The Yankees interior field player, Anthony Volpe, will attract the attention of fans and the media the most. With such a large microscope on him, it is easy to forget that he is not the only member of the inner field to shine. Ryan McMahon, who has never really reached his potential with the Colorado rocks, but has a ton of raw talents, showed the same levels of inconsistency he has always had.
An American League scout at the New York Post said he was in McMahon despite great hopes:
“This first week was what I expected. But I thought it could be more consistent in such a powerful range.”
McMahon’s difficulties continued against the Boston Red Sox this weekend. He was not the only member of the Yankees to fail, but when an autopsy of the series is finished, his lack of contributions will probably be noted. McMahon played in three of the four games this weekend, and in 10 appearances, he did not win a single blow. He withdrew five times, and the only time he reached the base was when he was hit by land.
McMahon’s best contact was a hard ground ball at 103.7 MPH which found the glove of the new first goal player from the Red Sox, Nathaniel Lowe. Apart from that, he had two weak ground balls which both dribbled in the glove of the infidels at 68 and 69 MPH. This raw power was dormant in this series against Boston, and it was perhaps its worst to stripes to date.
The most unhappy thing about McMahon’s slide is that he has taken hot start. In his first two series against phillies and rays, he struck .400 / .520 / .500 with a 196 WRC +. He made eight strokes and four walks in 25 appearances. Although he did not make Homer, he had two doubles.
It was the best he got for McMahon, however. Now, as Yankee, he strikes .211 / .322 / .303. He has an 83 WRC +, added two other doubles since this initial start and has a home run.
McMahon was asked about his difficulties this weekend and was frank about them.
“I am struggling and don’t lie well on the plate,” said McMahon. “I’m just going to try to compete. I don’t really care what I do, as long as we win matches.”
McMahon is a saving grace is this defense of the third elite base. He was in the middle of several double games in the fourth game against the Red Sox. During the season, its five withdrawals higher than the average are the type of work of a stellar glove that the Yankees have not had for some time. Maybe not from Josh Donaldson, but being better than Donaldson is not a high obstacle to erase.
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