The New York Yankees acquired Juan Soto in an offseason trade with the San Diego Padres to give them the most terrifying duo in the majors. Aaron Judge and Soto are two of the best hitters in baseball when right.
Soto got off to a blistering start as a Yankee both at the plate and in the field, and the team got off to a good start as well, but Judge was a non-factor for much of the first month. In his first 23 games of the season, he slashed .174/.308/.337 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Three home runs and 11 RBI in 104 plate appearances is very uncharacteristic for Judge, one of the premier run producers in the game since he entered the league.
As bad as Judge was performing, you can only keep the game's elite hitters down for so long. Judge finally snapped out of it as the month of April wrapped up, and he's been on fire ever since.
Aaron Judge turns his season around with ridiculous hot streak
In his last 22 games, Judge is slashing .359/.485/.795 with eight home runs and 18 RBI. That's not a .795 OPS -- that's a .795 slugging percentage.
Since April 23, Judge's 252 WRC+ is 34 points better than the next-best hitter, Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins. His eight home runs are tied for first in the league, and his 18 RBI are tied for sixth.
Of course, in his first at-bat on Friday, Judge launched another home run to give the Yankees an early lead against the Chicago White Sox. Judge now has 12 home runs this season, which has him tied for third in the majors. This is despite all of his early-season struggles.
This Yankees lineup goes as far as Soto and Judge will take them. Their pitching has been great even without Gerrit Cole. When Judge and Soto are going, they can both carry a lineup. We're seeing that right now with Judge. When Judge and Soto are going, this Yankees team can absolutely win a World Series. They don't stand a chance if one of them is off his game.
To see Judge break out of his slump in this fashion isn't just fun to watch, but it's been really encouraging for Yankees fans to see.