Midseason Report Card: Aaron Judge

By -
Grade: A++

 Coming into the season, there was no telling how Aaron Judge would respond to his poor stint in the big leagues last year. Despite his history of struggling at a level, then coming back strong in the ensuing season, Judge amassed a significant amount of doubters. However, Judge has been the Yankees biggest stud in 2017, and he is already in the process of locking up his case for Rookie of the Year, while also competing in the MVP race.
Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Images

First Half Performance:

Judge has taken the league by storm, from his tape measuring 500 foot plus homers in batting practice, to his great plays in the outfield, and to his battle in the triple crown race. Entering the All-Star break, Judge carries a .329/.448/.691 line with an American League leading 30 home runs. He sits third in batting average, and second in RBIs with 66, and he also leads the AL with 75 runs, and 60 walks. He also leads in on base percentage, slugging, and thus, OPS (1.139).

The performance of Judge this season is absolutely phenomenal considering his play in his brief stint with the Yankees last season. It's pretty crazy to think that the Yankees considered starting the 6'7" right fielder in AAA, and he now heads into the All-Star break as the leading vote getter, as he will start in right field and hit third for the American League squad in the Midsummer Classic. He will also compete in the Home Run Derby tonight.

Second half expectations:
Judge may be in for a regression in the second half, but it won't be due to participating in the Home Run Derby. Judge was on another level during the first half, and his numbers may naturally decline a little bit. Still, he will be expected to perform at a high level as he locks up Rookie of the Year honors while also competing in the MVP race. It's not unrealistic to see Judge hitting 50 bombs when it's all said and done this year, and if he can manage to keep his average in the .300's, he should have a great chance at winning the AL MVP award.

Conclusion:
It may not be fair to expect Judge to continue to perform at this Triple Crown pace, but Judge has been the story of Major League Baseball in 2017. As a rookie who has said and done all the right things, he’s become arguably the most well-liked player in the game at the moment. If the season were to end right now, Judge would likely be the AL MVP and that is going to be one of the biggest Yankee storylines in the second half.


Article by: Chad Raines

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Bronx Bomber Bets: BBBets 9/23

By -
Image
Welcome to our new gambling column at BBB, Bronx Bomber Bets. Here we will be giving out some of our favorite picks of the day and sharing them with our readers. Today, we are giving out 10 picks for all of you, so please enjoy, and bet responsibly. Now, we know that not all of our readers are big gamblers, if they are gamblers at all, so for the first week or so that we give out picks we will be explaining the odds and gambling terminology for anyone out there who is looking to learn about sports betting. Here are our picks:
Read more

Trade Market the Perfect Storm for Yankees to Acquire Starter

By -
Image
 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...
Read more

Pride, Passion and Pinstripes: The greatest Yankees to ever touch the field

By -
Image
No team in baseball history has a story quite like the Yankees. 27 times they’ve found baseball Nirvana which is 16 more than the next closest team (Cardinals). 40 times have the Yankees won the American League, and that is also a major league record. The franchise won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and five straight from 1949-1953, a task no other team has ever accomplished. With all this sustained success, the team has seen some of the greatest players in league history proudly call the Bronx home. Together the Yankees could field multiple All-Star teams with their collective legends, but in this article, I’m going to try and put together a team of legends that I think would be absolutely unbeatable.   Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Read more