An MLB insider is convinced that one lineup tweak could make a major difference for the New York Yankees.
Sep 11, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates after hitting a game winning RBI single during the eleventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
After a disappointing first five months of the MLB season, New York Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres turned his hitting woes around once Aaron Boone made him the Yankees' leadoff hitter on August 16.
In the 28 games since that point, Torres has a .307 batting average, a .841 OPS, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs and 22 runs. The Yankees have a 15-13 record over that span.
While hitting leadoff seems to have unlocked Torres, a September 16 article from the New York Post's Jon Heyman suggests that the Yankees may be better off if they take Torres out of that spot in favor of Jazz Chisholm.
"I’d argue Chisholm is faster and a better baserunner, and thus a better fit for leadoff. He certainly shouldn’t ever be batting behind Giancarlo Stanton, a pure power guy who must run at three-quarter speed to avoid injury," Heyman wrote.
"Even more to the point, Chisholm deserves more at-bats. He has an .889 OPS as a Yankee, nearly two hundred points higher than 2024 Torres (.697)."
Despite those points, Heyman noted that this change, "won't happen for three reasons"; one being how well Torres has hit of late since being moved to the leadoff spot, Boone, "obviously loves Torres," and, "the Yankees probably prefer the lefty-hitting Chisholm splitting righties in the middle of the lineup."
Since Torres became the leadoff hitter, Chisholm has typically been either batting cleanup between Judge and Stanton in the lineup (if Austin Wells isn't playing) or more commonly in the six-hole, hitting behind Stanton and in front of either Anthony Rizzo or Jasson Dominguez.
While having Torres in the leadoff spot seems to be working right now, perhaps the 27-year-old cooling off will be enough for Boone to see what having Chisholm hit first would do for his team.
