Judge Continues to Dominate Playoffs
I wrote an article before the playoffs looking at each starter's postseason success at this point in their careers. And while there was a wide range of playoff experience on the roster, Aaron Judge was without a doubt the most dominant postseason starter on the team. Heading into the 2019 playoffs, Judge had accumulated 79 plate appearances between the 2017 and 2018 playoff runs. He'd been absolutely dominant. Across 79 plate appearances, he had 17 hits, 7 of which are home runs. Additionally, he’d walked 12 times. Those stats were good enough for a .412 wOBA and 162 wRC+. So far this postseason that dominance has continued. Thus far he's 8-for-28 with a big go-ahead two-run home run against Justin Verlander in Game 2 of the ALCS.
The @Yankees take the lead. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/CTFo6ExoXN — MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2019
He also has 5 walks against 6 strikeouts. On top of that, he's shown some stellar defense. He's made several impressive catches, including two in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Twins, as well as an outfield assist. Judge has played in every inning of every postseason game that his team has been in so far in his career. In total, he's accumulated an impressive slash line of .270/.387/.584 along with an OPS of .971 across 107 plate appearances. His wOBA now sits at .407 and his wRC+ sits at 158. Across his first three postseasons, Judge has looked every bit the October hero the Yankees need. If the Yankees want to push through the tough ticket of the Astros, it may very well be on the back of Aaron Judge. Judge has the ability to carry a team single-handedly, and thus far that's pretty much seemed like the case over the last several seasons. With several other Yankees having poor postseasons, all eyes remain on Judge to spark the offense.