Aaron Judge clubbed two home runs against the Kansas City Royals on Monday afternoon to give him 50 for the season.

He tied and then surpassed Mark McGwire's rookie home run record as the New York Yankees won 11-3.

Judge's teammates had to convince him to walk up the dugout steps to acknowledge the fans saluting him at Yankee Stadium.

"They kind of told me: 'You got to go out there. You got to go out there,'" he would say later. "First curtain call. I hope it was a good one."

McGwire hit 49 homers for the Oakland Athletics in 1987.

The regular season is nearly over and the playoff bracket has taken shape. We don't know, however, exactly how the top of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft will look. Here's how the draft order would play out if the regular season ended today.

1. San Francisco Giants - 58-93

2. Philadelphia Phillies - +1

3. Detroit Tigers - +1

4. Chicago White Sox - +2.5

5. Cincinnati Reds - +5

6. New York Mets -+5.5

7. San Diego Padres - +9

8. Pittsburgh Pirates - +10

9. Atlanta Braves - +10

10. Oakland Athletics  +11.5

11. Toronto Blue Jays - +12

12. Miami Marlins - +12.5

13. Baltimore Orioles - +13.5

14. Seattle Mariners - +14

15. Tampa Bay Rays - +15

16. Texas Rangers - +15.5

17. Kansas City Royals - +15.5

18. Los Angeles Angels - +16.5

19. St. Louis Cardinals - +20.5

20. Minnesota Twins - +21

21. Milwaukee Brewers - +21

22. Colorado Rockies - +23

x-23. New York Yankees - +25.5

24. Chicago Cubs - +26.5

x-25. Arizona Diamondbacks - +29

x-26. Boston Red Sox - +30.5

x - 27. Washington Nationals - +33.5

x - 28. Houston Astros - +34.5

x - 29. Cleveland Indians - +37

x - 30. Los Angeles Dodgers - +38

The New York Yankees plan to get below the luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season, which rises to $197 million next year.

New York has a lot of money coming off the books after the year including CC Sabathia ($25 million) and possibly Masahiro Tanaka ($22 million).

Jaime Garcia ($12 million), Matt Holliday ($13 million), Todd Frazier ($12 million) and Alex Rodriguez ($20 million) also come off the books at the end of the season.

Depending on which veterans they decide to bring back and arbitration raises, the Yankees may still have close to $30 million to spend on free agents before they approach the tax line.

The Yankees have incentive to lower payroll in advance of free agency in 2018. Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Clayton Kershaw are all potential free agents after next season.

With two weeks left in the Major League season, there is a close race for the first overall pick in the 2018 baseball amateur draft. Here's how the draft order would play out if the regular season ended today.

1. San Francisco Giants - 58-93

2. Philadelphia Phillies - +1

3. Chicago White Sox - +3

4. Detroit Tigers - +5

5. New York Mets -+8

6. Cincinnati Reds - +8.5

7. San Diego Padres - +9

8. Oakland Athletics  +9

9. Atlanta Braves - +10.5

10. Pittsburgh Pirates - +10.5

11. Miami Marlins - +12

12. Toronto Blue Jays - +12.5

13. Baltimore Orioles - +15.5

14. Tampa Bay Rays - +15.5

15. Texas Rangers - +16

16. Kansas City Royals - +16

17. Seattle Mariners - +16.5

18. Los Angeles Angels - +19

19. St. Louis Cardinals - +20

20. Minnesota Twins - +21

21. Milwaukee Brewers - +22

22. Colorado Rockies - +24.5

23. New York Yankees - +25

24. Chicago Cubs - +26

25. Boston Red Sox - +28

26. Arizona Diamondbacks - +29.5

x - 27. Washington Nationals - +33

x - 28. Houston Astros - +34

x - 29. Cleveland Indians - +35.5

x - 30. Los Angeles Dodgers - +39

The New York Yankees have a firm grasp on the first American League Wild Card and may already be making plans for the Wild Card Game.

CC Sabathia was supposed to start on Sunday, but Joe Girardi shuffled the rotation and started Sonny Gray instead. Girardi made the move so that Sabathia could avoid pitching on the Rogers Centre turf when the Yankees begin a series in Toronto on Friday.

Peter Botte of the New York Daily News writes that the real reason may relate to the postseason.

The switch means Luis Severino won't pitch again until Friday and sets him up for one more regular-season start the following Wednesday or Thursday, and then not likely again until Tuesday, Oct. 3 for a potential playoff game.

The Boston Red Sox have been fined an undisclosed amount for "sending electronic communications from their video replay room to an athletic trainer in the dugout" for the purpose of stealing signals from the opposing catcher, commissioner Rob Manfred announced Friday.

The New York Yankees filed a complaint against the Red Sox last month, triggering an MLB investigation.

The investigation found "insufficient evidence," according to a statement released by Manfred's office, that the Yankees used their YES Network cameras to spy on the Red Sox, as Boston had alleged in a counterclaim.

Manfred noted in his ruling that "all 30 clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks."

Dellin Betances remains upset over what he viewed as a quick hook from Joe Girardi during Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The New York Yankees had a 3-1 lead after Betances surrendered a one-out single to Evan Longoria in the eighth inning and then struck out Logan Morrison. Girardi opted to pull Betances in favor of Aroldis Chapman.

Betances left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters.

"I was shocked. I was surprised," he said a day later. "I think a lot of people were surprised."

Betances mentioned more than a half-dozen times during a four-minute media session that the decision wasn't his. He repeatedly said he respected the manager, adding: "We won the game. At the end of the day, that's what matters."

Aaron Judge has become the second rookie in Major League history to hit 40 home runs.

Judge reached the plateau with a solo shot against the Texas Rangers in the fourth inning on Sunday afternoon.

He also joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle as the only New York Yankees to hit 40 homers at age 25 or younger.

With a few weeks left in the Major League season, there is a close race for the first overall pick in the 2018 baseball amateur draft. Here's how the draft order would play out if the regular season ended today.

1. Philadelphia Phillies - 52-85

2. San Francisco Giants - +0.5

3. Chicago White Sox - +2.5

4. Oakland Athletics - +6

5. Detroit Tigers - +6

6. Cincinnati Reds - +6.5

7. New York Mets - +7

8. Atlanta Braves - +8.5

9. San Diego Padres - +9.5

10. Toronto Blue Jays - +11.5

11. Pittsburgh Pirates - +13.5

12. Miami Marlins - +15

13. Tampa Bay Rays - +16

14. Kansas City Royals - +16.5

15. Seattle Mariners - +16.5

16. Texas Rangers - +17

17. Baltimore Orioles - +17.5

18. St. Louis Cardinals - +18

19. Los Angeles Angels - +18.5

20. Minnesota Twins - +19

21. Milwaukee Brewers - +19.5

22. Colorado Rockies - +21

23. New York Yankees - +22

24. Chicago Cubs - +23

25. Boston Red Sox - 24.5

26. Arizona Diamondbacks - 27.5

27. Cleveland Indians - +29

28. Washington Nationals - +31

29. Houston Astros - +32

30. Los Angeles Dodgers - +40