Yankees of New York 1B The 34-year-old veteran Anthony Rizzo is having a disappointing season and is still struggling.
The Yankees’ collective dominance has made the first baseman’s troubles relatively invisible this season. But his poor play of late has turned into an issue that the squad could have to deal with shortly.
Right now, Anthony Rizzo is experiencing a terrible slump at the plate.
Right now, Rizzo is suffering from a 7 for 57 slump that is good for a.123 batting average, two RBIs, zero home runs, and a pitiful.335 OPS. He last hit a home run on May 10th against the Tampa Bay Rays, which was about a month ago.
With a.228 batting average, seven home runs, 25 RBIs, a.633 OPS, and a dismal 85 WRC+ so far this season, Rizzo is rapidly becoming an enormous hole in the Yankees lineup. Rizzo has -0.1 fWAR as of Friday’s play, which was the 12th-worst total in all of Major League Baseball.
Even more repulsive is the picture painted by Yankees 1B advanced stats.
A closer look at Rizzo’s advanced analytics reveals exactly how bad of a season this first baseman has had. Now, the 34-year-old’s once-productive bat has significantly slowed down. Baseball Savant ranks Rizzo low in a number of offensive categories, such as:
xWOBA: .291 (20th percentile)
xBA: .237 (28th percentile)
xSLG: .351 (20th percentile)
Avg. Exit Velocity: 86.4 MPH (14th percentile)
Bat Speed: 68.3 (8th percentile)
Barrel %: 4.7% (19th percentile)
Hard-Hit%: 32.5% (15th percentile)
Furthermore, Rizzo has had virtually no plate discipline, with a Chase% of 36% (11th percentile) and a BB% of only 5.8% (20th percentile). In 2024, Rizzo has been among Major League Baseball’s least productive offensive players, according to statistics.
The formerly reliable defensive first baseman has now retreated.
The four-time Gold Glove winner Rizzo has also retreated defensively in 2024. He’s only managed zero Outs Above Average (OAA) this season, far less than his 2023 total of six OAA, and 0 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), also far less than his 2023 total of three DRS.
Rizzo’s difficulties date back to the previous season.
The difficulties faced by the three-time All-Star extend beyond this week, this month, or even this season. Instead, Rizzo’s extended slump dates back to the latter part of May in the previous campaign.
In an unusual collision at first base on May 28, 2023, between Rizzo and Padres OF Fernando Tatis Jr., the right hip of Tatis Jr. appeared to make contact with Rizzo’s head and neck region. The game was against the San Diego Padres. Due to a neck injury, Rizzo would miss the Yankees’ next several games. He would make a comeback on June 2, 2023.
After that day, Rizzo has had 450 plate appearances and has only managed to hit.207/.284/.299 with a porous slash line, 34 RBIs, 13 doubles, and 70 WRC+. Out of 176 players who have played at least 450 plate appearances over that time, Rizzo is ranked 171st in fWAR (-1.0), 170th in WRC+, and 174th in RBIs. The timing raises the question of whether Rizzo’s abrupt drop in output is related to the accident or is just the product of an experienced player nearing the end of his career.
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