Alex Verdugo’s New York Yankees career couldn’t have started better. After being traded to the Boston Red Sox in the winter, the 28-year-old was swinging such a hot bat that he was regularly batting cleanup behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, as well as driving in key runs.
His disposition appeared to be a wonderful fit in the city and among his teammates.
Unfortunately, months later, it is safe to conclude that the honeymoon period has over. Since May 1, Verdugo has batted just.217 with an OPS of.598. In fact, his 69 WRC+ is the fourth-lowest among qualifying AL hitters since the beginning of May. In July, he is hitting only.161 with an OPS of.453. He has just one hit in his previous 24 at-bats after going 0-for-4 in Sunday’s loss. Things are only getting worse for Verdugo.
Everyone wants answers. Verdugo never lived up to the hype after being a key piece in the Mookie Betts trade, but he was always at least a league-average hitter, if not slightly over average. He’s slicing.This season, he had a 231/.287/.371 batting line after 96 games. This type of slump is uncommon for him.
Verdugo’s reaction to his dismal performance on Sunday suggests that he is no closer to finding the solutions than anyone else.
Alex Verdugo’s words show that he’s as disoriented as ever.
Verdugo believes that by playing more opposite field, he can turn his season around. I believe that opinion makes sense given the number of ground balls he has hit to the right side, especially recently. The problem is that Verdugo has never gone to the opposite field as much as he has this season, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
According to FanGraphs, Verdugo has used the opposite field 28.2 percent of the time he has placed the ball in play. He only had a greater percentage in 2017, when he played 15 games for the Dodgers and hit.174 with a.544 OPS.
As Kirschner points out, Verdugo’s analysis is illogical. When it comes to pulling the ball around the majors, left-handed batters have fared better. Left-handed batters certainly have more luck pulling the ball at Yankee Stadium, where the short porch is less than 320 feet away. Why does he believe Yankees fans are continuously begging for left-handed pull hitters?
Given that he has used the opposite field more than ever before and is having his worst offensive season as a result, shouldn’t he attempt a different approach? Perhaps if Verdugo tried more balls in the air, he’d have better results. For context, Juan Soto is pulling the ball more this season than ever before, and his 184 WRC+ is his second-best mark in his career.
Nobody expects Verdugo to be Soto, but he hasn’t even been Verdugo, which is extremely disappointing for an offence that requires more from its surrounding players. He may be able to contribute down the stretch if he can perform the complete opposite of what he believes he should be doing.
Leave a Reply