The New York Yankees improved to 5-0 on the young 2024 MLB season with a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. This coming after an impressive sweep of four games over the Houston Astros to begin the season. It’s the first time the Yankees have started the season on a five-game winning streak since 1992. The 1927 Yankees started the season 6-0, just as a comparison.
Well, enough of historic start stats. Second-year SS Anthony Volpe has started the season hot, batting .571 with eight hits over 14 ABs in four games. Volpe has five runs, three doubles, a home run, three RBI and four walks with just three strikeouts. He only trails Oswaldo Cabrera for the team lead in total bases (14) after going 4-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored on Monday.
Volpe spent plenty of time last season as the leadoff hitter in what was a very bad Yankees lineup. That was mostly because of injuries and inconsistency throughout the order. Manager Aaron Boone had said he’d like INF DJ LeMahieu to bat leadoff to start 2024. But LeMahieu has started the season on the injured list. It’s unclear when he’ll return and if that would mean the batting order changes drastically. For now, 2B Gleyber Torres has been batting at the top of the order.
Torres hits to a lot of contact but is still batting .200 through five games and 20 ABs. He did have two hits and an RBI double against Arizona on Monday. But only had two hits and three walks in the series vs. Houston. Torres hasn’t had an OBP over .350 since 2020. He’s never really batted leadoff much before this season. So should Boone make a switch or keep the lineup mostly the same until LeMahieu can return?
If you’re a former baseball player like myself, you’re probably a little superstitious. The main argument and probably most logical (it’s actually illogical) is to just keep things the same. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, type of mentality. The Yankees are 5-0 and Torres should start hitting the ball. He’s made some good contact with poor luck.
You also aren’t looking for traditional speed at the top of the lineup given who bats after Torres. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have been in the 2-3 slots in the order. You shouldn’t really be risking Volpe running if he gets on given Soto and Judge can very easily drive him in from first base. Sure, Volpe has better speed than Torres but you also need to consider Soto and Judge’s power.
There’s also the benefit of having Volpe back in the order. It gives the opposing pitcher staff a tougher time throughout the game. He almost acts like a second leadoff hitter at the tail-end of the order in the 7-hole. Volpe and Cabrera have looked great to start the season. If both can keep this up, the Yankees will have one of the deepest batting orders in the AL.
What should Boone do?
Keep Torres at the top for now. Again, if it isn’t broke, don’t galaxy brain this and make a move that messes with the mojo. Torres should start getting more balls through and eventually Judge will break out of his slump as well. If things start to swing and Torres isn’t getting on base, maybe you revisit this move. If it’s June and Volpe is batting above .300 while Torres and DJ look mediocre, you may have to make the switch. But for now, stay the course.
