Yankees’ Aaron Judge Featured On ’10 Biggest Disappointments’ List

Getty Aaron Judge reacts to striking out during an April 22 game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Broadway baseball is back in the Big Apple, with the New York Yankees off and running to start 2024, winning 17 of 26 games. But the World Series hopefuls are still waiting on Aaron Judge to join the party.

Through 26 games, the five-time All-Star is batting just .186/.322/.371 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs.

Judge’s first month of the season earned him the sixth of 10 spots on Jim Bowden‘s “10 biggest disappointments of the young MLB season” list for The Athletic.

Specifically, Bowden credits Judge with not living up to the hype next to four-time Silver Slugger, Juan Soto.

“…Most of us expected Soto would help Judge by providing more traffic on the bases, turning some of Judge’s solo homers into two- or three-run shots,” Bowden wrote on April 25. “That hasn’t happened yet. Judge is hitting .191 with four homers and 13 RBIs. Instead of All Rise, he’s made us All Sit.”

Compared to his performance over the last two seasons, Judge is certainly not playing up to his standards.

“Judge hit 62 homers with 131 RBIs and a 1.111 OPS in 2022 and despite injuries and little traffic in front of him, still had 37 homers and 75 RBIs in 2023,” Bowden continued. “I’m sure he’ll turn it around soon but it’s been a disappointing first month with Soto for the Yankees’ captain.”

Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge’s slow start isn’t reflected in their 17-9 record. That’s in large part thanks to the aforementioned Soto, though, who’s playing lights out.

Bowden Says Soto: ‘The Early Frontrunner for AL MVP’

In the same column, Bowden slipped in that Soto is currently the frontrunner for AL MVP. Or at least, he’s playing like it.

“Juan Soto has lived up to the hype in his first month in pinstripes, as he’s slashed .319/.431/.564 with five doubles, six home runs and 22 RBIs,” Bowden wrote. “He’s made diving plays in right field and game-winning throws to nail runners at the plate. He’s the early front-runner for AL MVP.”

According to Vegas Insider, Soto is in fact the odds-on favorite for AL MVP on all of: Fan Duel, Bet MGM, ESPN, and Draft Kings.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson sit behind him with the second and third-best odds respectively.

But so far, so good for Soto’s first year in pinstripes. As long as Judge continues to struggle, and the Yankees keep winning, he’ll continue to garner American-League MVP hype.

Bowden also isn’t the only writer drawing attention to Judge’s disappointing start.

Judge Headlines ‘Biggest Bust’ List on Bleacher Report

In an April 26 column for Bleacher Report, Brandon Scott wrote on the “10 Biggest Busts” of MLB’s first month in 2024.

Aaron Judge headlined the list at the number one spot.

“The dynamic left-right, one-two punch has been mostly one-sided as Judge sputters out the gate,” Scott wrote. “He’s still hitting the ball hard, just not nearly often enough with a .189 batting average through his first 95 at-bats. His 33 strikeouts is tied for seventh-most in baseball. Inexplicably, he’s even hearing boos from Yankees fans.”

Scott is referring to Judge’s 0-for-4 day at the plate in an April 20 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. He struck out all four times at the plate, earning loud boos from the New York home crowd.

Four-strikeout day for Aaron Judge is met with boos from #Yankees fans.

#RepBX

Strikeouts and whiffs have been a common occurrence for Judge this season.

“Judge is whiffing at offspeed pitches at 57.1 percent,” Scott continued. “A much higher clip than he did in 2023 (47 percent) and the most since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (62.9 percent). He’s also struggling against breaking balls from lefties, whiffing 50 percent of the time.”

Whatever the fix is for Aaron Judge, he needs it more than the New York Yankees do. Juan Soto’s proved that in month one.