At first, the DJ LeMahieu signing by the New York Yankees was puzzling. It seemed the Yankees were just flexing their bank account by throwing a 2yr/$24 at LeMahieu to not even be an everyday player. In Spring Training, LeMahieu had to compete with Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Luke Voit, Troy Tulowitzki, and Greg Bird. Coming off a down year in 2018, respective to his previous three years, LeMahieu’s stock took a hit. In the game now where hitters like LeMahieu are taking a backseat to the big-boppers, Brian Cashman, as he so often does, found a steal. In comparison to Daniel Murphy, who signed with Colorado for the same amount of money, LeMahieu blows him out the water.
When taken into the account that LeMahieu was not expected to be an everyday player on the 2019 New York Yankees, providing off days for the likes of Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, and Luke Voit, his stats are pretty ridiculous. He leads the AL in batting average and is hitting a gaudy .478 with RISP, not to mention .439 RISP w/ 2-out. He leads the offensive juggernaut that is the Yankees in average, hits, and doubles. On top of that, LeMahieu has been churning out these type of numbers while playing throughout the infield. He has played a combined 29 games at 1B and 3B, both positions he has not played at since 2014. Also, the former batting champion has silenced the “he’s a product of Coors Field” crowd by being well on pace to hit over 20 home runs this year, more than his career-high of 15 in 2018.
LeMahieu is just refreshing to watch at the plate and on the field. When I played MLB The Show and draft a team, I always used to pick Ben Zobrist somewhere down the line (weird). Zobrist was the ultra-utility man with a solid bat. You could play him anywhere without worry, and that gives so much flexibility to a manger. DJ LeMahieu is an upgraded Ben Zobrist. Upgraded bat, but a little less defensive flexibility (the outfield). To see a guy go out there a play all over the field at a gold glove level is so damn awesome. At the plate, LeMahieu just hits. It’s simple. He’s a professional hitter. The man knows hitting inside and out, and isn’t phased by who’s throwing, how many outs there are, or the situation of the game. He just hits.
The Yankees MVP… DJ Lemahieu. My MVP… DJ LeMahieu. It’s about time for No. 28.
