What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Giancarlo Stanton? Well, it’s pretty obvious at this point — just about everyone on the planet associates the Yankees‘ designated hitter with home runs. After all, his power is the main reason why New York acquired him in the first place prior to the 2018 season.
Thanks to beginning his career with the Miami Marlins, Stanton didn’t get his first taste of postseason baseball until landing in the Bronx. This is now the fifth straight year the right-handed slugger has participated in October baseball. It’s safe to say he enjoys the spotlight.
Through 94 career postseason plate appearances (prior to Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday night), Stanton owns a .263/.340/.688 line with 11 home runs and 23 RBI. The last 15 games in particular have been quite powerful for the 32-year-old:
Players in MLB History to have 10+ HR & 1.200+ OPS in 15-Game Playoff Span:
Babe Ruth: 1926-1932
Giancarlo Stanton: 2019-2022 pic.twitter.com/DGg1sKe5Ks— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) October 18, 2022
Anytime you’re mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth, you know you’re doing something right.
With just 38 games played in the field during the regular season, Stanton more or less has one job: hitting taters. As mentioned ahead of the Yankees’ five-game ALDS victory over the Cleveland Guardians, Stanton had a weird 2022 campaign. But still, he finished the year with homers in three straight games and I saw him as an x-factor on offense for New York.
His performance against Cleveland pretty much mirrored what he did during the regular season. After slashing .211/.297/.462 with 31 homers and 78 RBI this year, Stanton hit .125/.211/.500 with two homers and six RBI in 19 ALDS plate appearances. This included a huge three-run homer in the first inning of Game 5.
His offensive production was below average overall, as indicated by his 89 wRC+. This was also accompanied by a 31.6% strikeout rate. This is obviously not ideal, but if he’s going to be inconsistent, the least he can do is hit some big home runs.
That’s exactly what happened against the Guardians. It might very well continue against the Houston Astros in the ALCS, too. Houston’s pitching staff posted a league-high 27.0 fWAR with a 2.90 ERA that ranked second in baseball (first in the American League). Despite that, Stanton found a way to produce when facing them during the regular season. He slashed .208/.240/.583 with three homers and five RBI in 25 plate appearances against Astros pitching.
When push comes to shove, the Yankees would rather see Stanton be more productive on offense, like he’s been in previous years. But if they can only get one thing from their slugger throughout the rest of the postseason, New York will definitely take the well-timed dingers.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
