Why Aaron Judge, Yankees aren't concerned about slow start

Why Aaron Judge, Yankees aren’t concerned about slow start

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hasn’t enjoyed the type of start to the season that is typically expected of him, but there are no signs of concern from him or the organization.

Entering Wednesday’s afternoon game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Judge has a .182./337/.394 slash line with three home runs, nine RBI and 19 strikeouts. He has just five hits in his last 33 at-bats entering Wednesday.

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Even though it’s not the type of start he or the Yankees were hoping for, there aren’t any signs of concern.

“Still trying to improve,” Judge told reporters Tuesday. “Still trying to work. When I’m getting my pitch, just missing it. We’ve got to keep throwing out good at-bats, take my walks when I can when I don’t get anything and keep staying aggressive. That’s the only way to get out there and put some hits, especially with our lineup, is you’ve just got to keep swinging.”

While he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts during the 5-4 loss against the Blue Jays on Tuesday night, the silver lining throughout Judge’s slow start has been his ability to still get on base via walks.

His 16 walks thus far to open the season are tied with teammate Juan Soto and Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts for the most in MLB. So it’s not as if his approach has changed and he’s taking poor swings.

It seems to be more that he’s in a rut with his timing. Pitches over the plate that he typically hammers are turning into pop-outs and ground balls rather than line drives.

“Just not dominating probably the heater like he normally does,” said manager Aaron Boone on Tuesday. “Again, he’s going to get it, and buckle up.”

Judge also mentioned to reporters that he doesn’t feel the time he missed during Spring Training has anything to do with his slow start.

When it comes to the MVP-caliber game of a player like Judge, it’s best to give him the benefit of the doubt in terms of turning things around.

As frustrating as it may be, these types of streaks happen across league to every player, and Judge isn’t showing any concern about his ability to get things going in the right direction.