Yankees Must Ride Stanton’s Hot Streak to the Postseason

Giancarlo Stanton’s Hot Streak Buoying Yankees

Captain Capsized

It hasn’t been nearly as peachy for Judge, though. New York’s captain is going through his worst patch of the season right now, slashing .217/.386/.435 with just four home runs in August. Of course, an OPS of .821 is still good, but for the two-time American League MVP’s standards, it’s almost as bad as it gets. If there were no one else picking up the weight, the Yankees would be in serious trouble.

So, it’s a good thing that’s not the case. Stanton is looking just like he did in his 2017 season with the Miami Marlins, in which he hit 59 homers and slashed .281/.376/.631. Having averaged 27 homers and a .744 OPS over each of the past three seasons, no one could have predicted this level of production from Stanton (especially considering he wasn’t able to even swing a bat in spring training).

What’s The Difference?

If you look at Stanton’s metrics from the past few seasons, there really isn’t much that has changed. His walk/strikeout rates, whiff rates, and chase rates have not drastically improved, and his bat-speed and barrel metrics are as good as they’ve ever been. However, one thing that he has improved on recently that helped fuel his early success is hitting the fastball.

This year, nine of his 17 homers are off fastballs, and he’s slugging .716 against them (compared to .476 last year). Other than that, nothing else stands out as the difference behind his success. Plain and simple, it must be that Stanton is using his experience and otherworldly power to his advantage.

Another Postseason Push

It’s unfortunate only in that the Yankees don’t have Stanton and Judge at their best at the same time, which was exactly what they imagined when they acquired the former from Miami almost eight years ago. And, with New York just 1 1/2 games out of losing a playoff spot, they could use their two most potent sluggers to help them secure a spot in October.

There’s no longer any doubt about what Stanton can do in the postseason, too. Last October, he hit seven homers in just 14 games, tacking on 16 RBI and posting a 1.048 OPS. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely up to him whether or not the Yankees are able to make it back there. You can never count them out, though, when they have two of the game’s most powerful hitters in the same lineup.