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You be the Judge
I remember a time when the Yankees farm system was among the most barren out there. Today it's still not quite the best, but it does have some nice pieces. The Yankees are going to need those prospects to live up to their potential to compete. Once such player is the much talked about Aaron Judge, who is constantly touted as a trade chip.
Judge was selected in the first round of 2013 June amateur draft. There were doubts about his ability to be consistent at the plate because of his huge 6'7 frame causing contact issues. The Yankees didn't seem to care about the potential problems, and so far they've been rewarded.
How has Judge rewarded them? By hitting .303/.413/.483 with 21 HR, 95 R, 93 RBI, and one steal in his first year in the minors. Not bad for a kid considered by many to be a middle to end of second round pick.
Those stats were compiled in Low to High A ball though. Surely Judge would be slowed down by a trip to Double-A right!? Wrong. To date, Judge is hitting a very nice .314/.370/.521 with 6 HR, 21 R, and 21 RBI in 140 at-bats at the Double-A level.
Sure his walk rate has dropped steeply from his earlier numbers, but he's striking out around the same clip. The increase in slugging percentage doesn't come as a surprise at all. This is a guy who was rated a 70 for raw power on the 20-80 scouting scale. He should only continue to hit more homers as he matures.
I know we already talked about the Yankees' future a bit in my Greg Bird piece, but humor me a little here. It's reasonable to think Judge will see some big league action in 2016 as Carlos Beltran's contract begins to wind down. That would put him right on track to join the team around the same time as Bird.
That statement should give Yankee fans a lot of pleasant dreams of the future. I envision a lineup where Ellsbury and Gardner are batting in front of Judge and Bird in 2017. Ellsbury and Gardner's legs may cool down a little as they age, but they will still provide plenty of runs for Judge to drive in.
Judge will give the Yankees the right-handed power bat they are currently lacking outside of Alex Rodriguez. Some of you may wish Judge was a lefty so he could easily take advantage of the short porch in right field. What if I told you he doesn't need a short porch to help him reach 30 homers? Would you believe me? Because he doesn't.
The jury is still out on Judge, but I'm willing to pound my gavel on this one. Judge should be called the "executioner" for what he's going to do to those poor baseballs. Don't be the person in your league to reach a verdict too late.
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