The good vibes that were emanating from the Yankees clubhouse have quickly dissipated. A sterling start has turned sour, a five-game losing streak bringing the Yankees to 8-7 after running an 8-2 record in their first ten games. We certainly shouldn’t be panicking, not so early in the season, and not considering literally every single one of the Yankees’ seven losses has come in a close game. But still, it’s disheartening to see the team fall into midseason malaise form so suddenly.
The culprits of this slump are not hard to find. The pitching certainly isn’t to blame, with the staff pacing the league. No, it’s a lineup that has struggled to find consistent production from many players not named Ben Rice, Aaron Judge included. So after a couple weeks of offensive struggles, let’s ask: which slumping hitter are you most worried about?
It probably shouldn’t be Judge, who, even if he doesn’t quite match his 2024-2025 form this year, should still be expected to crush from here on out. Perhaps it shouldn’t be Trent Grisham either, whose paltry power numbers are belied by better underlying stats and a robust on-base percentage.
The focus, as it’s been for the whole year so far, is probably towards the back half of the lineup. There’s Jazz Chisholm Jr., who came into the year talking about 50/50 seasons only to faceplant, swinging and missing at an alarming rate while making mind-numbing defensive mistakes. There’s Jose Caballero, who showed signs of life on Saturday but is still running a slash line so poor it’s somehow making fans pine for the relative offensive prowess of Anthony Volpe.
The list goes on, with Ryan McMahon combining to form a harrowing offensive duo with Caballero on the left side of the Yankee infield, his .114 batting average the worst mark on the whole squad. And there’s Austin Wells, who hit his first homer yesterday, and in doing so barely dragged his OPS above .500.
For my money, the most concerning signs have come from that left-side infield duo. Wells’ quality defensive work at catcher give him more runway to play with at the plate, and Chisholm just has too much offensive skill to be this bad for long. But neither Caballero nor McMahon has ever produced a full-season of offense better than league average per wRC+, and nothing they’ve done this year signals that they’re ready to come anywhere close to that standard. If I’m the Yankees, I’m feeling worried that half of the infield is going to need full-on renovations come the trade deadline.
What do you think? Which hitter has you the most worried after two weeks of floundering?
Today on the site, Nick looks ahead to a four-game series with the Angels that starts tonight, and offers the Yankees to right the ship against an opponent that they should beat. Later, Andrew recaps a busy Sunday of AL action, while Peter profiles one of the more flammable personalities in Yankee history, that of Kid Elberfeld. Also, Josh opines on the latest examples of the Yankees finding ways to step on rakes, and Madison puts out the call for this week’s mailbag.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels
Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
Video: YES Network, FanDuel Sports Network West
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
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