Washington Nationals: All rise for the Yankees
![NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 16: Giancarlo Stanton #27 and Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees talk during a pitchig change by the Miami Marlins in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fdistrictondeck-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F947244638-850x560-806184091d7f994f62f26ab31f06d39e.jpg)
Two of baseballs hottest teams clash, when the Washington Nationals play host to the New York Yankees. We look ahead to it with old friend Ricky Keeler.
After winning six of seven on their latest road-trip, the Washington Nationals are heading back to Nats Park. And waiting there to greet them there are the New York Yankees. We invite former Site Expert Ricky Keeler back to preview what has been dubbed a potential “world series preview”.
On this episode, we give the series the hype it deserves by covering:
- Recap of the Nats’ and Yankees’ most recent series
- Are these the two hottest teams in baseball right now?
- Despite the Giancarlo Stanton trade, are the Yankees still players for Bryce Harper?
- Players on both sides to keep an eye on
- Preview/predict each matchup individually
- Answer some listener questions
More from District on Deck
- Washington Nationals Minor League Spotlight: Robert Hassell III
- Washington Nationals Tuesday Q&A
- 3 Free Agents the Nationals Should Gamble On
- A Washington Nationals Christmas Wishlist
- Washington Nationals: Is Seth Lugo Still an Option?
The Nats will get their first look at Giancarlo Stanton in a uniform other than a Miami Marlins one. And the beginning of his Yankees career has been streaky to say the least.
He seemingly setting the tone for an assault on American League pitching by hitting two home runs on opening day. However, in his next 15 games, he struck out 28 times, drawing boos from the Yankees faithful. But has now evened out to a .252 average and 10 HRs.
However, the real headliner for the Yankees is rising superstar Aaron Judge, who is looking to build on his 2018 rookie of the year campaign. Despite a 52 home run campaign last season, Judge looks an even more complete player this year.
He currently has a .311 batting average and .440 on-base percentage. Some of this is fueled by a .417 BABIP, but he’s swinging at a lot less pitches this year to help him get into better counts.
The Yankees right-fielder was also the player out followers were most keen to see this series:
In preparation for our Dodcast later. We want to put a poll out there to see: Which Yankees player are you most interested to see this series? #OnePursuit
— District on Deck (@DistrictOnDeck) May 14, 2018
The fact that Judge won the poll is no surprise, but the margin of victory was astounding. 76 percent of fans see him as the most interesting player to watch. Whereas Gary Sanchez continues to go underrated in this team with only three percent.
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Next: Grading the Nats rotation
This is sure to be a great series for the neutral, as two of the best teams in the game go head-to-head. So buckle up, and prepare for the fireworks that are sure to go off.