It must have been a relief for both Juan Soto and Aaron Judge when the All-Star Game rosters were announced on Monday.
In the American League, the batting order will again be consecutive, with Gunnar Henderson batting ahead of Soto and Yordan Alvarez batting behind Judge.
It would be a big change for the All-Stars, who have lived up to the lofty expectations placed on them when the Yankees acquired Soto from the Padres in December.
But so far this season, the duo has been surrounded by some of the worst hitters in the major leagues.
Throughout the first half, the Yankees just couldn’t find anyone ahead or behind them who could get on base with any regularity, as Soto and Judge hit consistently at second and third.
According to Fangraphs.com, the Yankees are doing well in the majors with a .424 on-base percentage and a .978 OPS, second in the majors, and with a .431 on-base percentage and a 1.103 OPS, third, but they are at or near the bottom at the leadoff and cleanup positions.
After struggling Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe spent much of the first half in the leadoff spot, the Yankees used lefties like Alex Verdugo and Ben Rice against righties and turned to DJ LeMahieu in the final game when a lefty started.
And through it all, only the Royals and Athletics were worse than them, meaning that instead of having a chance to put runners on base throughout the game, Soto and Judge often had to do the damage on their own.
The strategy was generally fine for the first two-plus months of the season, but as the team stumbled towards the break one of their weaknesses became apparent.
Anthony Rizzo flourished in the cleanup role, but a long slump saw him drop out of the lineup and a broken arm forced him onto the disabled list.
Also, with Giancarlo Stanton out with a hamstring injury and most of the pitchers the Yankees faced being right-handed, Verdugo often batted cleanup, despite his performance dropping significantly.
Rice had struggled, going just two for 27 at-bats, before hitting a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning Sunday that gave the Yankees a brief lead.
However, in his short time in the leadoff spot, he posted an impressive OPS of 1.169 in 29 at-bats.
Verdugo has struggled in just about every aspect of the game recently, and after a defensive miscue on the final play Sunday, the outfielder called the season “up and down.”
“There’s no easy answer,” said an American League scout who watched the Yankees play near the end of the first half. “The problem with their lineup is depth outside of their two big men. [Soto and Judge]So there isn’t really a suitable player to fill in between them, although that may come up after the trade deadline. [on July 30].”
Manager Aaron Boone said he expects Stanton to return from the disabled list “pretty soon” after the break, which will help, but it’s not hard to see why the Yankees went into the break having lost 18 of their past 26 games and with much of their lineup in slumping form.
