Judge could hit leadoff against lefties
TAMPA, FLA. — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge could be used at times as a leadoff hitter this Major League Baseball season.
The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was at the top of the lineup for Friday’s spring training game against Boston.
“It’s a potential, that’s why we’re deploying it and assessing it,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We’re going to take a peek here. We’ll see how it feels, simple as that.”
Cashman said manager Aaron Boone and Judge discussed the possibility Thursday.
This could give Boone an additional option, especially when opponents start a left-hander that caused the Yankees to rest regular leadoff man Brett Gardner, who hit .209 against lefties last year and .283 against righties.
“We have a left-handed pitcher against us, starting, then you reshuffle the deck,” Cashman said. “Who’s the best hitters against a left-handed opponent and how it should look?”
The idea developed after Boone questioned staff about lineup configurations. Boone is managing for the first time at any level.
“This is an example of when he processes that information and decides to take the next step, and wants to see what it looks like,” Cashman said.
Judge hit .284 with a rookierecord 52 homers, 114 RBIs and a .422 on-base percentage. He walked 127 times but led the major leagues with 208 strikeouts.