Jarring DJ LeMahieu statistic should make Yankees fans panic

DJ LeMahieu's first two seasons with the New York Yankees saw him finish fourth and third in the AL MVP balloting. He was that good. He had always been a high average hitter and stong defender, but he added in 20+ home run power that made him a bonafide star.

LeMahieu got a six-year $90 million dollar deal to stay with the Yankees after the 2020 offseason, and he had earned every penny with the player he was. However, the 35-year-old has not been the same player since agreeing to his big payday.

While he wasn't a star-level player in the first three seasons of the deal, LeMahieu had a 101 OPS+, which is one point above league average. He was at least a startable player. This season, however, has been a different story. This jarring statistic only proves that.

DJ LeMahieu's job should be in serious jeopardy with unacceptable start to his 2024 season

LeMahieu missed the first two months of the season due to a foot injury. The Yankees were winning games without LeMahieu, but Oswaldo Cabrera, LeMahieu's replacement, was struggling after a hot start. The Yankees have needed LeMahieu's bat to show up and it simply hasn't.

He's slashing .196/.302/.196 with no home runs and four RBI in 14 games played and 54 plate appearances. What's most glaring about LeMahieu's slow start is that all nine of his hits have been singles. Not only has he yet to hit a home run, he hasn't been hitting the ball in the air with much authority at all.

Only five of LeMahieu's batted balls have traveled at least 300 feet since his return from the IL. 300 feet won't get you a home run anywhere, but it can get a player an extra-base hit.

What's even crazier is that LeMahieu only has eight batted balls that have traveled up to 250 feet. His 87.6 mph average exit velocity this season according to Baseball Savant is a career-low by a relatively large margin.

65.7% of LeMahieu's batted balls this season have come on the ground, which is extremely high. Yandy Diaz leads the majors among qualified hitters with a 57.8% ground ball rate. Obviously LeMahieu has a long way to go to be a qualifier because of all of his missed time, but this shows how absurd LeMahieu's ground ball rate is right now. Coupling the ground balls with his low exit velocity, and you get this version of LeMahieu that looks unplayable.

LeMahieu is not hitting the ball hard, and is mostly hitting the ball on the ground when he makes contact. In the rare times he puts the ball in the air, it's not going anywhere.

He deserves more than 14 games to show something, but eventually, the Yankees will have to make a decision. This version of LeMahieu is not going to cut it, even if he is a good defender. If he doesn't pick it up, Brian Cashman will have no choice but to see what he can do on the trade front. This statistic shows that right now, there is little hope that LeMahieu has much left in the tank.