Aaron Judge’s Slow Start Concerning for the Yankees? Slugger’s Hitting Struggles Continue

10-3 is an awesome way to start a season. Despite not being able to sweep the Miami Marlins, the New York Yankees don’t have anything to complain about. However, there’s one worrying sign that the team needs to be wary of. During this entire 13-game stretch their captain Aaron Judge has proved to be a big non-factor. Is this just a one-off thing or is All Rise experiencing a visible decline?

Aaron Judge was always expected to start slow this season. The fact that he missed at least a week of Spring Training made it obvious that he needed more time. Then comes Judge’s history of slow starts, which also signaled something similar. But then no one expected the kind of rock bottom that the superstar has experienced till now. This nightmare can be understood in a better way by going through his underlying stats – they’ve seemingly fallen off the cliff.

Aaron Judge’s reduced effectiveness raises alarm bells 

For anyone who has been watching closely, it’s obvious that Aaron Judge has changed a few things in his swing this year. Partly because of his history of being called low strikes, it seems All Rise is being a little patient with pitches. However, whenever he’s swinging there just isn’t enough power to warrant even a base hit.

Josh Benjamin of Elite Sports New York noted that Aaron Judge’s soft contact rate is 21.2% in 2024. That’s not only over the 7.9% last season but by far the worst of Judge’s career. The superstar’s career soft rate is just 9.8%. Similarly, Judge’s flyball rate has dipped to 42.4%, below the 50% in 2023.

All of this proves that Judge’s patience and lack of swinging are affecting his hitting stats. Then comes the primary issue – exit velocity! The Yankees captain’s average exit velocity this year is 92.8 mph. That’s below his career mark of 95.6 mph. It’s completely unlike anything we’ve seen of Judge – this is the man whose power has been his greatest strength. That is a concerning development. But then the Yankees are choosing hope over despair at this hour.

New York Yankees continue to show belief in their captain

Here’s an interesting part – despite having a below-average hitting season till now, Judge’s OBP is a great .367! He can thank his AL-leading 14 walks for that. Clearly, Judge’s patience with his swinging has helped him draw more walks out of pitchers. That’s partly the reason why the Yankees seem less worried about Judge’s current hitting form. 

With skipper Aaron Boone openly stating that he isn’t “worried” about Judge, it seems the Bronx Bombers currently are relaxed. But one wonders for how long they can keep that happy face. After all, even if the team is clicking on all cylinders – without their captain’s power the Yankees just don’t hit as strong as their potential suggests.

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