Yankees' Luis Severino delivers a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a game at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 14, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Despite Aaron Judge’s and Luis Severino’s struggles this season, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is sticking with his plan for the two young players.

Judge has just five hits and has struck out 31 times in his last 58 at-bats (.096 average). Speaking to WFAN’s Mike Francesa on Thursday, Cashman said he expects Judge to always be a high-strikeout hitter who will make up for it with his power, but the GM admitted the strikeouts are still more frequent than he’d like to see.

However, Cashman chalked up the 24-year-old’s slump to growing pains, noting he struggled mightily, too, last year after being called up to Triple-A and bounced back with a strong season at that level this year.



“We still have high hopes for him,” Cashman said. “It doesn’t dampen what we think he’s ultimately going to become, which we think he’s going to be an everyday, above-average right fielder in the big leagues for a long time.”

Severino, meanwhile, has thrived since being moved to the Yankees’ bullpen. The 22-year-old, once the franchise’s top pitching prospect, went 0-8 with an 8.58 ERA as a starter this season but is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in six relief appearances.

Cashman, however, said he still envisions Severino as a starter.

“We didn’t get him what we expected out of him, but when you’re 22, those things can happen,” he said. “So we’re really excited about what he’s currently doing for us in the present, but it doesn’t dim what we think his future’s going to be as an every-five-day rotation starter for us.”

To listen to the full interview, in which Cashman also discusses Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin and more, click on the audio player above.