Yankees prospects Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin hit back-to-back home runs
New York Yankees prospects Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back home runs in their first at-bats in the majors on Saturday.
Batting seventh in the lineup, Austin had his first chance to face Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Andriese with two out in the bottom of the second inning. After falling behind 0–2 in the count, he drew two balls and fouled off a pitch, before crushing a fastball to rightfield.
Judge made Andriese pay in the very next at-bat, driving a changeup over the centerfield wall for his first career home run.
Their homers mark the first time in MLB history that two players have gone back-to-back in their first career plate appearances.
The Yankees called up both prospects from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and inserted them into the starting lineup.
With the retirement of Alex Rodriguez after his final game Friday night, it was expected that Austin would be with New York to take on the Rays at home. However, Judge got the nod as well, with the Yankees optioning relief pitcher Ben Heller.
Judge is the No. 4 prospect in the Yankees minor league system, according to MLB.com, and has been one of the top power hitters in Triple-A. The 2013 first-round draft pick is hitting .270/.366/.489 with 19 home runs in 93 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Austin has been limited by injuries over the last few seasons, but the 2010 draft pick has played well through 57 games at the Triple-A level this season. The 24-year-old is hitting .323/.415/.637 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs and is expected to compete for playing time in rightfield moving forward.
