The Daily Briefing — May 5
By Morgan Davis · Tue May 05 2026
Judge a Model for Jac Caglianone? Aaron Judge wasted no time setting the tone last night, launching a first-inning homer that essentially flipped the game into New York’s control from the jump. The swing was classic Judge: leveraged, violent, and still somehow controlled, a reminder that when he’s on time, there’s almost nothing pitchers can do. That blast—one of the hardest-hit balls of the night at over 110 mph—helped fuel a rout and continued a stretch where he’s homered in bunches, now piling up double-digit long balls early in the season and pushing toward the league lead . It’s the modern version of Judge: not just power, but power arriving in predictable waves once his swing decisions lock in. That’s the key piece—and it traces directly back to his early-career adjustment. As a rookie, Judge ran a roughly 31% O-Swing rate with just 60% contact, a profile that left him vulnerable to spin and chase-induced strikeouts. The transformation came when he tightened the zone, learned which pitches he could actually damage, and accepted more walks in exchange for better swing decisions. What you’re seeing now is the finished product: elite selectivity feeding elite impact, which is why he’s sitting north of a 170 wRC+ this season . That same blueprint is showing up in Jac Caglianone . “Cags” has trimmed his O-Swing from 39% down to 31%, a massive shift that mirrors Judge’s path. Cags went deep as well, sending a Matt Festa pitch 104 mph and 421 feet from home plate. He now sits with a 117 wRC+ after struggling in his MLB debut last year. Cags has some of the best bat speed and raw power in the league. He can also do it while covering the whole zone and getting the barrel to the baseball. Quick Hits Cam Schlittler turned in another solid outing, working into the sixth while allowing just one run, though the command wavered late with a few walks. He's 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA with 53 strikeouts to just 9 walks. JR Ritchie continues to trend upward as one of the more interesting young arms. It isn't overpowering but Ritchie can move the ball in all directions and knows how to pitch. His mistakes will get hit hard but he will be an above average starter for a while. He has a 3.63 ERA through his first hree Major League starts. Munetaka Murakami kept pace in the power race, going deep again to tie Judge with his 14th long ball at the top of the MLB home run leaderboard. He is proving skeptics wrong by making sure his hits go over the fence while walking and striking out in extreme fashion. Murakami is hammering mistakes. It remains to be seen if he can keep the power output humming, but the White Sox have to be happy with the early returns on his deal.