I had a buddy that used to DJ back in the day. This was a time when vinyl actually had to be spun on the turntables. A time when milk crates upon milk crates would house the entire collection. A time when amazingly awesome friends would help move all the equipment to the place of his gig. And back. Now, there’s nostalgia in the actual art of spinning records, but was all the hassle worth it? Which brings me to DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees. We have pleasured ourselves many of times over because he played in Colorado, but the end results did not bring us fantasy elation. He’s in New York now and has been absolutely balling. Is he worth it?
On the Razzball Player Rater, LeMahieu is the 15th OVERALL player! He’s the 2nd second baseman and 3rd third baseman. Ha! That’s cool how that worked out like that. Anyways, let’s dig into the numbers.
The walk rate (7.3%) is within career norms. So is the strikeout rate (13.9%). The ISO of .186 is a career-high, though, and the BABIP of .362 is fueling a .336 batting average. For perspective, in seven seasons with the Rockies, he had an ISO under .100 four times. He did have elevated BABIP numbers, but that’s Colorado, so there could be some regression on that front. Still, even if the BABIP decreases by 40 points, you’re still looking at a .290 batting average.
The batted ball data looks pretty much in line to his past few seasons. The only discernible change is the increase in HR/FB rate. Perusing the Statcast data, the exit velocity hasn’t changed from last season (91 mph), but the launch angle has increased to 7, which is a career-high.
The plate discipline numbers also don’t show too much change. The swinging strike is still an absurdly low 5.9% and the contact rate in the strikezone is a ridiculous 94.5%. The changes that I do see are the increases in aggressiveness. The overall swing rate has increased 5%, while he’s swinging at 7% more pitches in the strikezone. In addition, the chase rate has gone from 26% to 30%. And why wouldn’t it, as he bats leadoff with Judge, Sanchez, Stanton, Voit, Encarnacion, Hicks, Torres, and Didi batting behind. Sorry Gio and Brett.
Steamer has LeMahieu projected for 7 home runs and 3 stolen bases the rest of the way with 39 runs and 29 RBI. That would give him a season with 20 home runs, 105 runs, 89 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. There were maybe 15 players last season to finish with at least 20/100/80/5.
To my DJ buddy, it was all worth it my man. So shall it be for DJ LeMahieu.
VERDICT
