Just two months ago we were touting the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge as the mightiest rookie in the majors.
And while Judge is still clobbering the ball—he’s leading the majors in homers, slugging percentage, and OPS—the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger, who’s four years younger, is giving him a run for the title of best young hitter in the game.
Bellinger is currently leading the National League in homers (24) and slugging—and his team has the most wins in the majors at 51 (that’s 10 better than the tied-for-first-place Yanks). Whereas it took Judge 71 games to rack up 59 RBIs, Bellinger’s hit 55 in 57 games.
All of this could add up to a trip to the World Series, which would be the Dodgers’ first since 1988.
Bellinger’s also got the winning pedigree. His father, Clay, spread four years over the Yankees and Angels, and despite not performing close to his son’s caliber, did manage to haul in three World Series rings (two with the Yanks, one with the Angels).
As Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood described his teammate to The New York Times:
“He hits so many home runs that guys don’t get to see him run much, but he’s the fastest guy on the team….It’s beautiful to watch him run. I mean, I’d literally rather see him hit a double so I could watch him run. He hit one out the other night, and I was like, ‘Why don’t you mix in a double every now and then?’ He’s got a great arm, hits for average, hits for power, plays great defense. He’s absolutely special.”
Take a look at Cody Bellinger’s highlight reel below.
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