The New York Yankees secured a 5-2 victory in the first game of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, powered by home runs from Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, along with six strong innings from Carlos Rodon. This win places New York just three victories away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 2009.
While the Yankees are enjoying success this October, not everything has been flawless. Their pitching has been impressive, but their offense, aside from Stanton’s standout performance, has struggled. Despite the lackluster hitting, Aaron Boone has not significantly altered the lineup, except for some adjustments at first base.
One apparent change that Boone seems reluctant to make is moving Austin Wells out of the cleanup position to a lower spot in the order. Wells, a crucial contributor during the regular season, has only managed two hits in 20 postseason at-bats, accompanied by eight strikeouts. Compounding the issue, those two hits came in his first two games, leaving him hitless in his last 13 at-bats with six strikeouts.
If Boone persists in keeping Wells in the No. 4 spot, the Yankees could find themselves in a challenging position.
Aaron Boone refusing to drop Austin Wells in order could cost the Yankees
Wells has remained in the cleanup spot for a straightforward reason: the team has been winning, and as a left-handed hitter, he provides balance between right-handed sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. However, this rationale has its flaws.
Firstly, despite the team’s success, Wells has not been a contributor. In fact, he has likely hindered the team’s performance this October. Secondly, while his left-handed bat adds balance, it loses value when he struggles to hit. Lineup balance only matters if a player like Wells can effectively handle right-handed pitching, which he hasn’t done.
One could argue that Boone should have made this change even before the postseason. Wells started the second half strong but finished the regular season in a slump, posting a .111/.217/.194 line in September and going hitless in his last 15 at-bats. He managed just one hit in his final 29 at-bats, making him the coldest hitter in the lineup, yet he remained in the cleanup position. It doesn’t add up.
A logical adjustment would be to move Giancarlo Stanton, the hottest hitter and a proven postseason performer, into Wells’ spot. While moving Aaron Judge down during his slump may not be feasible, there’s no reason to bat Stanton any lower than fourth. Placing Stanton behind Judge could help Judge see better pitches or, at the very least, give Stanton more opportunities with runners on base.
If the Yankees are hesitant to slot Stanton behind Judge for any reason, they could consider moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. into the cleanup spot and shifting Wells down to sixth. Although Chisholm has also struggled in the postseason, he has at least hit a home run in October and ended his regular season with five hits in 12 at-bats.
Staying complacent rarely yields positive results. While the Yankees have managed to win despite Wells’ performance so far, continuing to place him in the cleanup spot merely because they are winning and for “lineup balance” could lead to issues. Their margin for error against the Guardians is slim, as evidenced by the close nature of Game 1.
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