The Top Five Duos in Major League Baseball

Baseball is all about the number three. Three strikes you’re out, three outs in an inning, and three bases on the diamond – if you don’t count home plate. Babe Ruth wore number three on the back of his jersey. Three times three is nine. Nine batters, nine positions, nine innings… Alright, I need to stop before I start sounding like a dark-web conspiracy theorist.

What I’m trying to say is that three is a magic number. But sometimes, it only takes two to make magic happen.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were the core of the Murderers’ Row. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were the M&M Boys. Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco were the Bash Brothers. Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews didn’t have a quippy nickname, but I couldn’t leave them off this list.

Three might be baseball’s sacred numbers, but duos certainly have an important place in the history of the game.

The modern game has no shortage of great duos either. There was José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor in Cleveland. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in Anaheim. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in St. Louis.

And what about the 2024 season?

In no particular order and with no specific criteria – we’re talking stats, vibes, and everything in between – these are the top five position player duos in baseball right now.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts

• Ohtani 2024 Stats: 64 G, 291 PA, 15 HR, 14 SB, .310/.377/.570, 168 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
• Betts 2024 Stats: 66 G, 307 PA, 10 HR, 9 SB, .309/.410/.504, 165 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR

The reigning AL MVP and last year’s NL MVP runner-up have joined forces atop the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, and the early results have been glorious.

Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani are the NL MVP frontrunners, and they’re going to carry Los Angeles to yet another NL West title. They’re so good that future Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star Freddie Freeman isn’t even one of the two best players on his own team.

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge and Juan Soto

• Judge 2024 Stats: 67 G, 299 PA, 24 HR, 5 SB, .305/.436/.703, 215 wRC+, 4.9 fWAR
• Soto 2024 Stats: 65 G, 294 PA, 17 HR, 4 SB, .318/.425/.599, 190 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto might just be the two best hitters in baseball, and New York Yankees fans get to watch them hit back-to-back in the lineup every single day.

If you combine their stats so far in 2024, Judge and Soto are slashing .312/.431/.651 with 41 home runs and 112 RBI in just 132 games (593 PA), good for 9.0 FanGraphs WAR. That’s a full MVP campaign in the books, and the season isn’t halfway done.

With these two leading the way, it’s no wonder the Yankees have the best record in baseball.

Baltimore Orioles: Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman

• Henderson 2024 Stats: 65 G, 296 PA, 21 HR, 8 SB, .274/.375/.599, 175 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR
• Rutschman 2024 Stats: 61 G, 273 PA, 13 HR, 1 SB, .306/.344/.490, 139 wRC+, 2.3 fWAR

Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson have a lot in common. They were both selected in the 2019 draft, Rutschman in round one and Henderson in round two. They were both consensus top prospects before their MLB debuts. Then, they both had monstrous rookie seasons, followed up by similarly impressive sophomore campaigns (Henderson is enjoying his right now).

Now, they’re the two faces of the Baltimore Orioles franchise, ready to lead the next great Orioles team – perhaps one that rivals the dynasty from the late ’60s and early ’70s.

The Orioles have a wealth of young talent, but this team belongs to Gunnar and Adley.

Texas Rangers: Corey Seager and Marcus Semien

• Seager 2024 Stats: 57 G, 250 PA, 13 HR, 0 SB, .271/.360/.472, 130 wRC+, 1.8 fWAR
• Semien 2024 Stats: 64 G, 291 PA, 11 HR, 2 SB, .X/.X/.X, 117 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR

Corey Seager and Marcus Semien carried the Texas Rangers to the first World Series title in franchise history last season, finishing second and third, respectively, in AL MVP voting as an extra reward for their efforts.

Seager and Semien also deserve bonus points for being the only double-play duo on this list. They don’t just hit back-to-back in the lineup, but they play alongside each other in the field.

Defense wins championships. #WentAndTookIt pic.twitter.com/uZJnY6AWfn

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) December 5, 2023

Houston Astros: Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker

• Altuve 2024 Stats: 66 G, 295 PA, 10 HR, 9 SB, .299/.349/.453, 131 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR
• Tucker 2024 Stats: 60 G, 262 PA, 19 HR, 10 SB, .266/.395/.584, 176 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR

Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker have played on the same team for parts of seven seasons, far longer than any other duo on this list. Not only have they won a World Series together, but they’ve also won five division titles and three AL pennants as Houston Astros teammates.

One could certainly make the case for Alex Bregman or Yordan Alvarez instead of Tucker, but ultimately, Tucker is playing too well right now for me to pick anyone else.

Honorable Mentions

• Bryce Harper and Trea Turner: If Turner hadn’t been injured for the past month, there’s a good chance these two would be in the top five. Thankfully, we don’t have to make the difficult decision about which duo they’d push out.
• José Ramírez and Steven Kwan: Similar to Turner, Kwan has missed a fair amount of time this season. If he hadn’t, we’d have to consider this duo for the main list.
• Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar: Based on 2024 performance alone, this Padres duo deserves to be more than an honorable mention. But you know we couldn’t do that, right?
• Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez: Witt is doing most of the heavy lifting in this duo, but he’s so good right now that you could pair him with just about anyone and call them one of the best duos in the sport. And Perez is hardly just anyone! There is also a pretty great narrative here: the grizzled veteran and the hot-shot youngster teaming up to carry the Royals back to the playoffs.
• Freddie Freeman and Will Smith: Okay, this is cheating, but you could argue the Dodgers have four of the top 10 players in the NL right now.