What To Expect: Aaron Judge
The Yankees turned the page on 2016 when they traded Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran in the span of about a week around the trade deadline. They made another move that looked toward 2017 when they announced last Sunday they would release Alex Rodriguez, who played his final game for the Yankees on Friday night.
A funny thing has happened on the way to 2017; the Yankees stayed in the wild-card chase. They begin Saturday’s action just 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card. To that end, they made two moves Saturday to boost an offense that ranks in the bottom third in baseball in runs and OPS.
The Yankees called up versatile Tyler Austin, who’s had a resurgent season, and hulking right fielder Aaron Judge, who was their No. 3 prospect at midseason.
SCOUTING REPORT
Drafted with the second of the Yankees’ three first-round picks in 2013, Judge was sought after for the monster power potential he showed over three years at Fresno State. He has light-tower power, befitting someone 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds, but he also shows more feel to hit than one might expect from a power hitter. There were concerns about whether he’d be able to control such a big strike zone, and those concerns were exacerbated when Triple-A pitchers exploited his holes in 2015.
This season, however, scouts have said Judge has shown great improvement. He’s still striking out—98 times in 400 plate appearances—but he’s cut his strikeout rate from 28.5 percent in 2015 at Triple-A to 24 percent, while showing the ability to drive the ball to the opposite field. He has also lowered his hands and shortened his path to ball, a response to the struggles he had with higher-velocity pitches.
He spent about a month on the disabled list after bruising his knee but went 12-for-34 in the past 10 games with three homers in the past five.
“Aaron’s an incredibly hard worker and he worked on some things, and it started to come to light,” minor league hitting coordinator James Rowson told BA’s Josh Norris. “It was that he was able to get those at-bats early in the year, find some consistency. Every player goes through that. You’d like to get off to great starts, but at times it takes you a little bit of time to get your feet underneath you, stick to your approach and drive through balls. Aaron’s been probably as consistent as they come.
“He’s done a great job of swinging at pitches he can drive, so from Day One he’s shown us great strike zone discipline, which is a great characteristic for a young hitter . . . So I think now learning what balls he can really drive in that zone—he’s strengthened that zone to be able to drive more pitches—but he’s also able to lay off balls and he’s able to, when he gets behind in the count, put balls in play. Throughout the process, it’s always a feel thing. Guys will go to the plate and sometimes they’ll feel better this way or sometimes they’ll feel better another way. What he’s done, more than anything, is he’s really remained consistent trying to drive the ball hard through the center of the diamond and he’s in a really good spot right now.”
Austin, 24, has a career-best 17 home runs in a bounce-back season for the 2010 13th-rounder, also posting a career-best walk rate. While first base is his best position, he’s also played some third base and both outfield corner spots in the minors this season.
WHAT TO EXPECT
With Beltran and Rodriguez gone, the Yankees have at-bats to go around and certainly need the righthanded power both Judge and Austin can provide. Expect the Yankees to give Judge a long leash as they try to determine whether he can be a long-term piece for them in right field, especially following the acquisition of Clint Frazier, who could also end up in a corner outfield spot once the organization determines he’s ready. Austin is auditioning to compete for first-base at-bats after Mark Teixeira’s retirement, but it’s Judge who figures to have a more prominent place in the Yankees’ future.
Contributing: Josh Norris
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