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New York Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge has been struggling at the plate this season.
Yet, Judge’s new teammate Juan Soto is confident that the two-time AL MVP will right the ship soon.
Soto addressed the media following New York’s April 22 loss to the Oakland Athletics. When asked about Judge’s ongoing slump, he said, “it’s just part of the game,” according to Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
“We’ve all been through stuff like that and slumps like that,” Soto added. “It just happens. We all know how great he is. Even when he’s struggling and I’m hitting well, they’re going to keep pitching to me because they don’t want to face him.”
Soto also assured media that him and his teammates have full faith in their captain.
“At the end of the day, we all trust him,” Soto said. “He’s a great hitter. When you see him out there, he’s grinding every day. He’s trying to find his timing and his swing.”
The Yankees’ 15-8 record shows that they’re able to succeed without Judge in peak form. But they’ll likely need their slugger’s offense eventually.
Judge And Soto Are Starkly Contrasting
Judge and Soto have started their respective 2024 seasons in contrasting fashions.
As of April 23, Soto is hitting .322 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs. His whopping .439 on-base percentage leads the American League, and is second in the MLB to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts.
Judge, on the other hand, is hitting .174 with 3 home runs and 11 RBIs. His 31 strikeouts so far this season is ninth-most in the entire league.
Yankees fans have been letting both players know how they feel about their current form.
Soto received a raucous standing ovation from the Bronx faithful after crushing a clutch three-run home run on April 19,
One day later, Judge struck out four times in a 2-0 loss. After the fourth strikeout, Judge was booed by his home fans.
After that loss, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes scolded the boos that Judge received.
“It’s always disappointing,” Cortes said, per SNY. “Feel like he’s done a lot for this team, for this organization. He’s going to come around. It’s only a matter of time.”
Cortes and Soto share the same sentiment about Judge: It’s only a matter of time before his slump ends.
Aaron Judge Is Usually A Hot Starter
April is usually a productive month for Judge.
According to StatMuse, the Yankees slugger has hit 43 home runs in April across his MLB career.
In 2023, Judge hit .250 with 5 home runs in the month. One season before, he hit .293 in April, with 6 home runs and just 22 strikeouts.
But Judge’s best April came in 2017, when he tied a Major League record for the most April home runs hit by a rookie, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
In doing so, Judge joined Alex Rodriguez (14 in 2007) and Graig Nettles (11 in 1974) in being the only Yankees to ever hit double-digit home runs in March/April.
Clearly this slow start in 2024 is uncharacteristic for Judge. Therefore, it seems certain that Yankees fans will soon be cheering him like they are with Soto.
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