The amount of power New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton produces alone could shatter record books, but when you add 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge to the mix, things begin to get overwhelming.
In 2016, Stanton smacked a 504-foot home run, and with the Yankees last season he hit a ball 121.7 mph, the fastest exit velocity in the MLB and the Statcast era. Judge was close behind at 121.
The duo has the potential to hit over 100 homers all together, and it’s more than possible now that Stanton is acclimated with Yankee Stadium and Judge is back to full health. If they can remain healthy the potential is more than any other duo in the league.
In their best statistical seasons, Stanton hit 59 homers and Judge 52, which proves that this could, in fact, be the year the Yankees batters set several historical records.
Could injuries be affecting Aaron Judge?
Judge was struck by a pitch last season fracturing his wrist. This ailment forced him to miss nearly three months (50 games).
He stated in regard to his current health:
“I feel nothing,” Judge said Tuesday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That was the thing that I was surprised about, especially during the season…that pain lasted a little longer than three weeks. In the offseason, I was a little worried about it, but it’s 100 percent. It feels like nothing even happened, which is a good thing. Nothing to worry about there.”
That’s the best possible response from Judge, who will play an integral part in a potential World Series campaign this year. While Judge returned from the injury later in the 2018 season, it was clearly still bothering him. His average exit velocity dropped from 95.7 mph to 90.8 mph. That’s a significant difference that could have affected his efficiency at the plate, especially in regard to hitting home runs.
Both batters need to improve in one important area:
Both Judge and Stanton struggle mightily with strikeouts. The former saw 152 in 112 games, and the latter 211 in 158 games. Bringing that number down will be an important task for the duo in 2019, but hitting for contact is much different than hitting for power.
The slugger’s strikeout a lot because they swing so hard and are betting on making good contact. As we’ve seen, even ‘okay’ contact can result in a home run, and that’s exactly why sacrificing strikeout rate for home-run efficiency makes sense in their case. The Yankees have also promoted a power-first mantra since the signing of Stanton, and I don’t expect that to change in the season head.