BT: Yankees no longer need Aaron Judge to thrive in playoffs in order to win World Series

As Aaron Judge looks to continue his blistering hot streak that now has him among the league leaders in several important offensive categories, one of the few remaining questions regarding his career is whether or not he can carry a team in October, where he has widely struggled.

BT believes Judge will change that narrative this year, but even if he doesn’t, he believes this Yankee team can still win it all.

“I’d like to see him hit and trim the odds in the Yankees favor, but the way the Yankees are set up…the idea that Aaron Judge has to be a superhero in October is flat-out wrong,” BT said. “I don’t think he has to be.

“I think Aaron Judge will play well…I want to see him do well. I surmise he’ll do well, because great players, the more chances you get, eventually you break through.”

Judge has had his hot streaks in October, particularly from game three of the 2017 ALCS through the 2019 ALCS, a stretch of 19 games where he hit .314 with a 1.079 OPS. But since then, it had been a struggle, but with a new lineup that includes Juan Soto, BT says the Yanks don’t need Judge to be the hitter he has been in May and the start of June to win a title.

“This is why I was going nuts toward Brian Cashman for years. The way they were built, they were so reliant on Judge,” BT said. “The Yankees didn’t have a chance to win. These Yankees remind me a lot of the ’96 team. One through nine, it is cyclical. It is seamless….if Judge does have a rough week or two in October, the next guy is gonna take the baton and help the Yankees win.”