5 Yankees responsible for the team’s sluggish start

2. Giancarlo Stanton

In fairness to Stanton, almost any player alive would struggle under the weight of the expectations heaped upon him by the New York media this season. Even so, it has to be said that his start to the campaign has been well below even modest projections.

No one expects him to winning a batting average title but he’s got to hit higher than .195. At the very least he needs to get well above the Mendoza line to help the Yankees offense score runs.

It should be noted that despite his poor average, Stanton has produced for the club in other ways. His ability to draw walks and drive in runs has allowed him to reach a neutral WAR of 0. That isn’t what the Yankees ultimately need from Stanton, but his production has been marginally better than his batting average would indicate.

The real good news for Stanton is that he is too good of a hitter to remain trapped in this early season malaise. As the weather gets warmer, expect Stanton’s bat to get hotter and hotter.