By the beginning of September, the New York Yankees were well on their way to the post-regular season playoffs. They were 79 wins, 57 losses with 26 games to play. The main question seemed to be surrounding the issue of whether they would win the divison or go through by wildcard qualification.

Amongst the regular players, Gleyber Torres was leading the way, by the end of the month, but their were real issues about how much he could be a team player as well as a strong individual performer. Trent Grisham was much improved in the little time he was given at the plate, and of course, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto continued to be masterful.

Of course, as we all know the Yankees easily steered their way to the playoffs and even took a bye through the first round.

But who were the players who excelled and who were those who didn’t:

Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Duke Ellis of	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
DJ LeMahieu if	1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.333	.666
Gleyber Torres 2b	25	108	20	36	6	0	3	13	10	21	0	.333	.387	.472	.859
Trent Grisham of	6	14	2	4	0	0	2	7	0	6	0	.286	.286	.714	1.000
Oswaldo Cabrera 3b, 1b	13	25	7	7	2	0	0	1	3	8	0	.280	.357	.360	.717
Aaron Judge of	24	83	17	23	5	0	7	21	22	29	3	.277	.429	.590	1.019
Jon Berti 3b	8	11	4	3	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	,273	.429	,273	.702
Juan Soto rf	25	86	19	23	4	0	4	13	20	23	2	.267	.417	,453	.870
Anthony Rizzo 1b	22	73	6	18	5	0	0	7	8	17	0	.247	.345	.315	.660
Alex Verdugo of	19	64	8	15	0	0	2	7	4	8	1	,234	.279	.328	.607
Jazz Chisholm Jr 3b	24	90	11	21	4	0	2	9	9	21	12	.233	.300	.344	.644
Giancarlo Stanton DH	21	72	7	14	5	0	4	12	11	30	0	.194	.298	.431	.729
Jasson Dominguez of	17	52	8	10	1	0	2	4	11	16	5	.192	.333	.327	.660
Anthony Volpe ss	25	85	9	15	0	0	1	9	5	26	3	.176	.220	.212	.432
Jose Trevino c	8	27	3	3	0	0	0	1	3	7	0	.111	.200	.111	.311
Austin Wells c	21	72	5	8	3	0	1	13	8	20	0	.111	.217	.194	.411
Ben Rice 1b	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS

Catchers

If there was an award for the group of players on a particular club who shared the same role and position and who were strongest defensively and collectively weakest at the plate, then the Yankees’ catchers might well take that award. Jose Trevino, Austin Wells, and the guy who might well be waiting in the wings for next season, Ben Rice, were collectively dreadful with the bat in their hands. Wells, once more, took the lion’s share of the at bats. In 72 at bats, across 21 games, he managed only 8 hits. It came to the point that when opponents saw Wells approaching the plate with runners on base, they must have breathed a collective sigh of relief. His slugging percentage was a mere .194 and his batting average a slender .111. Trevino also hit .111 and his slugging percentage was worse than Wells’. To be fair to Rice, he didn’t actually play at catcher in his one appearance, being also capable of manning firstbase. But in his one game there, he was all at sea going 0 for 3.

Infielders

As previously mentioned, Gleyber Torres had a great month. The move to leadoff hitter really prospered his game. Across 25 games, he hit .333 with 6 doubles and three homers. His performance at the plate was immaculate, but the questions about his desire to work for the team lingered – running to first base, chasing down ground balls – remained. His intent on boosting his own stats was obvious, his desire to serve the team with vigour not so much.

Anthony Rizzo suffered yet another brutal physical injury which ended hjis month prematurely and also his season. It must be noted though that prior to that injury, his batting average had continued to decline, and he was hitting with little power (only 5 extra base hits, all doubles).

At shortstop, the Yankees remained committed to Anthony Volpe, but his ability at the plate was on a significant wane. In September, he managed only 15 hits in 85 at bats, and contributed only one extra base hit.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. remains a signing that the Yankees can be proud of, and given the factors that we have mentioned about Torres, it is reasonable to expect he will be the everyday second baseman next season, with the Yankees not pursuing Torres into free agency. Having said that, Chisholm did not have his finext month in September. He hit .233 with six extra base hits (4 doubles, 2 homers).

The Yankees were able to call on a selection of bit players in September. DJ LeMahieu was able to return for one appearance. He hit safely once in 3 at-bats. That single met that if he could remain fit, he might have a meaningful role to play in the playoffs. Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti were bench players, who were looking good. Berti looked fast on the basepaths, and both guys are capable of hitting for average (Cabrera – ,280, Berti – .273)

Outfielders

Aaron Judge remains the titan of the Yankees’ offensive line-up. This month, he contributed 12 extra base hits, with a team leading RBI number of 21. Juan Soto was not far behind him in most categories and if the Yankees were going to prosper in the post-season, it would depend largely on these two continuing to contribute at this level.

Sadly, it is not obvious who will add additional power from the third outfield position. Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham are great defensively, but Verdugo has little to give offensively and he joins Torres on the shortlist of those whose attitude (on field and off field in Verdugo’s case) is questionable. Grisham had a better month (.286, 2 home runs), but his earlier struggles meant that he was given less time at the plate.

Jasson Dominguez hit only .192 and he has so many kinks to work out in his defensive work, it is had to see that he will be used much in the playoffs.

Duke Ellis was an interesting addition when the rosters expanded, and he might see some time as a pinch runner in the playoffs.

Designated Hitter

Giancarlo Stanton remains the only specialist designated hitter on the team. This is because of a mix of positive powers and negative limitations. In September, he was second only to Judge in power hitting, but he is feeble on the basepaths, and is extraordinarily prone to injuries. His batting average this month was only .194. If it wasn’t for his extra base hits, hs other foibles would mean that there would be no room for him on this roster.