After outperforming expectations for months, New York Yankees rookie catcher Austin Wells has endured his first prolonged slump. It seemed like he had figured things out once he was moved to the cleanup spot in the order during the regular season, but the past month has been a real struggle for him.
Yankees’ Austin Wells has been slumping for a while
In the last 15 games of the regular season, Wells hit .083 (4-for-48) with 13 strikeouts and no home runs. His last home run came on Sept. 9 against the Kansas City Royals. Those struggles have continued into the postseason, as he is 2-for-20 (.100) with a .282 OPS in his first playoffs, and has struck out in 36.4% of his plate appearances.
Wells earned the cleanup spot during the season after performing very well, and he seemed to give the lineup immense depth while also serving as strong protection behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. However, his struggles not only are affecting him from an individual standpoint, but they are paramount behind the team’s issues with runners in scoring.
So far in the postseason, the Yankees are just 6-for-42 (.143) with runners in scoring position. In Monday’s Game 1 ALCS victory over the Guardians, New York was 0-for-7 with RISP, despite getting guys in scoring position in each of the first three innings.
Wells’ struggles at cleanup are partly to blame for Aaron Judge’s slow playoffs
Wells’ struggles have also been a part of why Judge has endured a rough postseason thus far. With Judge not having proper protection behind him in the lineup, the eventual MVP has had to adjust his approach at the plate, which has involved chasing more borderline pitches in hopes of making solid contact to drive in runs.
So far in the playoffs, Judge is batting just .133 without a home run. He has struck out in six of his 22 plate appearances and has really struggled to get going in October. While some have suggested that swapping Judge and Soto’s places in the lineup would fix that, a simpler solution would be to move the slumping Wells down in the order and put the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton back in the cleanup spot.
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Giancarlo Stanton is the answer at cleanup for the Yankees
Stanton has been the Yankees’ best hitter so far this postseason, batting .368 with two home runs and a 1.244 OPS. He has been batting in the No. 5 spot for most of the year, but perhaps moving him back to the cleanup spot can provide the proper protection for the Yankees’ two superstars.
Stanton is undoubtedly the most feared hitter on the team at the moment, so pitchers will want to avoid having him come up with guys on base as much as possible. That could allow Judge to see better pitches to drive, which could not only help him snap out of his playoff funk, but also make the team’s offense more potent.
They have struggled to put up a crooked number in the playoffs so far, averaging just 3.8 runs per game. Their dominant pitching has been the focal point and is a big reason why they have been successful so far despite the lackluster offense. Moving the struggling rookie out of the cleanup spot in favor of the hot bat in Stanton could help them deliver in run-scoring situations more often.
As of now, Yankees manager Aaron Boone hasn’t indicated whether or not he’s considering making a lineup change prior to Game 2 on Tuesday. However, it is a move they should strongly consider doing if they want to get their offense going the rest of the playoffs.
