The New York Yankees are playing to keep their season alive on Wednesday, and Trent Grisham is leading off.
Grisham has been a mess at the plate this season, and having him in the leadoff spot in the most important game of the year is a gamble.
“Just the potential of the on-base there and trying to get some traffic created for (Ben Rice), (Luis Garcia Jr.) and (Cody Bellinger)," manager Aaron Boone explained to reporters when asked why Grisham was leading off, per The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. "When Trent is at his best, he’s got that ability to get on.”
Boone is not wrong in saying Grisham can get on base at a high clip when he's going well, but right now he is not doing that. He's 2-for-10 in the postseason and hitless in the American League DIvision Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Overall, Grisham has the seventh-best OBP on the team among regular starters. This season, his on-base percentage is actually worse against right-handed pitching than left-handed pitching.
In 80 games in the regular season, Grisham has a .199/.303/.378 slash line in the leadoff spot. He also has 13 of his 18 home runs. He has the ability to get a ball over the fence, but as far as getting on base for the Yankees' best hitters, he does not really fit the criteria.
The reality of the situation is that the Yankees' offense cannot look worse than it has in the first two games. Boone is playing on a hunch and hoping it can pay off. So far, all that's worked against the Rays is Rice hitting the long ball. If he can have someone on first base when that happens, the Yankees would get a huge boost.
If Grisham walks ahead of a Rice home run in Game 3, Boone will look like a genius. If Grisham ends the game without getting on base and leaving multiple runners stranded, everyone will say Rice should have been leading off.
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