DJ LeMahieu has clearly been a solid pickup for the New York Yankees but just how impressive has he been? You’d be surprised.
“He can’t hit outside of Coors Field,” they said.
“The New York Yankees have a plethora of infielders. There’s no spot for him,” they said.
Almost mid-way through the season, DJ LeMahieu proved the haters dead wrong in the best way possible. He proved that Coors Field means nothing to his career because, away from it, he’s hit better than he has in a long time.
LeMahieu has by far served as the Yankees’ first-half MVP in the midst of some horrific injuries. He earned his everyday playing time and gave this rag-tag group of backups the spark they needed to hold down the fort.
We all know he leads the team in hits (72), doubles (14), RBIs (40) and batting average (.317). We also know that LeMahieu is hitting a torrid .491 with runners in scoring position.
LeMahieu has been absolutely phenomenal when the Yankees needed it most and making a case to remain in the Yankees infield for the rest of the season. In fact, the Yankees might want to consider making some moves to keep him for a few years more based on his reliability at the plate and in the field.
While the obvious is right in front of our eyes, LeMahieu boasts some other incredible stats that show just how great of a season he’s been having in the Bronx.
First, LeMahieu leads all players in the Bronx with a 2.3 wins above replacement. The next closest is Gary Sanchez, with a 1.9 WAR. Basically, as we already know, this just confirms that LeMahieu is by far one of the most valuable players on this underrated squad.
Next, let’s explore a little bit more about his clutch stats. While he’s batting .491 with RISP, he also has pretty impressive stats with runners in scoring position and two outs. In that situation, LeMahieu posts a .433/.485/.567 line.
When the game is on the line, the New York Yankees want either Gio Urshela or DJ LeMahieu at the dish to make magic happen. It’s become very clear that these two have played huge roles but LeMahieu’s stats speak for themselves in that regard.
Even better is high leverage situations. When the pressure is on, LeMahieu always delivers. He is batting .581/.583/.774 in those situations.
I’m sorry … what?
Another stat to look at is probably one of the most impressive. With runners in scoring position, LeMahieu has recorded 26 hits and 31 RBIs.
Last season’s leader in hits with RISP was Miguel Andujar, who recorded 37 hits. LeMahieu is only 11 hits away from that total and it is just the beginning of June. He has more than a half a season to beat this total and he’s well on his way to doing so.
LeMahieu has been absolutely ridiculous on the field for the Yankees. Brian Cashman deserves yet another raise for this sneaky signing this offseason, one that he’s been scouting out far before the 2018 season ended.
And he continues to perform. Forget the thin air at Coors Field … DJ LeMahieu has made himself at home at Yankee Stadium and he looks to be around for a long time, much to the joy of Yankees fans.
