With the New York Yankees looking to avoid a sweep at the hands of their eternal rivals, they decided to shake up the lineup in hopes of a spark.
The most notable change involves star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.: for the first time since being acquired by the Yankees, the 28-year-old will bat from the leadoff spot in the Bronx Bombers’ lineup against the Boston Red Sox. Tonight will be Chisholm’s first appearance in the leadoff spot since July 26, 2024, his final game with the Miami Marlins before being traded to New York.
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Although Chisholm has struggled lately, hitting just .187 this month, his combination of speed, power and respectable on-base skills make him an ideal candidate at the top of a lineup. In his career as a leadoff hitter, Chisholm has a .244/.303/.428 slash line with 34 home runs, 111 runs scored and 45 stolen bases.
While the on-base percentage is far from ideal, all of these leadoff performances were with the Marlins. Chisholm’s plate discipline has improved substantially since coming to the Bronx, with a walk rate over 10% (including this season) in both of his full seasons in pinstripes.
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One of the Yankees’ noteworthy strengths over the past couple seasons is the flexibility they have in the leadoff spot. Manager Aaron Boone has tinkered with the spot constantly, with Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice all batting leadoff at various times. This approach has been successful with Grisham breaking out last year, Goldschmidt enjoying a resurgence this year and Rice emerging as a future stalwart.
However, none of these options bring the speed that Chisholm possesses. The Yankees have emerged as a good base-stealing team lately; their 134 steals last year were the eighth-most in MLB, while their 85 stolen bases this year is the third-most among all teams. Chisholm, who leads the team with 24 stolen bases in 28 attempts, can immediately put pressure on opposing teams and give the Yankees even more RISP opportunities when getting aboard.
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At the moment, the Yankees are in an offensive funk with only 19 runs scored in their last eight games. As such, they’ve lost six of those eight games, are possibly facing a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox and have been overtaken by the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.
But if Chisholm thrives tonight in the leadoff spot, the Yankees can unlock a new level for their lineup, which is consistently among the most dangerous in MLB.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
