Yankees Need Jazz Chisholm Jr. to Break Free of His Bad Habit

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was huge for the New York Yankees in their final game against the Toronto Blue Jays, which sealed a series win. Coming off a two-hit game the day before, Chisholm had another one on Sunday, with his biggest of the series being a two-run blast, officially putting the game out of reach for Toronto.

Since August 9th, Chisholm has been on a roll. He is slashing .262/.340/.405 with a 113 wRC+. He has 11 hits in 47 plate appearances, including one homer, a double, and four walks.

One thing about Chisholm is that he is playing to all fields a little more. He has a 45.2% pull rate, hitting balls to the opposite field at a 22.6% clip, and to center field at 32.3%. This season, Chisholm has pulled 54.6% of balls he has made contact with, while going to the opposite field at an 18.1% clip, and has hit balls to center at a 27.3% clip.

It isn't quite the power surge that the Yankees saw from him last year. At this point, though, seeing that Chisholm has been disappointing in 2026, the Yankees will take any positive contributions from their second baseman.

The issue with Chisholm this year isn't that he hasn't had positive moments. There have been plenty of instances where he has played well. Chisholm had that go-ahead blast against the Washington Nationals last month, and even had a prolonged streak where he looked like himself back in May.

A frustrating year for Chisholm

Chisholm seems to revert to that inconsistent bat anytime he's heading in the right direction. He can never play well for long, and it's why he's sitting at a 94 wRC+ for the season. He might be the most frustrating bat on the Yankees, seeing as they saw the best of him last year.

Chisholm is so talented, though, that despite his lowest wRC+ in a full season since 2021, his counting stats are actually commendable. He has 18 homers and 34 steals, and due to his elite defense, a 2.6 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. makes a gesture after hitting a double against the Toronto Blue Jays. — The New York Yankees are hoping that second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is turning the corner as his 2026 campaign has been up and down. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What makes Chisholm so frustrating is that, with a better year, he would have been in MVP talks. No, he wouldn't have surpassed Yordan Álvarez, but if a bad season looks like a 3 WAR, there's no doubt he would have earned a few votes from writers this year if he had hit the way he did last year.

Right now, the Yankees are 3.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the division. If they plan to close that gap, they'll need Chisholm to play better down the stretch. He'll have to finish the season strong and then keep hitting once the playoffs roll around.

This summer, Luis Arraez was available, and the Yankees chose to keep their charismatic second baseman. At some point, he should reward their faith in him. There's no better time to start than now.

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