Yankees’ LeMahieu Off to Encouraging Start: ‘He Looks Like DJ’

DJ LeMahieu had a down 2021 season after two stellar campaigns to begin his Yankees career. Now he’s healthy and looking to bounce back in 2022.

It’s hard to make a better first impression than the one that DJ LeMahieu made on the Yankees.

Signed to be a roving utility infielder, LeMahieu turned out to be an All-Star and finished fourth in MVP voting in 2019, his first season with the club. He won a Silver Slugger while setting new career highs with 26 homers and 102 RBI. LeMahieu’s encore was even better: he placed third in MVP voting, won another Silver Slugger and secured a batting title during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Last season was tougher on LeMahieu, the first blemish of his Yankees career. His numbers dipped across the board as he battled a sports hernia, which resulted in offseason core surgery. All in all, he slashed .268/.349/.362 with 10 homers, 57 RBI and a 100 wRC+. His production was modest, but he was far from the guy that Yankees fans got to know between 2019 and 2020.

Now, however, LeMahieu is healthy and making another strong impression in the early going of the 2022 season. The 33-year-old may never return to the player he was over those first two seasons in the Bronx, but the Yankees are hoping that he’s at least closer to that LeMahieu than last year’s version.

The season is young, but the results are encouraging so far. LeMahieu is slashing .302/.400/.419 with one homer and four RBI through his first 13 games. He has at least one hit in each of his last nine games and has gotten on base in 11 out of 13 games played. LeMahieu’s 57.6 HardHit% would easily be a personal best.

“He looks great. The at-bat quality is there, the consistency of his at-bats – he looks like DJ,” Aaron Boone said before Friday’s game against the Guardians, in which LeMahieu hit leadoff. “He's obviously getting his hits and getting on base, but usually when he makes an out, he's on the barrel, which is him. He can barrel up the ball. I've been really encouraged with just the overall consistency of his at-bats game in and game out.”

DJ LeMahieu with an RBI double and just like that we're tied! pic.twitter.com/QzMNfzHB03

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 14, 2022

It remains to be seen if LeMahieu can maintain this incline over the course of a season, but his early turnaround is a blessing for a Yankees offense that is struggling after the team chose to enter the season with a questionable plan.

New York is counting on bounce-back years from more than a few incumbent bats and new arrivals. However, only LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks are holding up their end of that bargain so far.

That’s a plus for both players after injury-riddled 2021 seasons. For LeMahieu especially, as he’s shown that his ceiling can be sky-high when he’s at his best.

“[In} ’19, ‘20 he was an MVP candidate. I think everyone understands how great of a player he's been for us, especially in those two years,” Boone said, adding that he could see LeMahieu hitting in the middle of the order if New York’s other bats pick up. “When we get our guys going at the rate I expect, there's gonna be a lot of traffic for him.

“If he's hitting the ball on the barrel as much as he is right now, that's going to be good for us.”

MORE:

• Aaron Judge's Two-Homer Night Leads Yankees to Win Over Guardians
• Yankees Brace For José Ramírez After His 'Incredibly Hot' Start to Season
• Yankees Discussed Joey Gallo Trade With Padres This Spring

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