I’m assuming you’ve been watching, so we don’t need to belabor the obvious: Juan Soto, remarkably, has produced far more than the Yankees could have hoped for, and those hopes were very, very high. And Giancarlo Stanton…well, let’s just say I remember all of you who couldn’t wait for the Yankees to rid themselves of his presence.
But here are two positives you may or may not have noticed:
Postseason Anthony Volpe is different than regular season Anthony Volpe, and that’s a very good thing.
Anthony Volpe is swinging harder than he did in the regular season (the data cast broadcast during last night’s game noted the improvement in bat speed), is making smarter swing choices, hitting the ball harder, and he’s keeping the ball off the ground.
Among 35 hitters with at least 30 plate appearances this postseason, Volpe ranks 5th in average exit velocity (a tick below Stanton, who’s 4th), and 8th in hard hit percentage. He’s posted a 21.6% walk rate in the playoffs after an abysmal 6.1% walk rate during the regular season and has dropped his ground ball rate to 34.8% in the playoffs after creating countless divots during the year with a 50.2% ground ball rate.
Has he been the beneficiary of randomness? Yes.
Is 37 PA a miniscule sample size? Also, yes.
But it’s not the results I’m talking about, it’s the process. His process is clearly different and that’s a great thing. And once again, it makes one wonder how his 2024 season would have gone if he’d had the grip it and rip it approach all season.
More good news:
If I told you that among those 35 hitters with at least 30 postseason PA, there was a player who ranked 3rd in average exit velocity, 5th in hard hit percentage, 9th in barrel rate, and 6th in walk rate, surely you would tell me that’s a player who’s having some damn good at bats. Drawing walks and smashing the ball consistently is the best process after all.
But if that same player had the 32nd lowest batting average on balls in play among the 35 hitters, you’d also surely say that player is likely hitting into some bad luck – a lot of hard contact without many hits, means the gods of randomness are not on one’s side right now.
That player is Aaron Judge.
Don’t worry about the results, worry about the process. Judge is making good swing decisions and hitting the ball hard, and odds are the tide is going to turn for him soon.
Did I miss something? Let me know. Leave a comment below or yell at me on the “My Baseball Page” on Facebook.
What I’m reading: “Wilber ‘Bullet’ Rogan and the Kansas City Monarchs” by Phil Dixon.
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