New York Yankees Were Propelled to Strong Month by Star Slugger

The New York Yankees are off to a good start because of their star slugger.

May 3, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

With the first month of the season over for the New York Yankees, the team should be pleased with how they have performed so far.

Coming into the year, there was plenty of reason for concern about the Yankees.

In spring training, the team was ravaged by injuries to their starting rotation. With three projected starters on the Opening Day roster out, the depth of the team was challenged in a significant way.

Furthermore, star slugger Giancarlo Stanton has yet to play a game for New York this campaign.

Despite all of that, and the loss of a superstar in free agency, the Yankees find themselves in first place in the AL East and hopes are high for a successful year.

While the first month of the campaign might not have been perfect, it has been very good for New York.

David Schoenfield of ESPN (subscription required) recently graded the first month of the season for the Yankees and gave them a solid ‘B+’. The strong grade comes thanks to an amazing month for slugger Aaron Judge.

“He had a season for the ages in 2022, was somehow better in 2024, and is somehow better again so far in 2025, hitting an insane .427/.521/.761 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 31 games.”

While there was a lot of concern about losing Juan Soto in the lineup, many have forgotten the caliber of player that Judge is.

Even though Soto is an amazing hitter, the star of New York is a two-time American League MVP and appears to be very much in the prime of his career.

Judge was able to set the AL home run record back in 2022, but it was 2024 that was arguably the best year of his career. The slugger slashed 322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. If not for batting average, Judge would have won the triple crown in the AL, but it was an amazing campaign regardless.

So far this season, he is off to a red-hot start, slashing .430/.521/.777 with 10 home runs and a league-leading 32 RBI.

While Judge is off to a great start and played well in April, he has had some support from players like Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt.

The depth of the lineup around the star slugger has been very impressive. This was a bit of a weakness last year, but the lineup top to bottom looks much better with young players stepping up.

As the Yankees prepare for May, they have to be very pleased not only with Judge, but the overall performance of the team. Injuries could have easily derailed this franchise early on, but they have overcome it.