The New York Yankees recently got Giancarlo Stanton back from the injured list. However, he is not playing at his best right now, and his manager spoke about some concerning strikeouts.
On Monday night, Stanton went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts and left three runners in scoring position. Stanton is still hitting .304, but has not hit a home run yet and has struck out nine times in seven games. His 36 percent strikeout rate is well above his career average of 28.5 percent. Aaron Boone spoke on Stanton's strikeout numbers and failure to hit balls in the air, according to NJ.com's Randy Miller.
"I feel like he’s on time for things," Boone said per Miller. "He’s tracking the ball. He hit two bullets (on Sunday). There’s going to be swing and miss in G’s game. That’s part of it.
"I actually feel like he’s a pretty good place right now wanting to get some balls elevated."
Stanton is the active home run leader with 429 career homers. He has hit to add to that number this season, but his skipper thinks he is in a good spot. The Yankees' offense has struggled as of late, and Stanton getting his bat going would be a huge step in the right direction.
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Stanton was a key player in the Yankees' World Series run last year. He hit seven postseason home runs. The Yankees are not in a position to worry about Stanton yet. However, he is expected to be a run producer in the lineup, and if he continues to struggle with runners in scoring position and putting balls in play, Boone may have to start looking at things differently.
"Some of his best shots have been low liners or balls on the ground," Boone said per Miller. "I think the next step is getting some balls a little bit more airborne."
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