New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger’s first month in pinstripes has already featured food poisoning, sensational catches, and a Torpedo bat. Unfortunately for Bellinger and the Yankees, those viral moments don’t make up for the two-time All-Star’s extremely slow start at the plate. Bellinger entered play Saturday hitting .177 with a home run, 10 RBI, and a disappointing .514 OPS in 71 plate appearances. He’s hit just .133 over his last 12 games, striking out 14 times against four walks. While it’s not necessarily time to panic, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer nonetheless called Bellinger’s early impressions a “letdown.” “[T]he bat just isn’t playing, with a particular problem being that his strikeout rate is up from 15.6 to 26.9 percent,” Rymer wrote. An increased strikeout rate and decreased power stroke are never a good sign, especially not for a slugger whose lefty bat figured to mesh well with Yankee Stadium’s short porch. Bellinger has only two extra-base hits in April, and his .211 on-base percentage remains troubling. Bellinger has historically been a strong starter, hitting .281 with 36 home runs, 106 RBI, and a .897 OPS across 152 March\/April games. This isn’t a case of someone like New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who often needs a few weeks to get going before turning into his MVP-caliber self. Luckily for Bellinger, he can personally survive a bad season. The 2019 NL MVP owns a $22.5 million player option for 2026, and he’d almost certainly opt in if he doesn’t feel he can command a significant contract in free agency.<\/p>\n
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New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger’s first month in pinstripes has already featured food poisoning, sensational catches, and a Torpedo bat. Unfortunately for Bellinger and the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n