New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge Needs To Fix One Major Issue In 2019

New York Yankees, Aaron Judge
Jul 1, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a home run in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to batting in the MLB, it’s not an easy task, but New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge has made a name and a balcony for himself off of his impressive home run totals.

In two full seasons, Judge has smacked 79 homers into the bleachers and earned a .281 batting average. His statistics are that of a generational talent, especially when you consider his defensive capabilities.

Aaron Judge missed serious time with the New York Yankees in 2018:

Due to a broken bone in his wrist, Judge missed a decent portion of 2018 (nearly 9 weeks), but still managed 413 at-bats and 115 overall hits. The Yankees’ top talent is primed for a massive 2019 season, but he must find a way to erase his biggest weakness and turn it into a non-factor.

In two years, Judge has racked up an ugly amount of strike-outs — 360 to be exact. In 2017, he recorded 208, while he saw 152 last season. If you do the math, Judge was on pace to strike-out 200 times if you factor in his missed time. That’s eight less than the previous year, which doesn’t indicate any development in the area.

Additionally, his walk totals — 127 in 2017 and 76 in 2018 — fell of drastically. This means he was making more contact with the ball and walking less.

Moving forward, Judge needs to work on his plate discipline, taking more pitches and anticipating strike-out pitches. Outside curveballs and sliders have been devastating throughout his career. Being that Aaron stands at 6-foot-7. hos batters box is huge. This allows pitchers to pitch away from him and force chased pitches out of the strike zone.

Does it really matter at the end of the day?

Judge was the fastest rookie to reach 70 home runs in 2017 which puts the strike-out totals in the rear view mirror. He’s a perennial All-Star and incredible defensive maestro. If he can take the single-most negative factor out of his game, he could very well end up being one of the best hitters the league has ever seen.