Cody Bellinger Has a Shot at Being Even Better for the Yankees This Season

Cody Bellinger isn't stealing headlines, but is off to a stellar start for the Yankees. What if he has another gear?

Cody Bellinger is in a great place to exceed the Yankees' expectations. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Cody Bellinger took his time re-signing with the Yankees last winter. From the moment the season ended to when he inked his five-year, $162 million deal, it felt like a slogfest for the player represented by Scott Boras, who will do whatever he can to get his guys the most money possible.

The Yankees knew they were getting a good player. What they couldn't have imagined is that Bellinger has a shot at swinging an even more solid stick than he did last year. A lot has been made of Trent Grisham's underlying metrics and why he should eventually return to where he was last season, but the same is true for Bellinger, who is already having a good year.

Cody Bellinger comes through with two huge insurance runs 💪 pic.twitter.com/dB9rSUoOlB

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2026

As of Thursday morning, Bellinger has a 90th-percentile .383 xwOBA, 91st-percentile .295 xBA, 84th-percentile .487 xSLG, a 91st-percentile 41.8% launch-angle sweet-spot rate, and a 94th-percentile 35.2% square- up rate.

The last time Bellinger was elite in those particular categories was back in 2019, when he won the National League MVP with the Dodgers.

	xw0BA	xBA	xSLG	EV	Barrel rate	Hard hit rate	Launch angle sweet spot rate
Baseball Savant Percentiles	100th	99th	99th	83rd	89th	86th	90th
2019 Data	.426	.316	.632	91.1 mph	13.8%	45.9%	39.6%

These peripheral numbers are also way up from last season. In 2025, Bellinger had a solid year at the plate, but one could argue that he was lucky, while also getting a bump by playing at Yankee Stadium, which profiles perfectly for his swing.

	xw0BA	xBA	xSLG	EV	Barrel rate	Launch angle sweet spot rate	Squared up rate
Baseball Savant Percentiles	49th	51st	52nd	24th	36th	76th	72nd
2025 Data	.323	.250	.425	88.3 mph	7.5%	37.1%	28.1%

Cody Bellinger is taking his game to the next level

Last year, Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 with a 125 wRC+ and a 4.9 WAR, according to Fangraphs. He is putting together another solid season, but doing so at an even better rate than last year. Considering that Ben Rice and Aaron Judge are hogging all the headlines, Bellinger is quietly slashing .285/.381/.508 with a 147 wRC+.

Bellinger also has a 1.7 WAR, according to Fangraphs, and is nearly at Steamer's projected 2.8 WAR. Barring any setbacks, he'll shoot right by his projections. Unlike Grisham, who, once again, had another scorching liner find a glove in the first inning against Nathan Eovaldi, the peripherals match the numbers on the back of the baseball card.

All signs point to Cody Bellinger continuing to be one of the best Yankees this season. With that being said, does he have another gear? | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The funny thing about Bellinger is that, for as good as he has been, it does feel like he can be even better. Last Saturday, he hit two homers, collected a double and a single, and drove in 4 RBI, and there's a chance for more nights like that for the former MVP.

That Yankees lineup is pretty good. Barring any injury setbacks, they can have a chance at being even more potent than they were in 2025. Bellinger will play a key role in that, especially if his performance so far is a sign that the best is yet to come.