"Aaron Judge is not getting into panic mode" - Shohei Ohtani's teammate explains New York Yankees captain's elite slugging approach

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas appreciated Yankees superstar Aaron Judge's approach to hitting long balls. The veteran infielder complimented Judge on his ability to control his at-bats while comparing it to the style adopted by Shohei Ohtani.

On The Chris Rose Rotation, a podcast hosted on the JM Baseball Youtube channel, Rojas was asked how closely the Dodgers have followed Judge's record-breaking season.

The 35-year-old spoke about the Yankees outfielder's ability to control himself from swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He made a clear distinction with Shohei Ohtani, who has swung at all kinds of pitches.

Judge has generated a higher walk rate and a better batting average because of his control at the plate.

"It is really hard not to see what Judge is doing, because the way he controls the strike zone. I know Shohei hits a lot of homers and he gets more opportunities because he swings and spends the zone a little bit more, he swings at pitches down the zone, high, in... that's some things that Shohei [does] that impress you every day.

"But if you play against Judge, if you don't pitch inside the little square you see on TV, he's not swinging. So he's walking a lot, he's hitting high average just because he's swinging only on pitches inside the zone... He's a big guy that knows the strike zone and he's not getting into panic mode when he's hitting," Rojas said.

Aaron Judge falls behind 2022 record-breaking pace

Aaron Judge had a disappointing end to an otherwise strong month of August. He was unable to go yard in any game after August 25 and is yet to open his HR mark in this final month. This has pushed his projections behind the 62-home run mark, which he was poised to reach just a week back.

The Yankees have played 138 games this season and exactly at this stage two years back, Judge had hit 55 home runs with a .302 average. He has hit 51 so far this year at a better average, of .326. If he has to achieve the target, Judge has to get back to his offensive best.