Yankees' Aaron Judge has two-word message for slumping Anthony Volpe

The June swoon is sweeping over the New York Yankees, and no one has been hit harder than Anthony Volpe.

For the second straight season, it appeared the young shortstop had made some real progress offensively. He had a great April, an okay May, and now he's having an abysmal June, culminating in a current streak of 24 at-bats without a hit.

Every ballplayer goes through slumps, but one can see how much Volpe is pressing. His 12-for-62 stretch to start June has dropped him below league average in terms of OPS+ (98), and he's hitting a lot more ground balls as a result of an overaggressive, contact-first approach. 

If there's one consolation for Volpe, though, it's that his superstar teammate and captain has his back.

After the Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, outfielder Aaron Judge spelled out what his advice would be for his struggling third-year shortstop.

“Keep going,” Judge said, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “You’ve been there before. I think he knows what he needs to work on, and he’s a guy that will definitely outwork anybody in this room.

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"I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, just like everybody else in this room. Just go out there and do your thing. That’s the biggest thing. Don’t feel bad for yourself because nobody else — especially the Orioles — (will) feel bad for you. Just keep going out there and doing your thing.”

Everyone in the organization is outwardly showing confidence that Volpe will break through. The Yankees are willing to try at least one thing to get Volpe back on track, though. Manager Aaron Boone said postgame that he's likely to get the day off on Sunday.

If Volpe's third year goes exactly like his second, one has to wonder how many more years he'll get to keep playing the same position as his childhood idol Derek Jeter. He's a very useful role player, but so far, he hasn't looked like the kind you give a nine-figure extension.

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