Shortly after the Yankees wasted numerous opportunities in a 6-4 loss to the Rays on Sunday, Aaron Boone said “certain guys” in his lineup have been “pressing a little bit.”
It’s easy to understand why Alex Verdugo has been one of them. The left fielder entered the game with a .578 OPS since May 8 before going 0-for-4 with a strikeout on a low strike three call.
“Everybody presses man, come on,” Verdugo said. “When you’re struggling, you want to get out of it. You want to compete. You want to do something good.
“I think my version of pressing is just trying. I’m trying hard and I want to make something happen. I want to help the team. I want to help the guys. I want to get something going. So in that sense, yeah, I have been pressing a little bit.”
However, Verdugo went on to say that he thinks he’s been controlling at-bats better lately. He likes to work counts, but he’s felt “anxious” to put the first pitch in play throughout his extended slump.
Verdugo saw 15 pitches over four plate appearances on Sunday. That included six pitches on the strikeout, which Boone protested and got ejected for.
“It’s just getting back to trusting my eyes, trusting my body, trusting my moves, and we’ll be right where we need to be,” Verdugo said.
Verdugo also hit a 102.7-mph lineout to end the first inning with the bases loaded before adding two groundouts.
While the well-struck liner was an encouraging sign, ground balls, especially to the pull side, have been a problem for the lefty-swinging Verdugo. He entered Sunday’s game with a 49.8% ground ball rate and a 39.8% pull rate.
“We’re not trying to hit ground balls to the pull side,” Verdugo said, adding that he’s the “best version of [himself] when he uses the opposite field.
But Verdugo, recently yanked from the cleanup spot, actually has the highest opposite field percentage of his career this season.
“I’ve spoken with him a handful times,” Boone said before Sunday’s loss. “Concern in the sense that it’s been a stretch now where he’s on the ground a good bit. I think there’s really good out in front of him still. Like nothing’s changed. We’re talking about a guy that’s in the physical prime of his career, that’s been a really good hitter. So you believe that’s going to show up.”
For the record, Verdugo has been slightly better than a league-average hitter, posting a 102 wRC+ for his career. He has a mark of 85 this season to go along with a .228 average and a .651 OPS.
As Verdugo starts to feel better at the plate, he’s hoping that some mechanical changes will produce actual results.
He said that “bad habits,” such as his front shoulder and hip “flying out,” has led to his “pull-happy” tendencies. He’s working to fix those issues.
“We’re trying not to fly open right now,” Verdugo said. “We’re trying to stay in it a little bit longer, get into my back hip. Also kind of hit against the front leg a little bit. Kind of feel like I’m landing a little bit more open than normal and my hands are kind of casting out in that way. So we’re kind of just cleaning up a little bit of everything in a sense.
“But with that same thing being said, we’re very close. We really are. I’m hitting the ball better. I’m making better contact. Yeah, there’s a couple rollovers in between that they’re not the best to look at, but we’re trusting the process and it’s gonna come.”