BOSTON — For most of the spring, manager Aaron Boone had been raving about DJ LeMahieu and how “explosive” he looked at the plate.
With a displaced fracture in his foot, the Yankees haven’t been able to see the benefits in key games, and the small sample size since LeMahieu’s return shows the full benefits of his improved foot have yet to be seen.
The veteran infielder entered Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox at Fenway Park with a .196 batting average (9-for-46) with no extra-base hits and a .498 OPS in 14 games.
LeMahieu was still trying to get back into form early in the season after missing nearly two months with a foot injury.
“I’m feeling good,” said LeMahieu, who went 1-for-4 with three RBIs in Saturday’s win over the Red Sox. “I’m not consistent yet. I’m not where I want to be. But overall I feel like I’m getting better and better.”
“I see the ball and I make good swing decisions. I feel like I’m improving overall.”
LeMahieu, who was hitless and walked one in two at-bats in the Yankees’ 9-3 loss Sunday, had reached base in 11 of 14 games and walked seven (with 12 strikeouts) since returning from the 60-day disabled list.
“He’s getting closer,” Boone said Sunday. “I think he’s seeing the ball well. He’s obviously getting some RBIs.” [Saturday] I felt a little better tonight, so that was good. But hopefully, I can get to a point where I can hit the ball more consistently along the line. I’m still working to get there.”
What about its explosiveness?
In his season debut against the Angels on May 28, LeMahieu struck out three pitches to home plate despite trying to get an out.
But overall, his average exit velocity through Sunday was 87.6 mph (down from his career average of 90.6 mph) and his hard-hit rate was 37.1 percent, the lowest of his career (average was 43.8 percent).
Still, Boone said he believes the explosiveness is still there.
“i will do it [see it]”I am his [batting practice] “Especially when you have a long break. But you stop and you start and you get back on track. Even a good hitter like him can take a little bit of time to get into rhythm. He’s getting there. I don’t think he’s that far away.”
The Yankees have used LeMahieu primarily in the bottom third of their lineup, giving him a less stressful position (usually the ninth) to find his rhythm.
And if the rest of the lineup continues to perform as well as they have, they can wait for LeMahieu to start hitting his stride again.
The soft-spoken 35-year-old said he feels “good” physically — that’s about as close as he’ll go to describing himself, but his play on the field will back that up.
He entered Sunday with three above-average outs at third base, which ranked eighth at the position among fielders with at least 25 attempts.
“I feel like he’s really an on-site DJ,” Boone said.
All they want now is for him to look like DJ in the box.
LeMahieu had just one RBI through his first 13 games, but on Saturday night, he had a good game with three RBIs, even though he didn’t hit well.
He hit a foul ball to right field in his first at-bat, scoring two runs, then, trailing by three runs in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, he hit a soft grounder to shortstop, beating a potential double play and scoring one.
