What To Do About A Problem Named Aaron...
Finally, a player John Fisher has heard of is coming to Sacramento! His name is Aaron Judge, he hails from Linden, CA, and the A’s drafted him out of high school only to be spurned in favor of Fresno State.
He’s also batting .400/.491/.750 for the season with 12 HR in the 37 games in which he has played. So he’s having a pretty good year, even on a pace ahead of his ridiculous 11.2 WAR season of 2024.
All of which might lead you to say, “Walk him intentionally every time!” Or maybe just put your hands over your eyes and pretend he can’t see you. These are the strategies to employ if you are either a fraidy-cat or if you happen to be 3.
Here at Athletics Nation we are not fraidy-cats and most of us are not 3. So the question becomes, how should the A’s handle Judge in the context of the Yankees’ lineup?
Judge’s Accomplices
How willing you are to challenge Judge is related to the threats around him, regardless of whether you view protection as a “myth” or a “reality”. I think it’s pretty self-evident that if a pinch runner who hits .150 were to find themselves batting after Judge in a tie game, the A’s would be wise not to groove fastballs to the pride of Linden.
When you look at the Yankees’ lineup, really only one other hitter is off to a very good start and that’s the suddenly resurgent Paul Goldschmidt. After batting a pedestrian .245/.302/.414 last season, Goldschmidt has found the fountain of youth hitting .341/.391/.464 so far in his age 37 season.
Ben Rice has been solid (.254 with 8 HR) but doesn’t have a good track record, so we will see if he sustains that level of production. But the rest of the Yankees have been anything but a “murderer’s row”.
Austin Wells is batting .212 with a .264 OBP. Anthony Volpe (who has hit well against the A’s) is batting .229. Cody Bellinger? .215 with a .676 OPS. The highly touted Jasson Dominguez is only 22 and has had his struggles, hitting .220. Oswaldo Cabrera is batting .247...and slugging .301.
What This All Means...
I think this is an appropriate lineup for the classic “Don’t let X beat you” mentality. You’re going to pitch to Judge throughout the series, and hope he has a game like his last one in which he went 0 for 4 with 3 K. He’s human and slumps can happen anytime.
But with 2 on, a base open, and the game on the line? Only the corners and don’t be afraid to walk him. With first base open and he represents the go-ahead run? Try the next guy.
It would ultimately be foolish to let Judge beat you when he is so far and away the best hitter in what is actually a very tepid lineup top to bottom. Goldschmidt has been hot but also only has 3 HRs, while others (Wells, Rice) have 7 or 8 HR but aren’t doing a whole lot when they don’t “run into one”.
There’s a reason Judge has walked 23 times already this season: there is not enough incentive to give into him when there are runners on base, and while only 5 of those have been “intentional” you can bet a dozen more have been semi-intentional.
Arguably the most important hitter in the Yankees lineup is “whoever bats after Judge”. Luckily for the A’s and the rest of the league, that player isn’t anywhere near the threat Judge is.
So don’t let him beat you.