MLB: 4 position players making a case for their first All-Star Game appearance
By Anthony Sosa
Aaron Judge
Heading into the 2017 season, the New York Yankees had high expectations for a lot of their young stars. So far, 25-year-old rookie Aaron Judge has exceeded expectations and taken the league by storm.
Judge currently leads the AL in home runs with 13. He’s hitting .320/.416/.773 with 27 RBI and 28 runs. After a rough stint in 2016 when the Yankees called him up toward the end of the season, no one saw this hot start from Judge.
In 2016, Judge played in 27 games. He hit .179/.263/.345 with four home runs. He also struck out a whopping 42 times in that short span.
Flash forward to 2017 and Judge currently leads all MLB players with a 2.6 bWAR. He also leads the AL in runs, slugging percentage (.773) and OPS (1.189).
Judge’s power comes as no surprise. He’s quite the physical specimen. Judge draws heavy comparisons to Giancarlo Stanton with his 282-pound, 6-foot-7-inch frame.
Can the young Yankees slugger continue this success? He’ll more than likely slow down, but at the rate he’s playing at, expect him to make it on the AL All-Star squad.
Judge also gets the benefit of the big media area of New York. Usually, when a player succeeds in New York, he gains attention quickly. That can only benefit a player’s chances of making the Midsummer Classic.