Aaron Judge injury gives Yankees young stars chance to shine

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June 16, 2026

On June 16, 2026

The New York Yankees have been one of the top teams in MLB in 2026, despite dealing with key injuries offensively and in their starting rotation. The biggest injury of all came about two weeks ago when the captain, Aaron Judge, was put on the IL. With Aaron Judge sidelined for an estimated 6-8 weeks, the Yankees have looked to turn to their young stars in outfielders Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. Both are up with the big league club currently and are being looked upon to contribute.

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Mini Aaron Judge?

Spencer Jones, 25 years old, has looked sharp at the plate in his last seven games. He is hitting .316 and launched his first major league home run to dead center recently against the Cleveland Guardians on June 9th.

The Yankees need him to produce at an MLB level. His swing approach is power-dependent. Jones hits the ball extremely hard but is striking out 41% of the time. This was already a worry because he had this same issue down in the minors. Jones has the tools to get his strikeouts down, but it is promising that he is hitting the ball well over his last seven games, and his first home run was a moonshot.

The Martian is back

Dominguez has looked comfortable in right field and is looking strong versus lefties, batting .364 against them. In the past, this was an outline that had Yankee fans concerned about Dominguez because he struggled against left-hand throwers.

Jasson Dominguez has been hyped up, and Yankee fans want to see a healthy Martian. When Dominguez is healthy, he is a quality player in this lineup. He provides a solid bat and is a good baserunner, but then people point towards his bad defense.

Young Talent is the Future for the Yankees

The Yankees need these two players to be more than solid in the future. Aaron Judge is not getting any younger, and his body is getting weaker. Aaron Judge can’t play the outfield every single day. The Yankees need Dominguez and Jones to look like game-changers.

The young stars won’t get a bigger opportunity than this. Judge is hurt, and Trent Grisham suffered a hamstring injury recently. Jones and Dominguez are going to be everyday outfielders until those two players come back.

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