Yankees Leaving Runs on Table With Efficiency Struggles in This Offensive Area

The New York Yankees have the most prolific offense in baseball entering play on May 13.

They are first in the MLB with 6.00 runs per game with a .267/.351/.489 slash line, which are all the best in the league. Their 138 OPS+, 685 total bases and 74 home runs are also all the best marks.

Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is off to another historic start, buoying the team’s success offensively. Without him, they would still be an above-average offense, but much closer to the middle of the pack, not atop the leaderboards.

However, the team could actually be more efficient offensively.

They are leaving some runs on the table because of how poorly they are running the bases this season.

Some of that could be by design. Why risk taking an extra base going from first to third with how productive the lineup has been with the bats? It is fine going base to base when virtually the entire lineup is a threat for extra-base hits.

But, their lack of efficiency on the base paths is something to keep an eye on moving forward.

As shared by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (subscription required), New York struggles to run the bases to the tune of a -3.1 BsR through 40 games. They have technically improved from last year, but it is still a trouble area for the squad.

“The Yankees don’t rank last in base running runs above average; they rank 28th. They’re the fifth-worst team in extra bases taken percentage and the sixth-worst in stolen base percentage,” Kirschner wrote.

New York has 29 stolen bases as a team, which is 19th in baseball. But they have been caught stealing 10 times, which is tied for the seventh highest total in the league.

Their 74.4% stolen base rate is 23rd in the league.

Right there with their lack of baserunning success is a surprisingly underwhelming defense.

The incredible performances of the pitching staff and offense as a whole have helped overcome the poor base running. But even an incremental improvement in this area would help take some of the pressure off.

Creating a few more scoring opportunities with a more aggressive approach on the basepaths would help, but the Yankees didn’t build a roster built on speed and base running; they are going to bludgeon opponents with power and extra-base hits.