Angels young gun Kyren Paris taps into Aaron Judge’s swing secrets with the same coach

Kyren Paris has been a revelation for the Los Angeles Angels to start the 2025 season. Although his name is just hitting the mainstream now, Paris made his debut on September 1, 2023. After languishing for the past year and a half, however, the young utility player has turned things around — thanks to a vital adjustment to his game as taught by Aaron Judge's coach.

Paris is currently hitting at an impressive .368/.467/.842 clip with an OPS of 1.309— the third best on-base plus slugging percentage in the league, just behind stars Corbin Carroll and Aaron Judge. In addition to his stellar batting line, he's recorded five home runs, eight RBIs, and five stolen bases so far.

“I worked with Aaron Judge’s hitting coach and there are a lot of similarities in my swing now, but it's helped me a lot. It’s more like a hover [with my foot] and the finish is similar as well,” said Paris via MLB.com.

In an article by Angels beat writer Rhett Bollinger on MLB.com, Paris stated that when he reviewed swings from major leaguers, he grew fond of New York Yankee superstar Aaron Judge's patented swing. That's when he reached out to Judge's hitting coach Richard Schenk and it did wonders for him.

“I wouldn't say it was surprising, because as soon as I felt it, it was something that I hadn't felt before, and I knew that I would have success with it,” Paris said. “But it's definitely nice to see it happen on the field.”

The young star also revealed that Schenck totally rehauled his mechanics, leading to his 180 turnaround from being a .167 hitter in the minors, to being one of the most exciting players in the league today.

Angels upstart Kyren Paris makes MLB history with hot start

As a product of his sizzling start to the season, Los Angeles Angels upstart Kyren Paris cemented his name in the history books. Per OptaSTATS, Paris became the first American League player in history to record at least five home runs and four stolen bases in the first ten games played of a season.

The only other times that the feat was accomplished since the modern era of baseball began were in the National League with Hall of Famer Lou Brock in 1967, Gary Redus in 1983, and Hall of Famer Larry Walker in 1997.

Known for his vast baseball knowledge and knack for developing young players, it would be interesting to see how Angels manager Ron Washington sustain the form that Paris has found to start 2025.