The Yankees have taken every series they have played and won seven of their first nine games. They entered Monday’s off-day tied for the best record in the majors. They have been led by a thoroughly dominant rotation with a majors-low 1.81 ERA even before Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt have thrown a pitch.
Things are going well. But given the expectations for a team that is a persistent contender but ringless since 2009, identifying the potential flaws is just as significant as admiring the strengths.
With the usual early April caveats — they have not even reached double-digit games, the majority of which have been witnessed by fans in blankets — one early possible concern resides in the bottom of the lineup.
Through the first two weeks, Nos. 6-7-8-9 in the Yankees lineup have been the worst in baseball in average (.143), slugging percentage (.167) and OPS (.404). Individually, the sample sizes are minuscule. Collectively, the group has logged 143 plate appearances and totaled 15 singles and three doubles.
“We need to get more production there,” manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Sunday after those lineup slots went 2-for-17 in a series-ending loss to the Marlins, “and we will.”
It is far too soon to panic, but probably not too soon to begin monitoring the bottom of the order, which has consisted of:
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Concern that Chisholm won’t hit is virtually none, and perhaps his two-run, gapped double in Sunday’s ninth inning to bring the Yankees within one run will be a turning point.
“I feel like that could help a lot,” Chisholm said. “… Right now, we’re just working day to day, getting better every at-bat and hoping to get hot here soon.”
Last year — his first full season in pinstripes and the first in which he was regularly exposed to frigid temperatures for home games — he logged his worst average (.181) and OPS (.714) in March and April and still authored an All-Star, 30-30 season.
Austin Wells
A bat-first prospect with a questionable ability to stick at catcher has been the complete opposite as a major leaguer, an elite defensive catcher who has been a slightly below-average hitter through two-plus seasons.
Through the very early going, in which he is 4-for-24, Wells has struck the ball hard but, too often, on the ground. Boone thought Wells fought through a few solid at-bats Sunday, including a seven-pitch battle against Calvin Faucher that ended with a long flyout to the left field wall.
“I still think there’s a lot more in there offensively, and hopefully, we can keep moving to that point,” Boone said during camp.
José Caballero
For there to be any controversy or competition regarding the starting shortstop once Anthony Volpe returns within a month or so, Caballero would need to hit.
He has begun slowly — 4-for-31 — and also recently has been spotty defensively, airmailing a throw to Ben Rice in Sunday’s sixth inning. He can be a terror on the basepaths (and has stolen three bases), but he needs to reach at a better clip than .206.
“Been a struggle, a little bit,” Boone said of Caballero. “He’s swinging through some pitches I feel like that usually he puts in play.”
Ryan McMahon
The discouraging: a hitter who has never finished any of his nine seasons with even an average OPS — and eight and a half of those came with Coors Field as his home — again has not hit, at just 2-for-23 with 11 strikeouts. Boone said he feels McMahon has been “in between” and not simply trying to hit the ball with authority.
The less discouraging: McMahon is working walks, which he always does, and more notably overhauled his swing this winter to bring his legs closer together and be narrower at the plate. It is worth remembering that the adjustments are ongoing.
“Sometimes, it takes time for things to feel natural, to be able to repeat them without having to overthink it,” assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes said during camp.
