Dear New York Yankees hitters,
First off, solid start to the season. 19-16 isn’t ideal, but first place in the AL East is first place in the AL East with or without Juan Soto batting in front of Aaron Judge.
Speaking of, let’s talk about Judge. Another great season in progress, this time batting over .400 with 11 homers, and it’s only May 6! The Yankees lead the American League in runs, batting average, and top all of baseball in home runs. As a result, the team is basically where we at ESNY expected them to be at this point: Still a strong AL contender, but with a rockier road ahead.
What we didn’t expect, however, was for the road to be this bumpy, especially after spring training. Cody Bellinger hit .423 with four home runs in spring training and looked fully locked in, but is barely above the Mendoza Line today at .202 with five homers. Not exactly giving former MVP vibes, but more Joey Gallo: The Sequel.
Similarly, future Hall of Famer Paul Goldschmidt appeared to turn back the clock. The 37-year-old hit .308 with three home runs in spring training and is batting .353 with three longballs in the regular season. However, his hard contact has dipped almost 17 points compared to last year, and 34 of his 45 total hits are singles.
You see where we’re going with this, fellas. We’ll say it out loud just to it’s perfectly clear:
Aaron Judge cannot carry this lineup alone, especially with Giancarlo Stanton injured and with no clear return date. No disrespect to Ben Rice, but he’s 2 for his last 16 and opposing pitchers might have figured him out. Plus, even with his added strength, long season fatigue both exists and is merciless on rookies. It will come for Rice just like it did Austin Wells last year.
Again, the Yankees are not a bad hitting team. In fact, they’re one of the better ones this year. But it is crystal clear that the offense is mostly Judge-driven, and New York still ranks 25th in MLB in strikeout rate (K%).
The good news, gentlemen, is that this is a relatively easy fix. All that’s needed is for one or both of Bellinger and Goldschmidt—or any hitters behind Judge,really—to go on an extended hot streak. Not necessarily torrid and in video game mode, but contributing enough to keep the line moving at the plate.
That’s all it will take. Bellinger, Goldschmidt, or any two other players going on something of a run. Maybe Anthony Volpe finally finds consistency. Anything to give Judge just that little extra support. The Yankees can’t replace Juan Soto, but certainly have the tools to recreate his production in the aggregate. It’s just a matter of playing smart and not trying to do too much.
You guys are the defending American League champions. Every loudmouth at WFAN knows the lineup is good enough to keep the team in the game.
Get it together. You know you can. There’s plenty of time left, but still a job to be done.
Do it.
Sincerely and with the utmost respect,
Elite Sports NY Baseball Desk
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: An open letter to the New York Yankees lineup | Elite Sports NY