Yankees fans worldwide have fallen in love with the lineup’s 1-2 power punch of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Of course, both bats have been as advertised and more.
Soto has proved an excellent fit, batting .293 with a career-high 37 home runs and 96 RBI. Soto has also managed a 179 OPS+ and 181 wRC+. It’s also his contract year, he turns 26 next month. Safe to say he’s probably breaking records come free agency.
But let’s not forget Aaron Judge either. He’s turning in yet another MVP campaign and is even in the Triple Crown conversation. His 51 home runs and 124 RBI lead MLB and his .326 batting average is within striking distance of leader Bobby Witt Jr.’s .338.
Cap it with the Yankees clinging to a 1.5 game lead in the AL East, and New York’s strong finish en route to the playoffs looks imminent. Right?
Not so fast.
Let’s be clear. The Yankees, though the AL’s best at 80-58, are mildly struggling. Most notably, they lost their last two series to the Nationals and Cardinals, both non-playoff teams. How could the Bronx Bombers lose two out of three to each of these teams, especially with Soto and Judge in the lineup?
It’s almost too simple: Neither Judge nor Soto has produced since the Washington series.
Let’s look at that stretch dating back to August 26 and including Monday’s 8-4 win over the Rangers, seven total games. Soto hit .200 with just one RBI, and has actually been struggling for some time. He’s batting .191 since August 16 and his current four-game hitting streak is a good sign, but needs to be sustained.
Captain Aaron Judge, meanwhile, looks completely lost. He hasn’t hit a home run in seven straight games and is only hitting .192 in the last week. Thankfully, the extra support in the lineup has helped weather the storm.
We’ve seen it all season long, even with guys like Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm currently picking up the slack. When Aaron Judge and Juan Soto perform at the top of the lineup, the rest follow. Hitting truly is contagious, especially when the star bats lead the way.
Which makes Soto and Judge’s collective slump all the more frustrating. We’re just under four weeks away from the end of the season, and then the playoffs. As we’ve mentioned, the Yankees have a fairly light schedule the rest of the way. Fate has lined up for Judge to cap his MVP season with a strong finish, and for Soto to hit the market with the wind at his back.
And yet, they couldn’t figure it out against two mediocre teams? Not even for a home run in garbage time?
It could also just be a mini-slump, especially for Judge. He hit an awful .184 over an 11-game stretch in July before heating back up. For all we know, he’ll start swinging a hot bat again tonight, and we’ll forget this discussion.
Except it is now September and New York knows what’s next. The postseason takes no prisoners and everyone from Yankee Stadium to George M. Steinbrenner Field is restless. Players, fans, executives, maybe even the errant foul-pole hawk. The city is rabid for a World Series.
That can’t happen without Soto and Judge hitting baseballs hard and far. Otherwise, get used to placing all of your faith in Wells, Chisholm, and Giancarlo Stanton’s legs.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: Yankees can’t afford September slumps by Aaron Judge or Juan Soto | Elite Sports NY