Yankees Power Surge Proves the Lineup was Never the Issue

The New York Yankees are back to doing what they do best, which is hitting the long ball.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts towards the dugout from second base after hitting a double against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Things were looking dicey for the New York Yankees after that series with the Athletics. They lost to a team that hasn't been good for quite some time, and on top of that, finished the series with a 1-0 loss. There was cause for concern with the lineup at that point.

Coming out of that series, the Yankees had just 11 home runs as a team. They were well behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had 21.

New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) reacts after striking out against the Athletics during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. | John Jones-Imagn Images

As a team, the Yankees also posted a cumulative slash line of .207/.318/.343 with an 89 wRC+. It felt like the idea of running it back could be backfiring on Brian Cashman. That they may not have done enough in the winter. The word "complacency" had not yet been thrown around for the Yankees' construction, but those comments would be brewing if the trend kept up.

A few weeks later, coming off a night on which Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are showing that they're currently the best tandem in the sport, things feel right again for the Yankees. At least, as far as the offense is concerned. For one, they took the league lead in homers, passing the Dodgers.

Back to being the Bronx Bombers

The Yankees have 46 homers on the year as a team. They are one of three teams to hit 40 homers this season, along with the Atlanta Braves and, of course, the Dodgers. Los Angeles has 45, and Atlanta has 40.

Collectively, the Yankees now have a team slash line of .234/.333/.435 with a 114 wRC+. Since losing that series to the Athletics, they have hit .257/.349/.507 with a 135 wRC+. They also have 34 homers, and the only team that has come close to them in this time frame is the Chicago Cubs (26).

Jazz is back

One of the big reasons for this is contributions from players who had been ice cold to that point in the year. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is looking more like the player he was in 2025, and while he may not get close to that 50/50 mark, if he does what he did last year, the Yankees would take that in a heartbeat.

Something about Fenway Park and that struggling Red Sox team must have woken Chisholm up, because, since that series began, he is hitting .357/.400/.679 with a 197 wRC+. He has three home runs and added to his home run total when he took Jack Leiter deep in the Yanks' first game against the Rangers.

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Of course, New York fans are a tough crowd. If the Yankees hit the way they did last year, but then fall short in the postseason, the complaint about running it back will rear its ugly head again. Unless the Yankees finally win a World Series, criticisms like that won't go away.