All rise for the 6’7” 282-pound behemoth Aaron Judge. The 25-year-old star has received a lot of attention due to his red-hot start to the season. He is currently leading the American League in homeruns with a staggering 10 to begin his first full season. Just to put it in perspective, if he continued his ten home run per month production, he would finish the season with 60 homeruns.
There were some trepidations regarding his hitting entering the season, as he had a .179 batting average in 27 games last year, but now all critics are now undoubtedly silenced. Yankees manager Joe Girardi commented, “we knew he was extremely talented, and I’ve said all along, if he gets the barrel of the bat to the ball, good things are going to happen. That’s what he’s done.” He certainly has. Judge is hitting .301 with ten homeruns and 20 RBIS. Judge also set a Statcast record with the hardest hit home run since MLB has kept track of exit velocity with an 119.4 mph shot to left field for his second of the game on Friday night. Afterward, Matt Holliday, a 14-year league veteran, said Judge is “probably the most gifted baseball player I think I’ve ever been around.”
Wednesday night was a special one for Aaron Judge: it was his first time playing at Fenway, and it was his 25th birthday. In addition to hitting a two-run homerun to beat the Red Sox 3-1, Judge has flashed the leather in right field. At one moment of the game, Judge leaped over the wall in foul territory to make a spectacular catch. “He risked his body,” Girardi said, “The wall probably didn’t like it, either.” But Judge wasn’t worried about the wall; he was “just trying to make a play to help Seve,” he said.
It is hard to imagine that anyone could sustain this. It’s simply too early to tell if it’s a flash in the pan or sustained greatness. Either way, Judge is showing everyone what he is capable of and is playing some exciting baseball in the process. Judge is just one of a slew of young talent that the Yankees have who are showing great potential. Some of Judge’s teammates include Gary Sanchez (24), Greg Bird (24), Starlin Castro (27), and Didi Gregorius (27): are of which are young players who have shown great potential. At the moment the Yankees sit alone atop the AL East with a 15-7 record. It sure is an exciting time to be a Yankee fan as their young talent is propelling them forward to such impressive heights.