Yankees Must Address This Major Problem With Lineup Heading Into Game 3 of the ALCS

The New York Yankees lead the ALCS 2-0 over the Cleveland Guardians. They are 5-1 this postseason. But they’re not winning because of their cleanup hitter.

During the playoffs, the Yankees have struggled to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position. They have found ways to score runs via the sac fly, wild pitches, and home runs. They’re getting the job done but are not driving in runs by getting hits with RISP.

One player who has often come up in those spots is Austin Wells. While Wells has been valuable behind the plate, he has yet to come through at the plate. Wells’ lack of production hasn’t come back to bite the Yankees yet…but it could.

Austin Wells Should Not Be Batting Cleanup for the Yankees

Wells is not contributing to the Yankees’ offense. He has struggled during the postseason, hitting .083. He is 2-for-24 in six games with a .237 OPS. He’s now 0 for his last 19. Wells has struck out 10 times.

Aaron Boone needs to address this by making a change in the lineup. It will take pressure off Wells, and give someone else the opportunity to come through.

Why is Wells still hitting fourth? The Yankees want to keep their lineup righty-lefty-righty-lefty, and maybe they also don’t want to mess with the lineup. The righty-lefty-righty-left set-up creates lineup balance and becomes important when the opposing team puts in a relief pitcher. 

However, Wells is not producing in the clean spot. The righty-lefty-righty-lefty make-up only works if the lefty is hitting right-handed pitching. Right now, Wells isn’t hitting any pitching.

Gleyber Torres is doing his job as a leadoff hitter by getting on base. Then Juan Soto follows. Too many times, Torres and Soto are left stranded. Aaron Judge has slumped in the playoffs, although he came to life on Tuesday night. Wells comes up after Judge and has been an automatic out.

The Yankees don’t need to do something drastic like swap Jose Trevino into the lineup for Wells. They’re set with Wells’ defense. What they need to do is move Wells out of the cleanup spot. 

A logical thing to do is put Giancarlo Stanton, who has been incredible in the playoffs, fourth in the lineup instead of fifth. He’s hitting .304 this postseason with two home runs and five RBIs. He’s powerful and the guy you want up with runners on. It could be worth breaking up the righty-lefty-righty pattern to put Stanton in a position to drive in more runs.

Another option, if Boone wants to keep a lefty between Judge and Stanton, is to move a different lefty into that spot. Anthony Rizzo has shown a spark in the two games he’s played since returning from injury. He’s 3-for-7 in the ALCS. Rizzo batting fourth might be the Yankees’ best option right now.

Moving Rizzo to cleanup means the Yankees would keep their righty-lefty-righty-lefty set-up. This tweak to the lineup would give the Yankees a better chance to drive in runs. It’s time to make a change and move Wells out of the cleanup spot.