At the start of play on Wednesday, here are your AL leaders in batting average:
And here are you AL leaders in home runs:
And finally your AL leaders in RBI:
Nelson Cruz, Mariners - 52 Aaron Judge, Yankees - 49 Avisail Garcia, White Sox - 48
After surveying those leaderboards you're likely to note that Mr. Judge leads in two categories and is tantalizing close to the top in the third category. As such, he's very close to topping the loop in all three Triple Crown categories. We're not even halfway through the season yet, so you can certainly argue that launching any manner of "Triple Crown watch" is premature. That said, Judge has no doubt made a huge impression in his rookie season, and he's certainly looked like a hitter who can keep this up.
Speaking of which, odds! Courtesy of Bovada.lv (@BovadaLV on Twitter) come the following odds regarding Judge and his pursuit of batsman history ...
Will Aaron Judge win the Triple Crown?
Yes 33/1
Will Aaron Judge lead the AL in Batting Average at the end of the Regular Season?
Yes +1000 (10/1)
No -2500 (1/25)
Aaron Judge - Will he lead the AL in Home Runs at the end of the Regular Season?
Yes +300 (3/1)
No -500 (1/5)
Aaron Judge - Will he lead the AL in RBI at the end of the Regular Season?
Yes +500 (5/1)
No -1000 (1/10)
Since 1900, just 14 hitters have won the Triple Crown, the last of course being Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers in 2012. It's a vanishingly rare feat, so it's appropriate that Judge faces long odds on this front. He's on much stronger footing when it comes to leading the AL in home runs.
Triple Crown Watch, activated! First, though, let's be sure this dude takes part in the Home Run Derby.