Aaron Judge is not surprised that his breakout teammates like Jameson Taillon and Clay Holmes are currently dominating at All-Star levels.
The Yankees slugger saw it unfolding back when there was still no baseball to be played.
While Major League Baseball was in a lockout, Judge and other players were staying ready by facing each other on unaffiliated fields that they were still allowed to convene on, and that’s where Judge faced Holmes and Taillon, the latter just coming off of ankle surgery.
“These guys, during this whole lockout period, we all stayed in touch and talked a lot,” Judge said. “The pitchers, they were working their butt off. It’s finally showing here.
“I got a chance to face Clay, Jamo, some of these guys in the offseason, and they were in midseason form in February.”
Perhaps that’s why Judge had been putting up MVP numbers this season, as he was facing top-tier pitching during the winter. Taillon, who lowered his season ERA to 2.30 after carrying a perfect game into the eighth inning on Thursday, looks like a good bet to be an All-Star, as does Holmes, who logged the save in a scoreless ninth to lower his season ERA to 0.35.
But again, that’s no surprise to Judge, even if those two are considered two of the biggest breakout pitchers in the league this season, alongside teammate Nestor Cortes Jr.
“I knew it was gonna be a good year for all of these guys,” Judge said. “I’m happy to see what they’ve done so far.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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