The New York Yankees’ offense has been virtually dormant since Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined with a hamstring strain in June. The Bronx Bombers, who can’t afford any more injuries, had another scare in Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Infielder DJ LeMahieu fouled a ball off his neck but did not suffer a concussion or any major injuries, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
“DJ LeMahieu had a precautionary CT scan after fouling a ball off his neck last night, [manager] Aaron Boone said,” Hoch said. “It came back clean.”
LeMahieu, who has been bitten by a snake and suffered injuries this year, had the night off Thursday. The 35-year-old fouled a ball off his foot during spring training, delaying his season debut until May 28th. He was also struck by a fastball on his left pinky on Wednesday.
Boone believes LeMahieu is in “a good spot,” according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.
“There’s definitely been some freak things that have popped up on him and happened to him, really over the last couple of years,” Boone told me. “It has slowed some seasons for him. Hopefully, this isn’t getting in the way of him getting things started here.”
LeMahieu must rediscover his power to make a difference for the Yankees.
LeMahieu has made contact, but he hasn’t drove the ball effectively. The Louisiana State alum now has a hard-hit percentage of 38 and a ground-ball percentage of 57.6, both career lows. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, New York hitting coach James Roswon has a positive perspective.
“I think we’re going to see the contact quality improve,” Rowson told me. “I believe that many of those issues are caused by the current inconsistency in the flow of at-bats. I believe it is coming. As we watch him square up more balls consistently throughout the game, the quality of contact will improve while the ground-ball rate will decrease.
Rowson may be onto something, since LeMahieu’s barrel percentage is now 7.6, a career high. A “barrel” hit usually results in a.500 batting average and a 1.500 slugging percentage.
“The underlying numbers tend to get better when your consistency of barreling up the baseball on time starts to happen,” he said. “I’m enthusiastic about him. You see the numbers, but I also look at the back of his baseball cards from his time in the major leagues. This league is all about making adjustments, and he’s always proven himself capable of doing so. I believe he will continue to do so, and we should receive a better version of DJ.
If LeMahieu continues to barrel the ball, it’s only a matter of time before he regains form. However, he will have to rely on the injury bug not returning, as ailments become increasingly difficult to cope with as athletes age.
