Yankees' Aaron Judge taking hands-on approach to improve Ryan McMahon's bat

Ryan McMahon is no longer slumping. The New York Yankees third baseman tested fans' patience in April with a sub-.200 month, prompting many to imagine a trade (and/or benching) in McMahon's future. But McMahon has turned the corner in his last 15 games, slashing .319/.347/.511, with the Yanks going 12-3 in that stretch. McMahon is also a torrid 9-for-22 (.409) in his last five games before heading on the road to Milwaukee.

So, what caused the turnaround? It turns out that Yankees megastar Aaron Judge may have played an important behind-the-scenes role in McMahon's reawakening. We learned from Yankees radio voice Dave Sims on Tuesday night (when McMahon went 2-for-4 with a home run) that Judge has been earnestly working with McMahon in the cage recently. Specifically, in a "let me see what's going on with your mechanics" moment, Judge recommended that McMahon put more weight on his back leg at the plate, also known as loading up the back side.

Judge's pointers certainly didn't hurt! McMahon continued his hot stretch on Thursday, going 2-for-3 and reaching base four times in a 9-2, series-clinching win over the Texas Rangers, a game in which he wasn't even penciled into the starting lineup to begin things.

Ryan McMahon has awoken, thanks to help from Captain Aaron Judge

McMahon is now back up to a respectable .223/.311/.662 line on the season -- still miles from All-Star-type stuff, but closer to his career .238/.322/.737 line. The Yankees don't need McMahon to be an All-Star bat; he's a brilliant glove at third base, and New York just needs him to not be an automatic out in the lineup, which he was from Opening Day until the last two weeks or so.

His horrid stretch had people wondering why Amed Rosario wasn't a more viable everyday third baseman (or even George Lombard Jr.). But a competent McMahon bat puts those curiosities to rest (for now) and makes the Yankees' lineup much more rounded and full. Again, McMahon's glove is so nice to have out there; it would be a shame if he eventually becomes too much of a liability at the plate and forces Aaron Boone to take that glove off the field.

But it looks like McMahon is back on track to re-establish his stronghold on the starting spot, with an assist from Judge. This is also great news for Brian Cashman, who might not need to sweat about upgrading at third base at the trade deadline (and can focus entirely on the bullpen).

Aaron Judge's Yankees leadership might be underrated

Given his alien-like talents as a hitter and status as an overall baseball phenomenon, Judge probably doesn't get enough credit as an excellent leader of men. People cringed at Judge for his speech to Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, but that was a weird, viral video that doesn't really reflect or encapsulate how Judge operates as a leader. It's not about speeches. He genuinely wants to see his teammates get better, a quality that Paul Goldschmidt has openly praised about Judge.

Logan Webb also lauded Judge's leadership capacities at the WBC. Bryce Harper, too. Now, we're seeing more Yankees-based evidence that Judge is helping teammates like McMahon break out of a cold spell. Isn't that exactly what you want from your team leader and captain?

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