Is Aaron Judge ending the season, the way he started it? Well, he started slowly, and right now he is 12 games in without making a home run. Given the timing of this slump, it’s almost like a déjà vu moment for the team — because this happened during last year’s playoff. Back then, Judge chalked up due to fatigue because he chased home runs. This year, too, when the days to the playoffs are closing in, Judge’s performance has taken a major hit. This time, it seems like his center-field position is the one taking the blame. Early on this year, his everyday center fielder position was one of the biggest question marks. 

But Judge did show promise and while his defense wasn’t as great as Harrison Baders’s, it was competent enough. But three months later, things look different. Not only is Aaron Judge’s defense struggling, but the pressure seems to have taken a toll on him. Right now, he is not on pace to break 60 homers record, but rather he is breaking a rather unwanted record. With the team needing him to deliver in crunch time, he will have to find a way to turn things around fast.

Aaron Judge’s MVP season hits a snag

Aaron Judge was on fire this season. He had everything sorted. But it didn’t take time for the pressure to get to him yet again. Right now both FanGraphs and Statcast rank him the league’s worst center fielder with -6 DRS and -6 OAA. Plus, he has been struggling on the plate, with no homers in sight—it is been 12 games. This is the highest Judge who has gone on without a home run. Alarm bells are surely off!

In the last 12 games, he has battled just .186/.340/.256 with only three extra-base hits. Plus, he has been struggling with his catch. For example, against the game with the Rangers, he failed to make a catch that Statcast deemed as 95% probability—shocking indeed. The combined impact of his defense decline and his slump shows that the pressures of a full season at the center field position are catching up to him.

However, the Yankees do have a chance to lessen their star players’ workload. Jasson Dominguez’s arrival can help give the team allocate more time to Judge as a designated hitter. If not always, even for a few days, to build his stamina back for the needed post-season. 

Judge faces tough competition for MVP

Aaron Judge had a historic season till now and is surely leading the MVP award favorites. But that’s not to say he is without competition because Bobby Witt Jr. is coming in hot. Right now, believe it or not, fans and even game experts and analysts are finding it different to narrow it down to just one name.

Granted that Judge has set the bar high with 51 homers. But his decline in performance cannot be ignored. Some fans have even gone out as far as a possible hex on Judge for being the cause of his downward spiral from the last dozen-plus games. Hex, or now, Judge surely needs to buckle up and get ready to ace it out before Bobby Witt Jr. catches up with him. In fact, he might just have. 

Bobby Witt Jr. is leading the majors with a .335 average, compared to the .321 batting average of Aaron Judge. But Judge is still leading with 51 home runs and Witt Jr has 30 home runs. But while everyone seems to be pitching two of the strongest players of the season. They themselves are more than cordial with each other. Witt Jr. even called Judge the ‘King of New York.’ 

However, the competition is definitely heating up. Fans have chosen their sides and so have some of the analysts and insiders. The big question is when will Judge get out from his slump? Because now would be a pretty great time! So who do you think will win the race? Let us know!