Despite standing at the top of the American League East, the New York Yankees are in a bit of a funk at the moment with four defeats in the last six games. Aaron Judge is tearing it up, with a few of his teammates also on a red-hot streak, but there are still several members in the Yankees lineup that are misfiring badly right now.
Offseason acquisition Cody Bellinger is among those that are struggling to deliver consistently from an offensive standpoint. Yankees coach James Rowson gave his thoughts on the former National League MVP, who has also encountered a few health issues during his first month in the Bronx.
Yankees Hitting Coach Assesses the Extended Slump Of Cody Bellinger
Cody Bellinger arrived at the Bronx this winter in a trade deal from the Chicago Cubs. The left-hander was widely expected to become an instant hit in his new surroundings with the short right field fence at Yankee Stadium. However, he only has a pull percentage of 36.1% this year, the lowest mark of his career thus far.
Bellinger enjoyed a bright start to his career in New York after driving in six runs in the opening series of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers. But it has been a steady downhill slide since then, having batted 12-72 over the month of April with just one home run, six RBIs, and 21 strikeouts.
James Rowson, hitting coach of the Yankees, shared his assessment of the current slump of the 29-year-old slugger in an interview with the New York Daily Post. He feels the sample size is presently too small to determine whether there is a novel method that opposing pitchers have devised to challenge him.
“What we talk about more is just squaring the ball up more consistently. Pulling the ball and where you hit it, some of that goes into where you’re being pitched and where you’re thrown. So you want to look at that and find out, is he getting balls that he normally does maybe pull, or does he just need to work on and get his mindset on really kind of squaring up balls?”
Rowson remains confident that Bellinger will be able to bounce back from this poor run pretty soon, as he is still coming up with productive at-bats, which are not always reflected in the stats column. For instance, the two-time All-Star currently leads his team in sac flies.
“There’s a lot of things that aren’t seen,” Rowson said. “I think there are a lot of at-bats where he draws a walk, a lot of at-bats where he puts a ball in play and we score a run, or he hits a fly ball and gets a sac and a guy comes in.”
“I feel like Cody is heading in the right direction because I feel like his at-bats are productive.”
Prior to tonight's game, Manager Aaron Boone shares his thoughts on the Yankees offense. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/ESkIcTyRlB
— YES Network (@YESNetwork)
These encouraging words from the Yankees coach may ring true in the near future, but the numbers still paint a grim picture for Bellinger. He has a .195/.258/.317 slash line after the 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, with just five extra-base hits and an OPS+ of 66.