Like everyone else, the Yankees are still waiting for Aaron Judge to be Aaron Judge.
He was hitting just .197 entering Friday night with a very un-Judge-like OPS of .725.
Just when he looked like he was about to break out recently, hitting three home runs in five games, including homers in back-to-back games in Milwaukee, he followed up that outburst with 1-for-13 at bats in the four games leading up to Friday’s series opener. against the Tigers in the Bronx.
And Judge won in the bottom of the ninth, but not in his usual fashion.
In the game against the Tigers, the Yankees led by one point but were unable to score, leading the first inning.
Judge’s first hit of the night, a single over the middle, sparked a game-winning rally for a 2-1 victory over the Tigers.
“There’s no question when Aaron Judge does something, the players react positively,” Aaron Boone said after the win. “He has such presence and that’s the kind of player he is.”
So while it wasn’t a huge home run, perhaps this will finally be a motivating at-bat for Judge. That’s because more than a month into the season, he still hasn’t produced anything close to his usual level.
Hitting coach James Rowson said before the game, “I’m not overly worried, but when you actually look at it, it’s clear that you can’t say there’s nothing to worry about.” “There’s a level of wanting him to get better and get back to himself, but for now we’re just trying to do the simple thing of getting his swing timing consistent and accurate. ”
Lawson goes back to his minor league days with Judge. At the time, Lawson was a hitting instructor and Judge experienced some downtime as Judge was promoted through the organization.
“From the beginning of the year to now, I feel like he’s made some adjustments and we’ve seen some sparks, so we feel like he’s getting really close,” Rowson said. said. “A lot of it is getting to the right place on time and doing it consistently. But he’s also the same guy.”
Not so with regards to this season’s results.
His average exit velocity of 94.6 mph is the lowest he recorded outside of the 2020 season.
He has especially struggled with his fastball, with a slugging percentage of well over .700 in each of the past two seasons, but a .415 slugging percentage this season.
Scouts are not satisfied with the explanation for the poor performance.
One American League scout said of Judge, who took the lead with a nice running catch of Andy Ibanez’s long fly to deep left-center field, “He looks healthy in the outfield, and I’ve noticed he’s been slow offensively. You’ve seen it before,” he said. Bottom of the 8th inning. “This is one of those times, and it’s been going on longer than normal.”
Before the game, Boone said something he has repeated many times this season: It’s only a matter of time before he gets there. I know I’ve said it many times, but he’s really not that far off. ”
And even though the regular season is over a month old, Boone said it could get even worse.
“He still has six home runs, 18 RBIs, and walks,” the manager said in reference to Judge’s .725 OPS. “Many people die trying to get above .700 OPS when the going gets tough. There are All-Star players who sit in the .500 range in OPS. [this year]”
It didn’t help the Yankees, especially when they lost the series in Baltimore, scoring just six points in four games.
“He’ll get there,” Boone said. “Hitting, even the best players, is difficult for him. We’ve seen situations where we’re like, ‘Hey, he’s locked in,’ but the first few at-bats, that’s not the case. .”
Lawson said it wasn’t for lack of effort and said he believed the judges would reverse the decision.
“I’ll tell you right off the bat, I have complete confidence that he’s going to get back to being the hitter he was,” Rowson said. “But now he’s going through the ups and downs of the season.”
