Here are your American and National League finalists for the 2024 Hank Aaron Award. Fans, cast your vote now through Oct. 13 at mlb.com/aaron.
Blue Jays – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. named a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Oct 7, 2024, 21:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 7, 2024, 23:21 EDT
Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was one of the top offensive weapons on the team and the first baseman has an opportunity to add some more hardware to his trophy case after an impressive 2024 campaign.
Earlier today, Major League Baseball announced the ten finalists from the AL and the NL for the Hank Aaron Award, an annual honour presented to the top hitter in each league as voted on by the fans and media. This season, a panel of Hall of Famers combined with the fan vote will determine the winner for each league.
Guerrero won the award back in 2021 after posting MVP calibre numbers, becoming the fourth Blue Jay to win the award after Carlos Delgado (2000), Jose Bautista (2010, 2011), and Josh Donaldson (2015).
This season, Guerrero started the year off on a cold note to the tune of a .229 average and a .678 OPS through April. While he started to find a groove through May and June, raising his average towards the .270-.290 mark, it was after the Midsummer Classic that the Montreal-born slugger started to shine.
From July 19th onward, the righty-batter authored a .376/.450/.678 slash line with a .375 BAbip and a 1.127 OPS through 242 at-bats. He amassed 23 doubles and 16 home runs and compiled 46 RBIs to finish out the season, walking more than he struck out at 31 and 28 instances respectively.
The impressive second-half showing brought Guerrero’s totals up and he eventually finished the year with a .323/.396/.544 line with a .940 OPS and 30 home runs, his third time hitting the threshold over his past six seasons in the big leagues. He also added 103 RBIs, his second time hitting triple digits in his career, and he finished with a 166 OPS+, one point below his 2021 campaign.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just launched his 29th home run of the season and he enjoyed watching it fly. #BlueJays
Compared to other AL batters, he finished fifth in wRC+ (165), sixth in BABip (.342), and seventh in terms of fWAR (5.4). While his home run totals have him sitting further down the rankings list, he finished behind only Bobby Witt Jr. in terms of batting average and fifth in OPS within the AL.
To take home the honour, Guerrero will have to fend off tough competition from Witt Jr., Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and six others for his second Hank Aaron award. To vote, click the link here.