Tigers' Kerry Carpenter reveals surprising link fueling "left-handed Aaron Judge" comparisons

Detroit Tigers' slugger Kerry Carpenter drew similarities with two-time MVP and New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge. The similarity of having the same hitting mechanism was first sparked by hitting coach Richard "Teacherman" Schenck.

On Saturday, Carpenter had a sit-down interview with Tricia Whitaker. The interviewer picked up on Schenck drawing similarities between the two sluggers. Carpenter responded to being called a "left-handed version of Aaron Judge," a comparison he admits he is nowhere near Judge.

"That’s too high of praise in my opinion, but we do use the same hitting coach, and he teaches us the same things," Carpenter said. “I can confidently say Aaron’s a lot better at it than I am, but it’s high praise and it’s cool to be mentioned in the same breath as him."

Talking further about the similarities, Carpenter added:

"The move. It's the stretch and the snap. Those are the similarities. Other than that, the home run totals aren't very similar, but we're getting there."

What's fueling the "Aaron Judge of the lefty batters” comparison for Kerry Carpenter?

Kerry Carpenter and Aaron Judge share the same hitting coach, Richard "Teacherman" Schenck. Last week, the hitting coach shared what makes Carpenter's hitting mechanism very similar to that of the Yankees captain.

“Everybody's a little different,” Schenck said. “When they finally start to own the swing, they understand it, they know what to do, they don't really need me that much. With Kerry, there's a lot more text and video exchange. With Aaron, there's a lot more [in-person] work... I have over 200 hours with Aaron Judge. I don't know if I have 40 hours with Kerry in the cage.”

While their swings may be different, Judge is far ahead when it comes to numbers. The two-time MVP has already hit 40 home runs this season compared to Carpenter's 22. Both numbers are above average, but due to his immense and solid power, Judge is getting the results more often.

Last season, Carpenter joined an esteemed company, becoming one of only four players, alongside Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Bobby Witt Jr., to post an OPS above .587 with at least 296 plate appearances.