Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge


So I was sitting on Twitter yesterday like I do about every morning when the discussion of calling up Aaron Judge, Jose Pirela and Gary Sanchez to the big leagues came up. The long and the short of it was without injuries these men seem destined to be stuck in Scranton with the RailRiders, especially Sanchez and Judge. Sanchez not only has Brian McCann in his way but JR Murphy as well while Judge has Carlos Beltran and Chris Young blocking his progression to the Major Leagues. With Alex Rodriguez on the team for two more years and Carlos Beltran under contract for the 2016 season it may be the 2017 season before we really get a true look at Judge, and that is going to be counterproductive in my opinion.

Barring an injury or shocking retirement Judge is stuck in the minor leagues for a while in my opinion. The Yankees cannot trade either A-Rod or Beltran and they can only DH one of them. Rodriguez’s days in the field are numbered making him extremely unlikely for a bench spot while Beltran’s inability to play center field or left field make him less than an ideal candidate to replace Chris Young off the bench in 2016. Judge has played center field, left field and right field in the minor leagues but PNC Field is no Yankee Stadium, he’s a right fielder only in the Bronx further complicating the issue.


I don’t mean to start off your Tuesday by depressing you but I just want to temper some of the expectations that Judge may be here to stay sometime this season or at the beginning of next season. We have to keep in mind that despite the fact that he’s hitting for power and despite the fact that he was dealing with a back injury for who knows how long he’s still only hovering around the .230 mark in Triple-A. Judge is a polished college bat that was projected to fly through the system but those projections usually slow down to a halt when a Yankees prospect reaches Scranton, and the same will happen to Judge as well. 

YearLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015AA-AAA9843152101231659542112.266.339.468.807
2015AA63280367116124412470.284.350.516.866
2015AAA351511630741541842.231.318.377.695

2 comments:

  1. Agreed on Judge being added to the roster. Maybe a September callup for Judge, Bird, and Sanchez. Refsnyder is the one we need right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. September, I agree. Not earlier unfortunately barring a big injury.

      Delete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)