Subpar stats show "Aaron Judge & Bobby Witt Jr. playing their kryptonite" pitching matchups in the Yankees vs. Royals ALDS, says MLB analyst

Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. were the two best AL sluggers in the regular season. However, they have been subpar in the Yankees vs. Royals ALDS series. With the series tied at 1-1, MLB analyst Chris Rose is skeptical of Judge and Witt Jr. showing up in the series.

On Wednesday's episode of the "Baseball Today" podcast, co-host Chris Rose revealed the subpar stats of Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. against the Royals and Yankees, respectively.

"I did a little deep dive on the numbers for each of these guys against the pitchers that are currently on the playoff rosters for the other squad, and it's about the worst match each guy could ask for," said Rose [24:48]

The stats provided by Rose are surprising, particularly as Judge is the favorite to win AL MVP, with Witt Jr. closely following at second.

"Bobby Witt Jr. [has] 2 XBH in 45 at-bats against the Yankees and is currently on the postseason roster with a sub-.500 OPS. Aaron Judge is hitting .169 against the guys on the Royals, with a strikeout rate of over 42%. He too [has] two XBH in 71 at-bats," Rose added. [25:04]

Due to these inferior stats, Rose is skeptical of Judge and Witt Jr. performing well in the ALDS.

"I'm not so sure that those two are even going to get unlocked in this series. With that being said, they'll probably both go deep, but it is kind of interesting that they're [Aaron Judge & Bobby Witt Jr.] playing their kryptonite," said Rose. [25:27]

In the first two games of the ALDS, Judge has scored once and hit only once in seven plate appearances. Meanwhile, Bobby Witt Jr. has been hitless in 10 at-bats.

Aaron Judge & Bobby Witt Jr. are not the X-Factor in ALDS, says Twins insider

Despite Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. being the best players in their respective teams, former Twins slugger Trevor Plouffe doesn't think their performance would be the X-factor determining the ALDS winner.

When asked by Chris Rose about whether Judge or Witt Jr.'s performance would determine the ALDS winner, Plouffe said (23:47):

"It doesn't really seem like that. I think both teams would like that [Judge & Witt performing]. I would even go the opposite of that. You know, what supporting cast can get the job done is who ends up winning this series."

Will Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. come up big in the coming games? Share your thoughts in the comments section.