After having a crazy-hot ALDS for the New York Yankees, Edwin Encarnacion has cooled down in the ALCS against the Houston Astros – a ton.
In Encarnacion’s last 12 at-bats, he’s only recorded one hit. His performance from the ALDS to now are polar opposites.
He’s looked lost in his at-bats thus far. Known for getting into deep counts and making pitchers work, Encarnacion has been swinging at first pitches and making weak contact. He’s been in big spots with the chance of knocking in some huge runs and let his team down.
Should Encarnacion be benched?
A 15-year-veteran knows the game completely. He knows that there’s gonna be ups and downs, and the only way to get out of them is to continue to get at-bats.Ă‚Â Encarnacion also seems like a creature of habit. If he’s benched, it could throw off a pattern he’s had for the whole postseason.
It seems that this is just a mechanical problem. Popping a lot of balls up, just getting underneath the pitch a bit. There isn’t a problem with contact or timing, it’s just something with his bat through the zone.
15 years in the league, he’ll get out of this. He knows what he has to do to make adjustments to succeed again. When he’s on, he could be absolutely dangerous at the plate. Fans saw this during the ALDS.
If the New York Yankees do decide to sit him, Stanton could be an option to DH (if he’s healthy). Aaron Hicks could also be an option.