About The Off-Day: Hit or Miss

by Tim Kabel

June 20, 2023

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The Yankees had yesterday off. They are currently in third place in the American League East, 10 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, but only one-half game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. They are tied with Houston in the third wild card position. They have played 72 games this season and are on pace to win 87 games. That is not good enough.

The Yankees batting average (.195) and OPS (.599) in June are both the worst in the major leagues. Only one Yankees' regular who is on the active roster, Anthony Rizzo, is hitting above .260 for the season. He is batting .262 but has slumped badly lately. Take a look at some of these batting averages:

Anthony Volpe .189

DJ LeMahieu .232

Isiah Kiner-Falefa .233

Jose Trevino .218

Kyle Higashioka .236

Giancarlo Stanton .204

Josh Donaldson .151

Oswaldo Cabrera .190

The Yankees offense is dreadful right now. I realize that Harrison Bader and Aaron Judge are not on the team right now. Bader will be back today. The point is that the offense is doing nothing. The team is sinking fast.

The Yankees have three hitting coaches: Dillon Lawson, Casey Dykes, and Brad Wilkerson. I remember a time when teams didn't have any hitting coaches. Now, the Yankees have three and their offense is at the bottom of the barrel.

Jake Bauers, Billy McKinney, and Willie Calhoun all came to the majors this year after hitting very well for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Look at some of these statistics:

Ben Rortvedt is batting .328 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 64 at bats.

Oswald Peraza is batting .292 with eleven home runs, 24 RBI, and eleven stolen bases in 144 at bats.

Estevan Florial is batting.304 with 18 home runs, 44 RBI, and thirteen stolen bases in 214 at bats.

Andres Chaparro is batting.238 with eleven home runs and 40 RBI in 244 at bats.

Let's see what Oswaldo Cabrera does now that he is back down there.

I'm not saying that all of these players should be called up to the major leagues. Rortvedt is currently on the seven-day IL but, when he returns, he could be considered. I believe that Florial and Peraza should already be In the Bronx.

There is a larger issue. Calling up players might not be the complete solution. It seems that almost everyone at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, at least those who are major prospects or former major leaguers, hits very well. Look at the seasons that Florial and Peraza are having in particular. Before they were called up, McKinney and Bauers were flourishing there as well.

It is amazing that Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells were able to note the flaw in Volpe's swing over a plate of chicken parm and pasta. Dillon Lawson and the other hitting coaches and Aaron Boone never stated anything publicly about a change in Volpe's swing. It was left up to the 22-year-old rookie to figure it out with a former teammate, essentially on his own. That is unacceptable. If this were the 1950s, and there were no hitting coaches, that would be expected. But the Yankees have three hitting coaches, not one, but three. Last year, Anthony Volpe, Oswald Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza all hit very well in the minor leagues, which led to the promotion of both Peraza and Cabrera last season, and Volpe being installed as the starting shortstop this season.

There is an adjustment to the major leagues, but I don't think that Volpe, Cabrera, and others suddenly forgot to hit. Aaron Boone and his coaching staff don't seem to have any answers, thoughts, suggestions, or strategy when it comes to improving the hitting on the Major League team.

The New York Yankees are an organization. They have minor league teams and affiliates. Perhaps in addition to bringing up Peraza and Florial, the Yankees could bring up the Scranton Wilkes Barre hitting coach, Trevor Amicone. Maybe he could replace one of the current three hitting coaches. Maybe he could specifically work with the younger players who are already familiar with him. It's certainly worth a try.

The point is that the Yankees are getting very little offensive production. They need to try something. Leaving things up to Boone and his current group of hitting coaches may not be the best idea. Boone said he was encouraged because Anthony Rizzo looked good in batting practice the other day. Everyone looks good in batting practice. Even Boone hit a home run in batting practice in spring training.