired in a 13-game losing streak. In an attempt to turn things around, they took unusual measures — every player used a different song by the band Nickelback as his walk-up music. Alas, it didn't save the Angels from a 14th consecutive defeat, but the players had fun with it. Was it a good idea?

Buy or sell?: Buy

"When you're on a losing streak, you have to mix things up. … I'm buying it because I'm buying the thought process behind it. It didn't work, and say what you want about Nickelback, a lot of people don't like them, but I'm buying it because of the changeup."

Was Tony La Russa's intentional walk heard 'round the world the right call?

White Sox manager Tony La Russa stunned the baseball world — and puzzled the Dodgers — last week when he opted to walk Trea Turner with a 1-2 count. The next hitter, Max Muncy, proceeded to blast a three-run homer, and he later admitted he was fired up with a move he viewed as disrespectful.

La Russa later defended the move, saying: "Turner with no strikes, one strike or two strikes, is very dangerous against right and especially against left. Now, if (Will) Smith was hitting behind him, it would have been a different thing, but Muncy is there. 

"It's an easy call. It's an easy call for me."

Buy or sell?: Sell

"Sell. Sell. I mean, I could go on for hours about this. … That's the baseball gods immediately stepping in and saying ‘hey Tony, that’s not smart.' … I looked it up, Trea Turner .197 lifetime hitter in a 1-2 count. … It's ridiculous. And then he made the reporters feel like they were dumb."

Will Matt Carpenter have more home runs than singles this season?

Carpenter has been on a tear since joining the Yankees, hitting .332 with a mind-blowing 1.592 OPS through his first 10 games with the club. He has eight hits in his first 24 at-bats, with six of those eight being home runs. Can the power show continue?

Buy or sell?: Buy

"I'm gonna buy. Why not? This is fun. I'm gonna buy that Matt Carpenter ends up with more home runs this year than he does singles."

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Major League Baseball

Atlanta Braves

Los Angeles Angels

New York Yankees

Aaron Judge

Chicago White Sox

Los Angeles Dodgers

Trea Turner

Ronald Acuña

Mike Trout

Matt Carpenter

Ben Verlander

Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander