The Yankees keep making the same error in the leadoff
spot. As they say, insanity is when one does the same thing repeatedly and expects a different outcome. The Yankees have been starting Alex Verdugo as leadoff for the past few weeks, and their leadoff approach is currently ludicrous. Verdugo described his own bunt effort as “lazy” on Monday, yet despite that, he’s enjoying his worst professional baseball season in terms of statistics. Verdugo’s Difficult Season The 28-year-old lefty is in the middle of a contract year. He is hitting.236/.298/.367 with 50 RBIs, 10 home runs, and an 8.3% walk rate. He was 0-for-3 to start the game against starter Jonathan Cannon on Tuesday despite managing a single hit during five at-bats against awful White Sox pitching.
Considering he had a 32% OBP and was hitting.361 in 14 games with the Yankees, he should bat first for the team. The reason he wasn’t the team’s main leadoff hitter is something we ought to be questioning. Assessing the Leadoff Position Again This season, Verdugo is hitting.250 while batting first, but he is still slugging.333 and has a 30% OBP. He’s largely been a nonfactor, and there’s a compelling case to be made that the Yankees should replace the seasoned left fielder in left field at some point during the next few weeks by promoting Jasson Dominguez. The Need to Win Now If the Yankees are serious about winning a championship, they can’t play Verdugo simply because he has the most experience. It’s about winning baseball Assessing Defensive Contributions Naturally, Verdugo’s defense has been solid but not particularly effective, so it is fair to claim that the Yankees should be testing different solutions at the top of the batting order. In any other offense, Verdugo would likely be hitting in the bottom half due to his inability to post competent on-base numbers. Players are not encouraged by his lackluster production, especially since he is probably headed out in free agency anyway. Yankees ‘hopeful’ Jazz Chisholm can avoid surgery in the most recent update. Oswald Peraza replaces injured star infielder.