How The Yankees Have Maximized Their Young Players’ Potential
- Cory Claus
- Mar 30
- 5 min read
When the Yankees decided to bat Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt in the lead-off spot, it seemed an odd choice. The first two games have clearly validated that decision. What’s still to come, however, is the dynamic running game they’ve also unlocked.
All offseason, one of the biggest concerns about the Yankees was their lack of a “true” lead-off hitter. Many close observers, including myself, felt sure Caleb Durbin was going to easily win that spot. Not only does he profile as a prototypical leadoff hitter, but he was the only one in Yankees Universe who did so. Then he was traded for closer Devin Williams.
I have to admit that the move made me scratch my head a bit.
Of course I was happy they got the best closer in baseball, but it seemed to cripple the line-up. I did a bit more confused head scratching when it became clear that catcher Austin Wells was going to bat lead-off. This seemed to fly in the face of longstanding baseball wisdom. From the days of Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams, the blueprint was clear: you put a high on-base speedster up first because it gives the team the best chance to have someone on for the big bats up next in the order. Once on the bag, they were a threat to steal, turning their singles into de facto doubles.
Yankees such as Mickey Rivers and Ricky Henderson spring to mind. Those guys made their teams dynamic and explosive.
Austin Wells is certainly not that guy.
What he is is a good all-around hitter with serious power in his bat. Those assets are what allowed him to thrive last year in the clean-up spot. So the move by manager Aaron Boone seemed more desperate than calculated, based on poor roster construction. I thought it would make the line-up clunky and slow instead of exciting and fast.
Only the Yankees Can Stop Anthony Volpe from Stealing
But at some point, I realized Boonie was actually unlocking the dynamic talent of his young players, including Wells. Think back to last year when they tried Volpe in that spot. He wasn’t great, but when he did get on, the Yankees didn’t want him to steal. If he moved off that bag, it might encourage the opposing team to walk Juan Soto or Aaron Judge. It actually helped the other team and potentially hamstrung the Yankees. And it took away two of Volpe’s best tools: his speed and excellent base-stealing abilities. You want him to get on and, when he does, you want him to steal one or two bags. That’s his game; that’s what can make him a great player, along with his rising power numbers.
So there were some real negatives to that type of line-up construction. Still, Austin Wells moving from clean-up to lead-off seemed a stretch. As a business consultant (my day job), one piece of advice I routinely give is to put your employees in the best position to be successful. In turn, that makes the entire team more successful.
That’s exactly what this move does.
Right now, the Yankees have three young, fast, and dynamic players in the second part of the order. The lineup for the first regular season game had Jazz Chisholm batting fifth, followed by Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe. All three feature speed and base-stealing as parts of their arsenal. And because of where they hit now, they’ll be free to run wild once they get on. That unlocks their full potential and makes the Yankees a multi-dimensional team. They’ve got plenty of power at the top and plenty of speed at the bottom. They also bat in front of potential power-hitter Ben Rice. If and when he starts to hit, however, Rice will likely move up to the number five spot.
We haven’t had a chance to see the Yankees’ running game yet. But it’s going to be every bit as necessary for success as the home run barrage we’ve been witness to.
Judge for Yourself
It also gives Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt their best chances to be successful, as so clearly made evident. That’s what happens when you hit in front of Aaron Judge. Another positive is that it puts pressure on the pitcher right away. Games now start in the middle of the batting order with a premier power hitter leading off and THE premier power hitter waiting on deck for the pitcher to see.
We saw the slight wrinkle on Saturday against lefty Nestor Cortes, with Goldy up first, followed by Bellinger, and then Judge. And boy, did we see the results as the Yankees belted nine home runs out of the park and into the history books.
Talk about proof of concept.
I think someone else will eventually take over the lead-off role, however. Another guess here is that it’ll end up being Jasson Dominguez, once he warms up, moving Wells back to clean-up. He sees a lot of pitches, controls the strike zone, and will probably end up with the second-highest OBP on the team, after Judge. And he swings as big a bat as anybody under 6’7” on the team. That will tamp down his base stealing, but I don’t think the Yankees will mind. It’ll be a subtle way of protecting someone who could be a massive homerun-hitting machine against injuries on the base paths. Dominguez will still be able to use his great speed running the bases (as he did Saturday), especially as he’ll be glued to first, at least until Judge’s at-bat is over.
That'll still leave Volpe and Chishom to run wild in the stadium.
Meanwhile, Durbin was sent back down to Triple-A, much to the chagrin of Brewers Manager Pat Murphy. Based on many of the articles I’ve read, the speculation is that the Brewers did so for roster flexibility. The Brewers are in as competitive a division as the Yankees, albeit not as talented. They need every win they can get, especially after dropping the first two to the Bombers. So they left behind someone the Manager thinks is one of the best players on the roster?
Now that’s a head scratcher.
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