Beloved MLB writer's pick for Yankees playoff hero feels spot on

With the New York Yankees having clinched a postseason berth on Tuesday, you know that Aaron Judge and Co. are already readying themselves mentally to tear through the American League playoffs and return to the World Series, where New York has unfinished business from a year ago.

The AL postseason will be a gauntlet, however, and the Yankees will need all hands on deck to survive and advance. Fortunately for New York, the club is healthy at the right time and playing arguably its best baseball of the season lately. It’s also worth noting that the Yankees are still very much locked into the regular season at the moment, with the AL East crown still up for grabs.

But regardless of whether they earn a bye or not, New York will need one or two of its players to rise to the status of playoff hero once October begins and the pressure increases. And there’s one Yankee, in particular, who might be particularly poised to seize the opportunity.

Trent Grisham was just predicted to come up huge in the postseason for the Yankees

As MLB.com’s Sarah Langs sat back this week and reveled in the energy of a rapidly approaching postseason, the beloved writer penned some intriguing forecasts about which playoff performers will shine the brightest.

In considering the Yankees, Langs chose a player whose career year in 2025 has him set up to bag a life-changing amount of money this winter in free agency. Despite the looming payday, however, Langs pointed out that this player still has a gigantic chip on his shoulder entering October, which could play to the Yankees’ advantage in dramatic fashion.

“(Trent) Grisham is having a career year — with 34 home runs, after his previous career-high had been 17 in 2022,” Langs wrote.

“Sure, the Yankees have plenty of power hitters, but each and every one of them will prove important in the playoffs. Hitting the ball over the wall is crucial in the postseason. Over the last four postseasons, teams are 95-20 when outhomering their opponents — a .826 winning percentage. Grisham’s power is a key part of that recipe for the Yankees.”

“But the real reason he was my pick has nothing to do with statistics and everything to do with continued redemption,” Langs continued. “We don’t have to rehash it, but Grisham played an unfortunate role in the Brewers’ Wild Card Game loss in 2019. Since then, he’s been in the playoffs twice entering this year, including going 4-for-8 with two homers in the 2022 Wild Card Series. The next phase of this Grisham playoffs evolution is full-fledged postseason hero. Because these are the stories baseball is all about.”

Grisham’s 2025 campaign has brought him to some utterly unpredictable places, including alongside Mickey Mantle in the record books. It’s ironic that Langs is predicting a hot postseason for Grisham, as he’s a player whom practically no one predicted would have exploded the way he’s done during the regular season.

But something about Langs’ choice feels right. Maybe it’s the mustache. Perhaps it’s something more logical, like Grisham’s ongoing power surge. In any case, the 28-year-old is facing the chance to cement his Yankees legacy in championship fashion this coming month, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a guy who might be wearing a different uniform next season.