Inconsistent Lineups Cause Inconsistent Play For The New York Yankees

The Yankees have returned from the All-Star Break and have since split a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They have also lost their first two-game series to the New York Mets. The Yankees are currently struggling to gain momentum to win consistently. Batting averages are not up to par, and they're struggling to score while on base. Another factor to consider for their lack of consistent winning is to look into the batting lineup.

The Yankees batting lineup has been inconsistent recently, with many of the Yankees batters outside of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge shifting spots throughout the last few games. A lot of this shifting is primarily due to injured players such as Giancarlo Stanton being unavailable, but New York has not found a winning formula in their lineups.

Struggling To Find A Winning Formula

Against the Tampa Bay Rays, the only consistency they had throughout the series was having Ben Rice as leadoff with Soto and Judge behind him. Outside of the game on July 19 when the Yankees had Oswaldo Cabrera hitting second, the top of the lineup was generally consistent.

After Aaron Judge would bat, it would be a roulette of who would be on the lineup. Alex Verdugo would be in the cleanup spot in the first game, and the next game would have either Austin Wells or Jahmai Jones batting in that cleanup spot. The lineup inconsistency ruins momentum and offensive strategies that cause the Bronx Bombers to fall flat.

JD Davis Is Batting Where??

The most egregious lineup that has caused Yankees fans up in arms was the lineup on July 23 against the New York Mets. In that game, the Yankees had JD Davis batting as the cleanup hitter and Jahmai Jones at leadoff. According to Sporting News, Davis has an OPS+ of 70 when batting fourth in the lineup. Davis has not been batting fourth in the lineup often, and the OPS+ stat shows why that is. Why he was batting fourth is a question everyone would like to have answered.

The Yankees scored nine runs in their last game against the Tampa Bay Rays in a lineup that looked especially good on paper. The absence of Giancarlo Stanton leaves the cleanup spot open, but Austin Wells looked fine after going three of five. The rest of the lineup, including DJ LeMaheiu, managed a hit based on their spots. There is a lineup that works for the New York Yankees, but they did not opt to use the same lineup the very next day against the New York Mets.

Consistency Is The Key To Success For The New York Yankees

If the New York Yankees aren’t able to acquire new players as of right now, the New York Yankees need to fix the lineup situation they have been having. They need to stop with the “punt” lineups of having players in batting spots they don’t belong in and stick to a consistent lineup. It’s understandable to switch a few batters throughout the lineup based on the type of pitcher they’re facing, but having unrecognizable lineups on a near day-to-day basis is baffling. The "punt" lineup philosophy has been something that has been going on for the last few seasons with the Yankees and it needs to be put to a stop.

The Yankees need to have a core lineup and stick to it. If they win the first game, they must stick to it for the next game. Making a few tweaks based on the pitcher is fine, but there needs to be consistency in the batting lineup. They need to stick to a core batting lineup that can be trusted to win day in and day out, and can easily be adjusted. Making trades would be ideal, but for now, they need to work with what they have.

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