It was coming up on midnight at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Rochester and Aaron Judge was having dinner with his parents after Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s game. So was his manager. Al Pedrique came over to inform Judge that there was something new on the menu for him.
“Hey, you better hurry up with this meal,” Pedrique told Judge. “You’ve got to be up in New York tomorrow.”
Tyler Austin had received the word from Pedrique earlier Friday. He was Yankees-bound, too.
The day after Alex Rodriguez said goodbye, the page turned on a new era. Two of the Yankees’ top prospects were summoned. The pair of 24-year-olds were inserted right into the starting lineup Saturday against the Rays at Yankee Stadium, Judge in right and Austin at first. They made their presence felt immidiately, both hitting home runs in their first major league at-bats.
“They’re here to play,” GM Brian Cashman said. “I think Judge will play every day. I think Austin will play some because (the retiring Mark Teixeira) is still active.”
They joined Gary Sanchez, who served as the DH. Luis Severino will be the starting pitcher in Sunday’s series finale. The youth movement is in motion.
Joe Girardi has expectations for the two newest guys.
“To play at a high level,” the manager said. “I’ve said over the last couple of weeks that there were more coming. Judge had a little bit of a setback (in July) where he was out for three weeks (with a knee injury). He’s swung the bat extremely well. We’ve seen a lot of progress.
“Tyler Austin has had a fabulous year. We’re excited about him being here. He was a big prospect a couple of years ago, went through some wrist injuries, but is healthy. He’s played at an extreme high level. So we’re really excited. The thing is, you don’t want to put too much on them too early. That’s the thing. But we believe that these guys can really help us.”
Not only did Austin have to overcome testicular cancer when he was 17 and that wrist injury in the minors that set him back in 2013 and 2014, but the 2010 13th-round pick had a down year last season and ended up getting designated for assignment last Sept 1.
The other teams passed on claiming him. The Yankees gave him a nonroster invitation to spring training. After batting .260 in 50 games with Double-A Trenton, he took off again with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .323 with 24 doubles, 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 57 games.
“It’s been a bumpy road for sure,” said Austin, a righty hitter who’s most comfortable at first and right but can also play left and third. “I’ve battled some injuries, some difficult years.
“ . . . I’m just excited to be here. To be really honest, at the beginning of the year, I didn’t think that I would be. But with all the hard work, I finally made it here.”
The top of Brett Gardner’s right ankle was sore and swollen after he was hit by a pitch Friday night. He may miss a couple of games. So the timetable to bring up the righty-hitting Judge was moved up.
The 6-foot-7, 2013 first-round pick struggled in spring training, going 1-for-19. But he was batting .270 with 19 homers and 65 RBIs in 93 Triple-A games. Judge had been having a warm August, batting .353 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 10 games.
Now here he is in pinstripes, too.
“It’s a blessing,” Judge said. “I really can’t put it into words what it means. It’s something you dream about as a kid. “Finally getting this opportunity with the New York Yankees, it’s something special.”
..... - Newsday