Yankees: Aaron Judge is powering his way through the Postseason

The power-hitting outfielder has recovered from an injury-ridden regular season and is now leading the Yankees surging offense through the first three games of this Postseason.

Hitting .583 this Postseason with three home runs and four RBIs, Aaron Judge is not only leading the Yankees in all three of these stats but is also leading all of MLB in both homers and RBIs, and is third in BA; behind Marwin Gonzalez and Tyler White, both of whom have less than half the at-bats of Judge.

Judge has also kept his strikeouts in check — just two thus far. He’s even been walked twice, enhancing his OBP upwards of .600. His superb performances come a year after a very poor Postseason, in which Judge hit under .200 with 27 strikeouts in 48 at-bats.

So Judge’s success is an excellent sign for the Yankees and their fans. Should we expect to continue to see this high level of baseball from No. 99?

Being that Judge’s Postseason success hasn’t come off of fastballs or sliders; the two pitch types he hits best, I expect to see little drop off in Judge’s productivity for the rest of the playoffs.

More from Yankees News

• No, Yankees should not acquire Trevor Bauer for 2023
• Yankees’ Marwin González replaces Red Sox LF in Japan in logical next step
• Blue Jays overpaying for Yankees trade target shows they’re trying too hard
• Aaron Judge’s influence on Carlos Rodón shows he’s more powerful than Yankees
• Yankees sign 2022 Red Sox reliever, invite him to spring training

In fact, despite hitting over .300 against both of these pitches in the regular season, Judge has yet to record any hits or walks against them through three contests.

Instead, Judge has been hitting all other pitches thrown his way. Averaging .83 total bases per cutter and curve seen; which he hit .194 and .273 against respectively, through the regular season.

Judge has also taken more fastballs for balls and less for strikes than usual this Postseason. So not all is wrong. His only true difficulty thus far into the playoffs is sliders, having yet to put one in play.

By the end of the Postseason, I expect his slider success to regain form while his abilities against cutters and changeups to come back down to Earth.

However, with former Yankee, Nate Eovaldi slated to start Game 3 for the Red Sox, and Rick Porcello awaiting a call to take the mound, I expect Judge’s struggle against the fastball to persist.

Both Eovaldi and Porcello have great fastballs, Eovaldi’s topping out near 100 mph while Porcello’s, a two-seamer, has much more movement. But Judge should quickly take advantage of Porcello’s lackluster sinker as well as both pitchers’ curveballs.

If Eovaldi sticks to his typical three-pitch repertoire (fastball, slider and cutter), Judge could still find some quality at-bats. Especially against that slider, since Judge hit .329 against sliders in the regular season.

Not to mention, Judge has hit .286 in his career against Eovaldi and even has a home run against Porcello, who has otherwise dominated the Yankees during the 2018 season. The upside, in his one game in New York this season, Porcello pitched 5.1 innings while allowing eight hits and five earned runs.

If Judge continues to hit the way he has, the Yanks look to have a good chance of advancing through the ALDS.