The New York Yankees have transformed a weakness into arguably their biggest strength.
Against left-handed pitching last season, New York ranked 12th in OPS at .721 and 23rd in batting average at just .235. Both marks ranked at the bottom of the final four teams in last year’s postseason.
But near the halfway point of this year, the Yankees boast a league-best .834 OPS against left-handed pitching and rank third in batting average against southpaws at .270. A mix of strong new contributors and improvements from young players have keyed in the turnaround.
New York brought in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and outfielder Cody Bellinger over the offseason. Goldschmidt’s career average is nearly 50 points higher against lefties — even amid a down campaign last year, he hit .295 against southpaws. Bellinger’s career splits are almost identical, though last season he batted about 50 points better against lefties.
The veteran duo has shone with the Yankees.
Bellinger and Goldschmidt are hitting .344 and a majors-best .444, respectively, against southpaws. Bellinger notched a triple and Goldschmidt recorded two hits yesterday against Kansas City leftie Kris Bubic, who entered with a 1.43 ERA to lead the majors.
Bubic allowed a season-high five runs to New York and took the loss. The day prior, the Yankees scored six times against Royals’ southpaw Noah Cameron, who entered with only three runs allowed across five starts.
Aaron Judge blasted a 469-foot home run against Cameron in the first inning. The two-time AL MVP has reached base in over half of his plate appearances against lefties and is hitting close to .400 against them.
Judge had a rare poor performance in the middle game of New York’s series against Boston last weekend, though.
The outfielder struck out in all three plate appearances against Cy Young candidate southpaw Garrett Crochet. Even though the AL leader in strikeouts controlled Judge, he allowed a season-high five runs to the Yankees. Bellinger scored twice — first via an Austin Wells home run and then through a Wells double.
Wells, a 25-year-old catcher, hit below .200 against lefties last season but has raised his average over 60 points against them this year. 24-year-old shortstop Anthony Volpe has similarly grown against southpaws and is hitting above .300 against them this season.
Volpe ranks top 50 in the majors with an OPS of .871 against lefties. For a player highly touted for his fielding excellence, he’s become a key contributor in the middle of New York’s order.
The Yankees’ dynamic lineup, filled with new additions and youth, has thrived against multiple elite lefties. That success bodes well for New York’s chances at another deep playoff run in an AL packed with star southpaws.
