Aaron Judge
- PA: 522
- AVG: .229
- HR: 30
- OBP: .301
- SLG%: .473
- RBI: 83
After struggling in his first go-around in the majors, seeing 30 home runs from Aaron Judge is a promising sight for fans.
Last season, the 6-foot-8 mammoth struck out in precisely half of his at-bats while hitting a mere .179 in 27 games. If you’re expecting a turnaround, don’t expect the strikeouts to disappear.
FanGraphs, in addition to a mere .229 batting average, is projecting Judge to finish 2017 with a 34.3% strikeout rate. Since 2010, only Chris Carter (2013) and Mark Reynolds (2010) had higher rates but at least it’s much greater than the 50% he maintained in his first cup of coffee.
After all, we’ve had Judge in the organization since 2013 and know what kind of a player he is. A guy who will hit 25-30 home runs while also striking out a lot.
In his three-year minor league career, the 24-year old hit 64 home runs in 399 games but also went down on strikes 437. Know what you have, and know that’s what you’ll get.
