by EJ Fagan
May 11, 2024
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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission.
Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.
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Giancarlo hit ball hard. Pretty much everyone, myself included, let out an audible “wow” when he hit this home run:
No other player in baseball, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge included, can hit a ball like that. When Stanton connects, he has a special talent that no one else has. Maybe no one in baseball history.
The problem? He’s still a bad designated hitter. Here’s Stanton’s Statcast page in his “bounce back” year:
Does that look familiar to you? It sure looks familiar to me. Here is Stanton’s 2023 Statcast page:
Can you spot the difference? Stanton’s xBA is a little higher. He’s hitting the ball on the ground less than he was last year. He’s a hair faster, going from the 4th percentile in sprint speed to the 7th. 2024 Stanton is both taking fewer walks and striking out significantly more than 2023 Stanton. All of this adds up to a lower xwOBA in 2024 than 2023.
I get it. It’s fun to watch Giancarlo Stanton when he’s hitting the ball hard. He’s an easy guy to But come on people. I feel like I’m going insane when I listen to everyone else watching Yankee games talk about the guy. He’s a really bad DH! Some comparisons:
Stanton is hitting .220/.277/.457. The average MLB DH is hitting .243/.320/.413 in 2024. Stanton hits for more power, but the on base gap is massive.
Stanton has been worth a grand total of 0.1 fWAR in 2024. He’s tied with Cal Raleigh, who has played two games at DH.
Unlike in previous years, Stanton has a reverse-platoon split. His OPS is 160 points higher against righties.
His 36% strikeout rate is second worst in the major leagues.
Stanton had a few weeks in April where he was not striking out as much, but recent that trend has reversed completely:
We should be approaching the end of the Giancarlo Stanton experiment. Jasson Dominguez is about to start rehab games as a DH. Stanton has no case for playing time if Dominguez is healthy and effective. Home runs count the same regardless of how hard they are hit.
Even if Dominguez isn’t, the Yankees can do better than Stanton’s empty power. Teams are starting to realize that 2024 isn’t their season. It isn’t that difficult to find someone who can top Stanton’s pedestrian batting line. Maybe that player can also fill in on the bench and not get thrown out on second on an Austin Wells single.
Will they? I don’t know. As long as Stanton keeps hitting the occasional record-setting home run, he doesn’t get his deserved scrutiny. The Yankees aren’t even playing Trent Grisham regularly now that the 17-game stretch is over. Let’s hope that Jasson Dominguez forces some action.
The Yanks are trying to keep him healthy. At any rate, he's not coming out of the lineup. Behind Soro and Judge, his presence is enough.
No! He needs to be gone! NEVER carrued the team and NEVER CLUTCH when it mattered. Too much young talent for him to STILL be in the way. Pay him off, take the hit, move on.
Stanton is the type of player that needs to play the game of baseball, not just the game of crushing baseballs. His head is in the game and hits better when he is playing in the field. He plays the right field corner well. I know they want to protect him so he doesn't get hurt, but if he is a noticeable weaker hitter when not playing the field, what's the point of protecting him. Tell him to over do it trying to run down balls in right field, just play a clean right field, and let him use his cannon for people who challenge him. I know whenever I got DHed, I did far worse at the plate th…
Jasson Dominguez is going to need significant time in AAA before he can be counted on as an effective Major League hitter. I mean, he should stay in AAA until he absolutely DOMINATES AAA pitching, and ONLY THEN, should he be promoted to the majors. Remember, he only had about 6 games in the majors last season. Once he is 100% recovered from the surgery he had, he has to totally master and dominate AAA pitching before he can be considered for call up to the big leagues.
With the team record at 26-14, and the $$ they owe him for the next 4 years, big G is the dh. Dominguez will most likely go to minors until either an injury opens a spot, or September call up. Another reason why long term deals NEVER work out.