Take the lead
Boone would consider Judge for top of order
TAMPA — If you are betting on who will be the Yankees’ regular leadoff hitter this coming season, you would be smart to put your money on Aaron Hicks.
However, during the dog days of February, Aaron Boone admitted Sunday that Aaron Judge could occasionally slide into the top spot when asked what options exist other than the switchhitting Hicks, who could be used lower in the order to break up a lineup that leans heavily to the right.
“I think DJ [LaMahieu] because of the way he hits left-handed pitching [.313 in his career], he could be an option up there. We could even flirt with the big boy [Judge] up there in certain situations,” Boone said following a pitchers and catchers workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “But I do like Aaron [Hicks] at the top of the order. [Brett Gardner] could play into that mix, especially against right-handed pitching. So it kind of depends on who is in our lineup that day, who the pitcher is and who the opponent is. That can all go into that. I would say Aaron Hicks is probably the front-runner to be that guy who would lead off.”
It didn’t take Boone long to understand that by mentioning Judge as an option to bat first, he couldn’t put the beer back in the keg.
Not only is Judge, 27 in April, the face of the Yankees, but he is a premier power hitter who is 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds and looks nothing like the prototypical leadoff hitter.
Should Boone more than flirt with Judge in the leadoff spot, the hulking right fielder would hit first to start a game for the first time in his two-yearplus big league career. Judge hit first once (2016), but he didn’t start the game. Judge has batted second the most (136 games) and has hit 40 homers, driven in 96 RBIs, batted .289 and posted a .407 on-base percentage and a .994 OPS as a No. 2 hitter.
Boone said Gleyber Torres wasn’t a leadoff option, but there might be a situation he uses Judge on top.
“Pick a scenario and there is a left-handed pitcher, and you want Judge and [Giancarlo] Stanton coming up as much as possible,’’ Boone said. “I don’t necessarily think it is likely. I would say Hicks is the guy I envision the most in that spot. But we will see how camp unfolds. I have looked at it a little bit, but I haven’t had a lot of conversations yet on the [batting] order.”
Boone has made the short trip from GMS Field to the minor league complex to watch his position players take batting prac- tice. Those players report Monday, and the first full-squad workout is Tuesday. From what Boone has seen and been told by the AllStar right fielder, Judge is healthy entering camp.
“I think he had a really good offseason, so much further ahead of the game than where he was last year,” Boone said of Judge, who entered camp last year coming off left shoulder surgery following the 2017 season. He missed sixplus weeks last season with a chip fracture in his right wrist. “I think we kind of kept him out and slowplayed him the first week or two because he was still recovering from that shoulder. A lot of his winter [following the 2017 season] was poured into the rehab of the shoulder. This year, it has been having a normal offseason and getting his body in excellent condition, and when you talk to him, I think he is really excited where his shoulder is at, certainly compared to this time last year.
“He is good to go. I think he is as healthy as he has been since he has been in the big leagues. He is in really good condition and excited to get started.”