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On the Yankees and their reliance on home runs

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(Presswire)

Thanks to my previous gig at FanGraphs and current gig at CBS, I’ve been exposed to the other 29 fan bases over the years, and I’ve learned one thing: They all complain about the same things. The team sucks with runners in scoring position, the third base coach is terrible, the ace isn’t really an ace, why aren’t they calling up that Triple-A reliever with great numbers, so on and so forth. That stuff is most definitely not limited to the Yankees.

There is, however, one common complaint that is (mostly) limited to the Yankees: They’re too reliant on the home run. The Dodgers have had some of that this season, but for the Yankees, this has been going on for years. They don’t score enough runs in other ways and they’re going to get shut down in the postseason because you can’t hit homers against good pitching, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. Nevermind that homers are plentiful in October …

2017 regular season: 1.26 homers per game
2017 postseason: 1.37 homers per game

2015-17 regular season: 1.14 homers per game
2015-17 postseason: 1.22 homers per game

… or that the idea you can’t hit homers against good pitching, but you can string together multiple hits and walks (and productive outs, I guess) in one inning to score against good pitching is nonsensical. Great pitchers limit mistakes, so when they do make mistakes, you have to capitalize. Example:

Good luck beating Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer or Craig Kimbrel with a single, a stolen base, a grounder to move the runner over, and a sacrifice fly. Last postseason more runs were scored on homers than any other means. Intuitively, not being able to hit homers in the postseason makes sense because only good teams are in the postseason and good teams tend to have good pitching, and in the postseason they do away with fifth starters and middle relievers and only use their best pitchers. The facts state otherwise. There are lots of dingers in October.

Going into last night’s game the Yankees had scored 51.6% of their runs this season on home runs, the highest rate in baseball. The Indians were a distant second at 47.1%. Since June 6th — an arbitrary date to fit the narrative — the Yankees are 18-for-123 (.146) with runners in scoring position and yet they are 12-6 since that date. Why? Well, the pitching has been really good, for starters. But also because they hit homers better than any team in baseball. They hit 29 homers in those 18 games. Other clubs hit .146 with runners in scoring position and go 6-12. The Yankees went 12-6.

It is harder to get a base hit right now than it has been at any point since the mound was lowered in 1969. The league batting average is .245 at the moment. It is .249 for non-pitchers, if you want to take those offensive siphons out of the equation. Strikeouts are up — MLB is going to set a new record high strikeout rate for the ninth time in the last ten years this season — and defensive positioning has never been better. How many line drives did the Yankees hit right at defenders over the weekend? Getting a base hit is hard, man.

Home runs are not a good thing. They’re a great thing. Literally the best thing a hitter can do in an at-bat! And the Yankees do it better than any team. They might do it better than any team in the history of baseball when it’s all said and done. They’re currently on pace for 266 home runs. The 1997 Mariners hold the all-time record with 264 home runs. Losing Gary Sanchez for a month reduces the team’s chances to break that record, but either way the Yankees are an elite home run hitting team.

And that makes them an elite offensive team. Every team goes through funks with runners in scoring position during the season. Don’t believe me? Check Google. It has happened to the Yankees this month and chances are it’s going to happen to them again before the end of the season. That’s baseball. The Yankees are able to overcome these inevitable runner in scoring position funks because they hit the ball out of the ballpark better than anyone. That bodes well for the postseason. They’re better equipped to score runs without hits in runners in scoring position — or with few baserunners in general — than any other team in the game.

For whatever reason there is now a stigma attached to home runs. Hit a lot of them and it’s spun as a bad thing. I don’t get it and I never will. Pitching and defense is so good and so specialized these days that relying on extended rallies to generate offense is harder than ever. Too much needs to go right for those to happen. The Yankees are better suited for quick strikes — get your pitch, hit it, put a run(s) on the board — than any other team. Home runs are not a liability and they do not disappear in the postseason. They’re the best thing a team can be good at.

Greg Bird has had trouble with fastballs since returning from the disabled list

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(Presswire)

A little more than one month ago, Greg Bird returned to the Yankees after having his second ankle surgery in as many years. Tyler Austin and Neil Walker did okay enough at first base in the interim. Although the Yankees weren’t having trouble scoring runs without him, adding Bird’s lefty power bat to the righty heavy lineup really helps balance things out.

Twenty games into his 2018 season, Bird is hitting .211/.300/.451 (104 wRC+) overall with three home runs, and things have been much better of late. Including the completion of the suspended game, he’s gone 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles, a homer, five walks, and four strikeouts in the last seven days. Not surprisingly, Bird needed some time to get settled in following ankle surgery. He’s on the path to being dangerous now.

“I’m happy where I’m at right now, but there’s room to get better for sure. Get better, stay the course and turn this thing around,” said Bird to Zach Braziller over the weekend. “I try to figure it out all the time. It’s just the ups and downs. You want to be consistent in this game. I just feel like when you’re coming back like that, there’s more obstacles.”

One thing Bird has not done early in his 2018 season is hit fastballs. He’s hitting .162 with a .189 ISO against heaters so far, whereas the league averages are .265 and .177, respectively. He’s also posted a .301 expected wOBA against fastballs this year. The league average is .365. The results aren’t particularly good because the contact hasn’t been particularly good.

Furthermore, Bird has missed with 20.9% of his swings at fastballs so far this season. The league average is 19.3%. Given what we’ve seen from Bird the last few years, I don’t think it’ll surprise you to learn that most of his whiffs against heaters have come on pitches up in the zone. Here are the pitch locations of his whiffs on fastballs (colored by pitch velocity):

As soon as he got to the big leagues in 2015, pitchers started attacking Bird with elevated fastballs. Teams scout the minor leagues like crazy these days. When a kid comes up, they already have a book on him, and those elevated heaters are Bird’s weakness. Is it something he can correct? Possibly. Elevated fastballs are hard to hit, especially when behind in the count.

Anyway, Bird has not hit fastballs in the early going and the swings and misses concern me more than the low AVG and ISO, especially since so many of those swings and misses in the plot above are 92-94 mph. A 92-94 mph heater over the plate is a pitch I want Bird to hammer. We know Bird, when he’s healthy and right at the plate, can murder fastballs. Quality fastballs too. Need I remind you?

Bird can hit fastballs. He just hasn’t since coming back from the disabled list. There’s a big difference between not being able to do something and not doing something at this moment. Bird is not hitting fastballs at this point in time. It doesn’t mean he won’t hit fastballs forever.

The question is why isn’t Bird hitting fastballs right now? I’m inclined to say this is all small sample size noise. Not just small sample size noise, but small sample size noise from a dude who recently returned from ankle surgery. Simply put, Bird is not yet in midseason form. Ankle surgery is not nothing — if you don’t have a solid base underneath you, you’re not going to hit properly — and he’s just coming back from (another) one.

You’re welcome to feel differently, but I think we’re very far away from saying Bird has a problem with fastballs. Is he susceptible to elevated fastballs? Yes. Lots of hitters are. But do those swings and misses at 92-94 mph heaters out over the plate point to a larger problem? It’s always possible, sure. We need more information though. No one ever likes to hear this, but the best thing the Yankees can do is be patient. Give Bird time and let him figure it out.

The time has come for a Gleyber Torres lineup promotion

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(Mike Stobe/Getty)

The Yankees won for the 11th time in 14 games last night because, once again, Gleyber Torres socked a clutch home run. The rookie has 13 homers in 45 games and eight of the 13 have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead. Despite not being called up until three weeks into the season, Torres is third on the team in win probability added, behind only Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner.

Last night’s home run was Gleyber’s first outside the No. 9 spot in the lineup. He was hitting fifth against lefty Blake Snell, which is something Aaron Boone indicated could happen a few days earlier. “There will be a select day, maybe in the coming days, frankly, where I could hit him fifth or sixth,” said Boone to Erik Boland earlier this week. Yesterday was the third time Torres hit fifth and the first time against a lefty, surprisingly. The other two starts came against Justin Verlander and Mike Fiers. Huh.

Boone has said — repeatedly, I should note — he likes Torres at the bottom of the order in the No. 9 spot because it lengthens the lineup a bit and also allows him to serve as a second leadoff man. I was totally on board with this a few weeks ago too. Seemed like a natural spot for a high-end rookie who was still cutting his teeth at the MLB level. Hard to argue with the results too, right? Torres is mashing, the bottom of the lineup has been great, and the Yankees are winning a ton.

“Our lineup and how it sets up, I just think the nine-hole is such a valuable spot in our order because of our team,” added Boone. “I think his value in that nine-hole is significant, and I think it’s played out that way where he’s come up in a lot of big situations in that spot. And also as we turn over our lineup ahead of Gardy and Judge, in essence in a lot of cases it does become like a second leadoff hitter down there.”

Torres is now hitting .295/.351/.577 (151 wRC+) with those 13 home runs on the season, and as well as things have worked with Gleyber in the No. 9 spot, I think it’s reached the point where he’s too good to hit that low in the order. It took Joe Girardi about 30 games to move Judge up into the middle of the lineup last year, and while Torres hasn’t been 2017 Judge good, he’s been really good. We’re talking about 45 games of top notch production. Can’t ignore his impact any longer.

Where should Torres bat, exactly? That’s up for debate. I love love love the Gardner-Judge dynamic atop the lineup, and, going forward, I’d bet on both Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez being the very productive power hitters they’ve been their entire careers. This has been the top of Boone’s lineup pretty much all season:

  1. Brett Gardner
  2. Aaron Judge
  3. Didi Gregorius
  4. Giancarlo Stanton
  5. Gary Sanchez
  6. Aaron Hicks

Torres, Miguel Andujar, and the first baseman du jour have then occupied the bottom of the lineup. Greg Bird’s return has put an end to the first base revolving door, though he himself has not yet really gotten going at the plate. It’ll happen soon enough, I’m sure.

Anyway, that’s the standard top six of the lineup and I think the best thing to do is flip Torres and Hicks. Bat Torres sixth and Hicks ninth. The season is 64 games old, almost exactly 40% complete, and to date the No. 6 spot in the Yankees’ lineup has received 23 more plate appearances than the No. 9 spot. Roughly one extra plate appearance every three games. Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. It could be 50 extra plate appearances the rest of the way.

Moving Gleyber up is pretty self-explanatory. He gets more at-bats and it puts him in position to do damage in the middle of the lineup. As for Hicks, two things about him. One, Hicks is Actually Good. Can’t believe I have to explain this. He’s hitting .243/.343/.434 (113 wRC+) overall — it’s .300/.354/.650 (158 wRC+) with runners in scoring position and .286/.359/.543 (146 wRC+) in June, so spare me the “he’s not clutch” or “he’s sucked lately” arguments — and he’s a really good defensive center fielder. And he’s what, the eighth best player in the lineup? The Hicks hate is one of the weirder things going on in Yankeeland right now.

And two, I think Hicks has the more appropriate skill set to serve as that all-important second leadoff hitter in the nine-spot. Torres has more power — we’re talking about 13 homers and a .282 ISO vs. seven homers and a .191 ISO — and you want that power in the middle of the lineup. Also, Hicks is the better on-base player. He draws significantly more walks than Torres (13.2% vs. 6.4%), and, over the last 30 days, he’s reached base much more often as well (.375 OBP vs. 333 OBP). More power in the middle of the lineup and more on-base ability for the second leadoff guy. Perfect.

“I’m not protecting him by any means. He’s a good player and wherever I hit him I don’t worry about him,” said Boone to Boland when asked whether he worries a move up the lineup would put too much pressure on Gleyber. I’m with Boone there. I don’t worry about Torres at all. He still has his rookie moments, but he’s mature and he’s super advanced at the plate. He has that slow heartbeat so many great players seem to have. I don’t worry whether moving up into a more premium lineup spot will throw him out of whack.

I’m not normally a big lineup hawk, though in this case, we’re talking about what, the third or fourth best hitter on the team batting ninth? I have no trouble with leaving the rookie at the bottom of the order as he gets his feet wet. Gleyber’s feet are wet now. He’s producing at a high rate, too high to get the fewest at-bats among starters. Hicks is the perfect second leadoff hitter replacement, so flipping them in the lineup is an easy move that could make an already very good lineup even more dangerous.

The bottom of the lineup is a major reason the Yankees have the best offense in baseball

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(Presswire)

Last night, as the Yankees won for the 22nd time in their last 26 games, the bottom of the lineup once again provided impact. Neil Walker doubled in a run and hit a solo homer, his first of the season, and of course Gleyber Torres hit two homers. Even with Tyler Austin going 0-for-5 as the No. 7 hitter, the 7-8-9 portion of the lineup went 4-for-13 (.308) with four extra-base hits. They drove in five of the team’s ten runs.

The Yankees lead baseball in basically every offensive category at the moment. Runs (261), runs per game (5.87), OBP (.343), SLG (.469), wRC+ (119), you name it. You don’t do that with a top heavy lineup. The Yankees have a deep lineup that can beat teams one through nine, and that is especially true since Torres arrived. Here are their combined 7-8-9 hitter ranks among the 30 MLB teams:

  • AVG: .266 (3rd)
  • OBP: .319 (5th)
  • SLG: .439 (3rd)
  • OPS+: 129 (3rd)

Those numbers do not include pitchers for National League teams, so the Yankees rank third behind the Cubs and Pirates in AVG, SLG, and OPS+. New York’s bottom of the order has been the best at basically everything among American League teams.

As always, the bottom of the order has been something of a revolving door this season. Gleyber is now entrenched in the No. 9 spot as the second leadoff guy. The Nos. 7 and 8 spots have mostly gone to Walker, Austin, Miguel Andujar, Ronald Torreyes, and Austin Romine. The top six spots in the lineup are fairly set. Everyone else slots in at the lower third of the order.

The productive bottom of the order does three things. One, it does not give the opposing pitcher any sort of breather. Pitchers absolutely look over the opposing lineup to find the soft spots, so to speak, and the Yankees don’t have any. There’s a reason the Yankees have done a great job driving up pitch counts and getting starters out of the game early. One through nine, the offense doesn’t let up.

Two, it gives the Yankees that much more offensive depth, and means they have a chance to score in every inning. The Yankees are among the highest scoring teams in literally every inning this season. Usually there’s a lull in the third and sixth innings, when the bottom of the order typically comes up, but not for the Yankees. They can score at pretty much any time. It’s great.

And three, a productive bottom of the lineup means more men on base for the top of the lineup. Well, I suppose if Torres keeps socking dingers, the top of the lineup won’t bat with as many men on base. You know what I mean though. Gleyber has a .389 OBP and that means that many more runners on base for Brett Gardner and especially Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

The Yankees, moreso than at any point since 2009, have a dangerous circular lineup that can beat teams one through nine. There’s power up and down the lineup and on-base ability as well. That’s why, when Judge or Stanton (or Gary Sanchez) gets shut down, the Yankees are able to win anyway. The Yankees are 6-2 when Judge doesn’t reach base. They’re 7-4 when Stanton doesn’t reach base. They’re 2-0 when neither reaches base.

Austin has been great against lefties, and with Greg Bird nearing a return, the bottom of the lineup will be that much more dangerous. Even if Bird slots into the 3-4-5 spots somewhere, it pushes someone else (Aaron Hicks?) down in the lineup. The Yankees have been great offensively this season and their circular lineup is a big reason why. The bottom of the lineup has been great, and there’s a chance it will soon get even better.

Greg Bird is close to returning, and the Yankees could really use his left-handed power

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(@swbrailriders)

Through 44 games the Yankees are the offensive powerhouse pretty much everyone expected them to be this season. They’re averaging 5.87 runs per game, the most in baseball by nearly half-a-run, and as a team they’re hitting .258/.343/.469 (119 wRC+). The Yankees rank seventh in AVG, first in OBP, first in SLG, and first in wRC+. Pretty great.

There is, however, one thing the offense has lacked this season: Left-handed power. The Yankees have received 16 home runs from left-handed hitters this season. That’s all. Didi Gregorius has ten of those 16 and he basically stopped hitting as soon as April ended. Brett Gardner has one homer, Aaron Hicks has four from the left of the plate — one of those four didn’t leave the yard — and Neil Walker has one as a lefty. He hit his first dinger of the season last night.

Only seven teams have received fewer homers from lefties this season, which is remarkable given the short porch. Fortunately, the Yankees have some big right-handed bats in the lineup, and they’ve led the way offensively. The lineup is imbalanced from a platoon perspective though. Here are the Yankees’ ranks among the 30 MLB teams:

PA AVG OBP SLG wRC+ HR
RHB 1,136 (11th) .274 (2nd) .349 (1st) .516 (1st) 132 (1st) 56 (1st)
LHB 637 (19th) .228 (22nd) .332 (11th) .379 (22nd) 94 (22nd) 14 (23rd)

Once upon a time — and for a very, very, very long time — the Yankees thrived on left-handed batters who would wear down pitchers, get on base, and take aim for the short porch. That is not the case right now. The lineup is right-handed heavy — Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez are great right-handed hitters — and hey, it’s working, so who am I to complain?

I’m not sure I would call it a necessity given the offense’s success to date, but the Yankees could use another lefty bat in the lineup, mostly just to balance things out. I thought the back-to-back series against the Astros and Indians three weeks ago made that clear. They threw all those power righties at the Yankees and largely shut them down. The Yankees did win six of those seven games, so that was cool, but yeah, they could’ve used another lefty bat that week.

Barring a setback, the Yankees are due to add another lefty bat to the lineup fairly soon. Greg Bird is on the minor league rehab trail following ankle surgery and Aaron Boone indicated Bird could join the Yankees within the next week. “Obviously getting a lot closer so a decision is coming down there. Maybe a week from now (he’ll be activated),” said Boone to George King prior to last night’s game.

Bird has gone 5-for-26 (.192) with two homers in nine rehab games so far, though I wouldn’t sweat the results. It’s nine games and Bird can hit. The most important thing is the health of his ankle. It’s given him lots of trouble the last two years. As long as he’s feeling good, I expect him to be an above-average hitter. Replicating his .261/.343/.529 (137 wRC+) line from his 2015 debut would be awesome. Matching his .240/.333/.480 (114 wRC+) ZiPS projection would be okay too.

Like it or not, Boone seems intent on splitting up the big righty bats with a left-handed batter, and with Gregorius mired in such a deep slump, it is entirely possible Bird will jump right into the lineup as the No. 3 or No. 4 hitter when he returns. I don’t like it, I’d rather start Bird lower in the order and let him show he deserves a premium lineup spot first, but it does seem possible. Either way, the most important thing is getting that power lefty bat in the lineup.

First base has not been a total disaster this season because Tyler Austin has been so good in his platoon role — dude is hitting .324/.395/.703 (189 wRC+) against southpaws — and because Walker has been quite productive this month. Assuming the eighth reliever (Gio Gallegos right now) goes down for Tommy Kahnle later this week, there’s a pretty good chance Austin will be demoted for Bird, unless someone else on the roster gets hurt. We’ll see.

The roster and playing time will sort itself out. It always does. The larger point here is the Yankees have been woefully short on left-handed thump so far this season, and Bird is due to return fairly soon. If nothing else, I am confident in his ability to hit home runs — Bird has hit 23 homers in 108 big league games, postseason included — and the Yankees could use some more lefty power. It’s the one glaring deficiency in the offense.

Sir Didi’s slump and best way the Yankees can help him snap out of it

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(Presswire)

The 2018 season is 40 (and a half) games old and it has already been a tale of two seasons for Didi Gregorius. He was a monster in April, legitimately one of the three or four best players in the sport. Gregorius was so good he was named the AL Player of the Month for April. May, on the other hand, has been a disaster. He’s been terrible and is currently mired in a 1-for-41 (.024) slump. Yikes.

Here, to really drive home the point, are Didi’s splits for April and May:

  • April: .327/.421/.735 (195 wRC+) and +2.1 WAR (1st among all players)
  • May: .118/.167/.157 (-23 wRC+) and -0.5 WAR (871st among 873 players)

Yikes! I don’t think anyone realistically expected Gregorius to continue at his April pace all season, but this? Didi is hitting like a pitcher — worse than a pitcher, actually, since pitchers own a .134/.162/.182 (-11 wRC+) line in 2018 — in May. Unlike April, when he almost single-handedly kept the Yankees afloat during their early season issues, the Yankees are winning in spite of Gregorius in May.

So what in the world is going on here? Is this baseball randomness at its worst, or are there red flags in the underlying data? Let’s look into things, shall we.

1. Didi has slumped like this before. Might as well start here. Play baseball long enough and you’re going to go through deep slumps. That’s just baseball. Derek Jeter famously had his 0-for-32 years ago. Paul Goldschmidt had an 0-for-26 slump earlier this month. Mike Trout went 0-for-17 at one point last year. It happens.

Here, to hopefully ease your concerns, are some arbitrary endpoint slumps from last season showing that what Gregorius is doing now is nothing he hasn’t done before:

  • July 1st to July 15th: 2-for-32 (.063)
  • August 23rd to September 4th: 4-for-43 (.093)

I know 2-for-32 and 4-for-43 are not 1-for-41, but they’re close enough in my opinion. They’re all ugly, miserable slumps. And last year, whenever Gregorius hit the skids for a few weeks, he came out fine on the other end. As bad as things have gone the last few weeks, Didi has been through this before. It’s nothing new.

“It’s just something that happens,” said Gregorius to Bryan Hoch. “I got a hit. It’s been a long while. You’ve still got to approach the game the same way. You’ve got to go by it day by day, don’t have to change anything. Just trying to get better.”

2. Gregorius is still putting the ball in play. During this 1-for-41 rut Gregorius has struck out five times. He’s put the ball in play 36 times in those 41 at-bats and has one hit. That’s a .028 BABIP. That won’t last. The baseball gods won’t let it.

There are a few things worth noting about the quality of Didi’s contact during this slump, however. Let’s start with a graph:

First of all, his hard contact rate is still really good. A bit better than it was earlier in the season, in fact. Secondly, his ground ball rate is rising. Gregorius isn’t hitting the ball in the air as often as he did earlier this year, and balls on the ground don’t go for base hits as often as balls in the air. And third, his current ground ball rate is still lower than his average ground ball rate the last two seasons.

Long story short, the quality of Didi’s contact hasn’t gone to crap. He hit two balls over the weekend against the Athletics that I thought were gone off the bat, but they died in the air and were caught on the warning track. We’ve seen some good swings from Gregorius despite the lack of results. I’d be more worried if a) he stopped putting the ball in play, b) he stopped hitting the ball hard, and/or c) his ground ball rate had spiked to a point above his career norms. None of that has happened.

“I’m still hitting the ball hard,” Didi said to Hoch. “Whatever I do, whether I’m hitting the ball hard or not hitting the ball hard, it’s at somebody. There’s nothing I can do about that. I’m trying to make good contact out there, and the results are not always going to be there.”

3. His plate discipline is returning to normal. Remember all those walks Gregorius was drawing in April? He drew 14 walks in his first 16 games. His 14th walk came in his 93rd game last year. I never expected that walk rate to continue — Didi was walking at a Joey Votto/Aaron Judge rate — but I was hopeful he’d settle in with a league average walk rate, and right now, he’s at 12.0%. Pretty great.

Predictably, Didi is seeing fewer fastballs after his big April. He’s also been swing happy the last few days and weeks. He’s swinging at everything more, including pitches out of the strike zone:

We’ve seen Gregorius enough over the years to know that he likes to swing, and he can get himself in trouble when he starts swinging at pitches he shouldn’t swing at. I mean, every hitter gets himself into trouble when he does that. Didi is human, he knows he’s slumping and he’s probably pressing at the plate, which leads to all that swinging.

Plate discipline is not about drawing walks, it’s about getting good pitches to hit. Walks are a byproduct. Gregorius is offering at too many pitchers’ pitches and he’s getting himself into trouble. That .028 BABIP is absurdly low and won’t continue. Given the ground balls and increased chasing though, I would’ve expected Didi to run a lower than usual BABIP these last few weeks (just not that low). As is often the case, a little more plate discipline would go a long way.

4. He got kicked in the dang head. Feels like this has gotten lost in the shuffle. Two weeks ago Francisco Lindor kicked Gregorius in the back of the head during a play at second base. It was of course an unintentional kick to the the head, but a kick to the head is still a kick to the head. Here’s the video:

Gregorius remained in the game but did get the next day off, which Aaron Boone said was a planned off-day for Didi anyway. The kick to the head coincides closely enough with the start of the slump — Didi was seven at-bats into this 1-for-41 skid when he got kicked — that it’s fair to wonder whether he’s 100% healthy. Gregorius was examined and all the tests came back okay as far as we know. But that doesn’t mean he’s still not feeling it. His neck could be sore or something. I’m not going to blame the kick for Didi’s struggles, but it is something to consider.

* * *

The numbers show basically what I was expecting. Gregorius isn’t being as disciplined as he had been and he’s hitting a few too many ground balls, and his batting average on balls in play is unsustainably low. I would’ve been really worried if he had started striking out more or producing less hard contact. The kick to the head to worth keeping in mind, but to me, this seems like a classic “dude is in a funk and pressing” slump. That’s baseball.

“For the years that I’ve been playing this game, I know that this game is a game of failure,” said Gregorius to Hoch. “That’s what you learn from. When you accept that, that you’re not going to get a base hit every time, it gets more manageable than trying to explode for some reason and next at-bat go up there and try to do the same thing. I think it’s just learning some new stuff.”

So, what do the Yankees do about Didi’s slump? Aside from the usual “hit the batting cage” and all that, the answer is nothing. I know no one wants to hear that, but that’s what the Yankees should do. Continue to write Didi’s name in the lineup — they’ve had enough off-days lately and he won’t snap out of the slump on the bench — and I wouldn’t even drop him in the lineup. If you believe in lineup protection at all, there’s no better spot in baseball to hit than between Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. That’s where Didi will get the best pitches to hit. Stay patient and stick with him.

Sir Didi isn’t really as good as he was in April nor is he really as bad as he’s been in May. He wasn’t going to continue that hot streak all year and he won’t continue this slump all year. Gregorius will snap out of it, probably sooner rather than later, and when he does we’ll all forget about this in a few weeks. That the Yankees have been able to continue winning while getting nothing from Didi this month is impressive. This team does not rely on one or two players.

The Yankees are sticking with Andujar at third base, which is the best thing for them and the best thing for him

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(Presswire)

On Monday, the Yankees made it official: Miguel Andujar is their third baseman. The Yankees activated Brandon Drury off the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton, where he will continue working through his ongoing migraine and vision issues. He’s doing better. Apparently the Yankees have seen enough from Andujar in the early going to stick with him at third base.

Drury went on the disabled list seven games into the season, and since then, Andujar has put up a .284/.297/.463 (101 wRC+) batting line while flashing the tools that made him a strong prospect and the warts that prevented him from being an elite prospect. His hands are lightning fast — who can forget the seven-game run in which he went 15-for-29 (.517) with eight doubles, one triple, and three homers? — and he has a knack for getting the bat on the ball.

At the same time, Andujar has shown he will swing at basically anything, and his defense has been sketchy. I don’t think the glovework is as bad as the defensive stats suggest — going into last night’s game Andujar ranked dead last among all third basemen in DRS (-6) and UZR (-3.6) — but clearly there is room for improvement. Here’s what Aaron Boone told George King about Andujar’s progress:

“I think the thing that I have been most pleased with is he obviously had that couple of weeks’ stretch where he was hitting extra-base hits all the time and impacting the ball. But I think what he has shown me here in the last week or two where he hasn’t been on fire at the plate is he is still giving competitive at-bats, still coming up with big hits for us. Even when he is not completely locked in I still feel he is a presence,” Boone said. “The defense continues to improve, he is working really hard and making all the plays. I think he is close offensively [to] kind of getting locked back in again where he impacts the ball.”

Despite his ongoing seven-game hitting streak — Andujar is 9-for-28 (.321) in the seven games — Andujar has cooled down at the plate these last few weeks, which was bound to happen. He wasn’t going to continue ripping two extra-base hits a night all season, you know? Last night’s double was Andujar’s first extra-base hit in 14 games and he’s drawn one walk in his last 101 plate appearances. His 2.2% walk rate is an eyesore.

Not surprisingly, pitchers have adjusted to Andujar since his extra-base hit streak, specifically by throwing him fewer fastballs and fewer pitches in the zone. Makes sense, right? Andujar has shown he will swing at anything, so why give him good pitches to hit (i.e. fastballs in the zone)? A relevant graph:

Yep. Fewer fastballs and fewer pitches in the zone. It was bound to happen. Now it’s up to Andujar to adjust, and the adjustment is crystal clear: Stop chasing out of the zone. Easier said than done! But that’s it. Get that 38.2% chase rate closer to the 29.2% league average and things’ll take care of themselves. Andujar will get himself into better counts and see better pitches to hit once he shows more discipline. Until he does, pitchers won’t challenge him.

I think optioning Drury to Triple-A is as much about Andujar’s development as it is Drury’s ongoing battle with blurry vision. The Yankees want to get Drury right and soon, because he’s a good player and there’s always room for more good players on the MLB roster. Remember, he’s only 25. Drury is a potential long-term keeper himself. Having Drury and Andujar push each other at third base is a good thing. Competition is healthy.

I also think the Yankees believe — and I agree with this 100%, by the way — Andujar needs to face big league pitching to improve. Want him to stop chasing out of the zone and do a better job against non-fastballs? Okay, but he’s not going to learn to hit big league pitching in Triple-A. Send Andujar down and he’s going to hammer Triple-A pitching because Triple-A pitchers are not as good as big league pitchers. There’s not as much to be learned from that.

There is a case to be made for sending Andujar to Triple-A to work on his defense. Offensively though? Andujar is at the point where he needs to face big league caliber pitching to improve. He needs to be challenged, so the Yankees are balancing offensive development with defensive development, and they’re prioritizing offense, because Andujar is always going to be a bat first guy. Emphasize the carrying tool and let everything else catch up.

Andujar has 138 plate appearances with the Yankees this season. There’s been a lot of good and some bad. Like most young players, he’s had his ups and downs, and the downs have been more recent. I understand why some may want Drury at third base and Andujar to go to Triple-A, I totally get it, but this is a 23-year-old (a just turned 23-year-old at that) who’s done some good things and deserves more time to learn on the job.

Development does not stop at the big league level. Hell, more development takes place in MLB than in the minors. The Yankees have a deep lineup, deep enough to let Andujar go through his growing pains without sabotaging their chances to contend, and Drury being optioned tells us they’re willing to be patient with Andujar, and let him find his way. Improved plate discipline is the No. 1 goal, and Andujar won’t develop MLB caliber plate discipline in Triple-A.

“Miggy just got here. He’s going to have to prove himself every day,” said Brian Cashman to Bryan Hoch yesterday. “He’s doing a nice job. We’re happy with what we’ve seen, we’re proud of the player he’s becoming. We also acquired Brandon Drury because we believed in his abilities, too, and his upside. When you’re down there, you’re fighting to get up here, and when you’re up here, you’re fighting to continue to prove that you belong.”