Inside The Pinstripes

Aaron Judge Isn't Concerned One Bit About His Power Entering the Regular Season

New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge isn't concerned about hitting zero home runs in spring training. The slugger knows his power will arrive in the regular season

Max Goodman

TAMPA — Sounds like Aaron Judge is saving all of his home runs for the regular season.

Asked on Monday about his power, considering he's yet to connect on his first home run of the spring, Judge chuckled. 

He's not worried in the slightest. 

"The power is gonna be there," Judge said. "That's a strength of mine, so I like to kind of work on other things that aren't really a strength of mine and try to build them up and I'm just trying to be the best overall well-rounded baseball player I can be. The power is not really a concern of mine."

Judge may not have a home run yet during spring training, but he's been able to rack up quality at-bats and solid contact throughout. Across a dozen games in Grapefruit League play, entering play on Monday, Judge is hitting .258 (8-for-31) with a pair of doubles and three walks. 

What doesn't show in those numbers, however, is how many times Judge has barreled up the baseball. Whether he was able to reach, or if the line drive found leather rather than outfield grass, almost every single game Judge has put the ball in play with eye-catching exit velocity.

Just look at some of these plays where Judge isn't getting on base, but he's able to put together solid contact to all parts of the field:

As Judge alluded to, the 28-year-old has been focusing on other parts of his game at the plate this spring. He added that being healthy through the offseason and up until this point has afforded him the opportunity—more so than the last couple seasons—to dive into the intricacies of his swing and his ability to produce in different situations.

"You're always working on things," Judge explained. "Working on getting to two strikes and battling in two-strike counts or working on a two-strike approach. Today, I'm going to work on hitting breaking balls, or I'm going to work on maybe being a little more aggressive and trying different things. So, you're always working. You're always tinkering, but I like where my swing's are right now. Hitting the ball all over the field, I feel like I'm swinging at the right pitches and that's all that really matters to me."

His manager, Aaron Boone, agrees.

"I'm really excited about where AJ's at," Boone said late last week. "I think his work has been excellent to slowly get him locked in, feel like he's moving really well in the field, he's had a lot of opportunities this spring to run the bases and go first to third. Those things are nice to have happen in spring training. So, with 10 or 11 days to go here in spring, I'm really excited about where he is and the spring he's had."

Judge hasn't been able to play a full 162-game season since his historic rookie year in 2017 when he nearly won the American League Most Valuable Player Award. If he was able to hit 52 home runs in 155 games that year, who knows how many big flies we'll see from No. 99 in 2021. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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