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Yankees: 3 early-season stats that will make fans vomit

By Thomas Carannante |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on April 03, 2021 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 5-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on April 03, 2021 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 5-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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What the most discouraging aspect of the New York Yankees‘ dreadful start to the 2021 MLB season?

There’s a stat for everything. For every single one of their failures. For every single streak of incompetence. Some are making overall history. Some are making personal history. Some are just league-worst numbers. You name it, the Yankees got it.

But we truly didn’t think we’d get here. How is this happening with everyone?

Even those we thought were impervious to all-time confounding stretches of play — like DJ LeMahieu — are very much immersed in this interminable nightmare.

Each and every night, the stats get worse, too. To be honest, most fans were expecting the usual futility from guys like Gary Sanchez, who’s batting .182, and Giancarlo Stanton, who’s batting .192. Those things didn’t really take anybody by surprise to kick off 2021 since the warning signs were there.

But these players and areas of the roster? They’re largely out of left field, whether it’s due to who it is or how insanely bad the statistic is. And if they don’t turn around, it’s going to be a big, big problem.

Here are three early-season stats that will make Yankees fans vomit.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Corey Kluber; Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees starting pitcher Corey Kluber; Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Outside of Gerrit Cole, the Starting Rotation is … BAD

Everyone knew the starting rotation would be a work in progress. That’s no secret.

Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon have hardly pitched in two years. Domingo German missed over a year. Jordan Montgomery was deprived of his full comeback campaign in 2020 after the pandemic shortened it to 60 games. The only permanent checkmark was Gerrit Cole.

What’s crazy is that each and every year, Yankees fans don’t expect much from the rotation. God bless Masahiro Tanaka, but he’s not an ace, and he was ours for years. Starters 2-5 always felt like, “Alright, what the hell. Let’s see what happens.”

The 2021 season was different because it appeared there was a foundation of sorts. After almost the first month of action, that couldn’t be more incorrect. (Quick disclaimer: this was before Kluber’s promising outing on Tuesday night).

Most of them can’t get out of the fourth inning! That’s not a starter, that’s a middle reliever!

Let’s check the stats, shall we?

  • Corey Kluber: 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in five starts (21.2 total innings)
  • Jameson Taillon: 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in four starts (17.1 total innings)
  • Jordan Montgomery: 1-1 with a 4.57 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in four starts (21.2 total innings)
  • Domingo German: 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in three starts (13 total innings)

Kluber and Taillon have yet to make it past five innings. Kluber hasn’t gotten out of the fourth.

The new experiment with the rotation is off to arguably the worst start imaginable.

Clint Frazier #77 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Clint Frazier #77 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

2. Clint Frazier is Slugging … What?!

Fans were waiting for the day the Yankees would name Clint Frazier the starting left fielder. And it finally happened during spring training. He deserved the promotion after his 2020 campaign.

But now? Now it seems that was a mistake. Because the numbers he’s putting up feel impossible. Like, pull a guy off the street and have him face major league pitching and there’s a good chance the stats would be comparable.

Though 18 games (61 plate appearances), Frazier is slashing .143/.311/.184. He has TWO extra-base hits on the year (both doubles). Zero home runs. One RBI. 19 strikeouts. He isn’t swinging at strikes.

What’s even more baffling?

He has the lowest slugging percentage in Yankees HISTORY over ANY 13-game span for an outfielder. He’s the worst of the worst on this current team, and when you realize how bad the rest of the team has been, it’s even more glaring how Frazier’s ineptitude is even quantifiable. It’s a hyperbole. This is the kind of stuff you see from rebuilding teams who are employing a bunch of nobodies to full roster spots — not the Yankees, who are supposed to have one of the most complete lineups in baseball.

Frazier, who’s known for his “lightning quick” bat, has hardly even utilized the lumber in 2021. He’s swung at just 33.3% of the pitches he’s seen so far … and he’s seen strikes 52.1% of the time.

Yeah, we don’t know either. Two weeks ago we didn’t think it could get worse, and yet, here we are.

DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

1. DJ LeMahieu is Enduring His Worst Stretch Since …

When the rest of the Yankees decided to hang it up and call it quits at certain points in 2020, fans knew they could rely on The Machine. DJ LeMahieu has been a fan-favorite since the day he stepped into the batter’s box in 2019.

But we regret to inform you that LeMahieu been slumping since last year. In the team’s seven playoff games against the Indians and Rays, DJLM hit under .300 and OPS’ed in the low .600s. Not good, especially for his standards. He led the league in batting average and OPS during the regular season.

Now, in 2021, this is happening? (Quick disclaimer: this was before DJ’s multi-hit night against the O’s on Tuesday).

Is that … a joke? Do you want to feel old? Well, 2013 was DJ’s first full-ish season in the bigs with the Colorado Rockies. He debuted with the Cubs (just 37 games) in 2011 and didn’t get the call in Colorado until the end of May in 2012. In 2013, he met the team in mid-May and played his first season over 100 games.

Now, in Year 11, with the best lineup he’s ever been a part of, he’s slashing .250/.333/.338. It’s only a matter of time before fans start yelling about the six-year, $90 million contract the team decided to give the soon-to-be 33-year-old, simply because they didn’t want to pay him more than $15 million in 2021 in order to avoid the luxury tax threshold.

If there’s one Yankee fans have faith in turning it around, it’s LeMahieu, but he’s enduring the most uncharacteristic slump of his career at the moment.

Like we said, there’s a stat for everything.

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