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Yankees: 3 players NYY need more from in second half of season

By Thomas Carannante |
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by DJ LeMahieu #26 after scoring a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning in Game Four of the American League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 08, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by DJ LeMahieu #26 after scoring a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning in Game Four of the American League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 08, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Jameson Taillon #50 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Jameson Taillon #50 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

This list could pretty much include every single player on the active roster, but we don’t need to waste your time more than we already do.

The fact of the matter is that the 2021 New York Yankees, even though they have a winning record, are an absolute mess. Expectations are far from being met. Unthinkable regressions are happening at an even more unthinkable rate. Every loss the same. Over and over.

It feels like a miracle that things aren’t much worse than they are. And the more we think about it, the more we realize that a shred in the uptick of a handful of players’ production could move the needle exponentially. That’s really all the Yankees need when the second half of the season arrives.

Go into the break hot, regroup, take a few deep breaths, and begin an entirely new (kind of) season.

Let’s be optimistic for a second. Let’s say the Yankees go on a little run before the All-Star break, general manager Brian Cashman gets his list together of trade deadline acquisitions that could further improve the squad, and the World Series talk flips back on.

Assuming disaster doesn’t force the Yankees to make sweeping changes to the roster and everything remains intact, more production from these important players could really make the Bombers a powerhouse from mid-July to (hopefully) October.

The Yankees need more from these players during the second half of 2021.

3. Jameson Taillon

Don’t think you needed much of a clue here. When the Yankees acquired Jameson Taillon from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason, some fans were excited. Some thought it was the wrong Pirate they went after. Nobody really had high expectations from the jump since he had just battled testicular cancer and had his second Tommy John surgery, resulting in him making only seven starts across 2019 and 2020.

But we can assure you nobody expected this. Taillon is 3-4 with a 5.43 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in his first 15 starts (69.2 innings). His 4.74 FIP suggests things aren’t that bad, but the eye test suggests otherwise.

Though many felt Taillon’s ceiling was a bonafide No. 2 starter, that’s not happening this year. It may never happen. He’s undergone a mechanics change after his most recent elbow surgery and there’s no telling what his career will look like the rest of the way. There are so many unknowns.

At this point, the Yankees don’t need him to be Gerrit Cole’s version of Robin. They simply need a low-4.00 ERA pitcher at the back end of their rotation who can give them a decent amount of length. If there’s a regression to the mean for Taillon, conventional wisdom suggests we can expect a much more successful second half of the season.

That means avoiding barrels because when he’s hit, he’s hit very hard. He ranks near the bottom in exit velocity, barrel percentage, expected slugging percentage and hard-hit percentage.

If there’s any sort of turnaround, the Yankees will be grabbing many more wins when he takes the bump.

DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

2. DJ LeMahieu

We’re seeing glimpses of the return of DJ LeMahieu. The leadoff hitter that’s made the offense “go” for two years has not been the same in 2021. He was hovering around .250 for a little while, and boy did it feel a lot worse than that.

Now, DJ is slashing .273/.346/.375 with 43 runs scored, seven homers and 30 RBI. Really not bad. But not “Team MVP”-caliber. If the Yankees want to be the Yankees, they need LeMahieu wearing down opposing pitchers in his first at-bat of the game or getting ahead of the first pitch to notch a hit. Too many times has the offense had its head cut off because DJ’s been unable to get the party started.

Let’s get a few more extra-base hits in there, too. LeMahieu slugged .518 and .590 in 2019 and 2020. Where did it all go?! But everything’s wrong with the Yankees this year. In fact, they have a losing record when LeMahieu records more than one hit! Go figure.

Nonetheless, any uptick in production from DJ will make life easier for Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit, etc. You know how it works, you’ve seen it happen. Yes, those guys also need to step up in a multitude of ways, whether it’s putting the ball in play in big moments or simply showing up on a nightly basis, but it all starts with LeMahieu.

It’s unfortunate he’s dealing with that type of pressure, but he earned a sizable contract after proving he’s integral to this team. It also doesn’t help he’s dealing with the New York fan base, either.

Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

1. Gleyber Torres

What has happened to Gleyber Torres? Do you think even Gleyber Torres knows what’s happened to Gleyber Torres? His fall from grace has been one of the most confusing Yankees fans have ever seen.

The former Cubs top prospect who came over in the Aroldis Chapman trade got his career in the Bronx off to a hot and wildly successful start. In his first two MLB seasons, he was named an All-Star and clubbed 62 home runs across 267 games. Incredible. Immediately determined to be a franchise cornerstone for the next decade.

Until…

He moved to shortstop on a full-time basis. Did that have more to do with his struggles than we’re thinking? Again, we don’t know, but he’s hit six home runs in the 111 games since. He’s hitting .242 as opposed to .275 prior. He’s OPSing .681 as opposed to .846. In the end, we can sit here and say he’s going through a rough season since it’s only been 111 games, but there’ve been two long breaks in between with the pandemic and this past offseason. There’s been ample time to diagnose whatever’s going on. It’s not like he’s been stuck on repeat and thrown onto the field for 111 straight games with no break and no outlet to get back on track.

The good news? He’s striking out way less, he’s not chasing pitches out of the zone, and he’s walking a decent amount. The bad news? He’s not hitting strikes. He doesn’t seem to know what’s coming. He’s making incredibly weak contact (bottom 6th percentile of the league).

The insane part is that the Yankees don’t even need All-Star Gleyber Torres right now. They just need a fundamentally sound version of him on defense and an average version of him on offense. That would change so much right now.

Hopefully that’s what’s in store for the second half. We’re really not asking for much.

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