A Mind-Blowing Stat on the New York Yankees Heading into Tuesday's Game at Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees enter Tuesday's game at the Minnesota Twins at 13-10 and in fourth place in the American League East. Perhaps part of the reason the Yankees are seven games back of the first-place Rays is because of the lack of production from the bottom of the order. The 5-9 spots in the Yankees lineup are the most anemic in baseball -- except for the Kansas City Royals.

The New York Yankees are 13-10 and in fourth place in the American League East.

13-10 is certainly a respectable record but the reality is that the Yankees should be a World Series contender and to have four teams above them in winning percentage in the American League just isn't going to cut it.

Perhaps part of the reason the Yankees find themselves playing mediocre baseball right now is because of the production of the bottom of the lineup.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has a fascinating stat heading into Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Twins.

"Here's a stat from the @MLBNetwork research department: The #Yankees bottom of the order has struggled. Only the Royals (.530) have a worse OPS from their #5-to-#9 spots combined than the Yankees (.570) in MLB this season."

The Yankees have trotted out several players in those spots including Jose Trevino, Kyle Higashioka, Franchy Cordero, Josh Donaldson, Oswaldo Cabrera, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, with nothing seeming to make constant traction.

Also, rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe started out the season in the No. 9 spot but has since moved up to the top of the order, where he now has two home runs, four RBI and eight stolen bases.

It also doesn't help that slugger Giancarlo Stanton is out of the middle of the Yankees order, as that's affecting everything in the Yanks lineup, as Hoch says.

"Also worth noting: Aaron Judge is batting .138/.235/.276 (4-29 AB) with one homer, three RBI, and 12 strikeouts in eight games since Giancarlo Stanton went on the IL (hamstring).

The Yankees and Twins play tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET at Target Field. The Twins won last night, 6-1. Nestor Cortes will go for New York while Joe Ryan goes for Minnesota.

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