In the first at-bat of the Yankees’ series opener against the Royals on Friday night, DJ LeMahieu sent a deep double over the head of Edward Olivares in right field, scoring soon after on another Anthony Rizzo home run.
It was the latest piece of evidence that the LeMahieu of old has returned for the Yanks.
It’s fair to assume that the veteran infielder was battling health issues for the majority of the 2021 campaign, battling a sports hernia that finally forced him to sit out the Wild Card Game before undergoing surgery. His .268 batting average was nearly 100 points lower than his .364 mark in 2020, which won him his second batting title. LeMahieu logged just 2.0 WAR in 2021, after finishing with 5.9 WAR in 2019, his first full season in pinstripes.
After Friday’s two-hit night, LeMahieu is already at 1.0 WAR for the season, halfway to last year’s mark despite playing in 131 fewer games so far.
The most convincing barometer to show that LeMahieu has fully returned to form is in the nature of his contact, like his leadoff double on Friday. LeMahieu has pounded the opposite field to start the season, with three of his five doubles going the opposite way, one of his two home runs, and nine of his 15 singles. LeMahieu’s batting average on balls in play to the opposite field is nearly .400 this season, compared to .316 last season. LeMahieu is at his best when he is using the entire field, and he has made a living in right field through the first three weeks of the season.
LeMahieu is also making harder contact than ever before. His 56.1 hard hit rate is in the top five percent of the league, and noticeably higher than his 48.5 hard hit percentage in 2019, his previous career high when he was an MVP candidate.
That hard contact was on display later in Friday’s blowout win, when he laced a 105.5 mph single in the seventh inning, helping along a four-run frame for the Yanks.
Part of revitalizing a Yankee offense that was lackluster throughout last season was getting LeMahieu back to his 2019-20 form. So far, he looks like he is all the way back to that level.
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