"Once he gets it going, hop on" - Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes Giancarlo Stanton is close to breakout amid early season struggles
It has not been the start of the year that Giancarlo Stanton has been hoping for. The New York Yankees slugger entered the 2024 season with the hopes of returning somewhere close to his MVP-winning year with the Miami Marlins, however, this has not been the case.
"Giancarlo Stanton has struck out in 13 of his first 22 at bats to start the season..." - @TalkinYanks
Although the New York Yankees now own an impressive 6-2 record, Giancarlo Stanton has played a minor role in that early success. Through 24 at-bats this season, the former NL MVP has recorded only three hits, one of which was a home run.
One of the major concerns for Stanton and the New York Yankees right now is the slugger's strikeouts. In his 24 at-bats, Stanton has already racked up 13 strikeouts, which are cause for concern given his 124 strikeouts in 101 games last season.
His manager Aaron Boone, however, still has faith in the powerful outfielder. Following Friday's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, boone addressed several questions from the media, including Stanton's well-documented struggles.
"Aaron Boone explains why he think Giancarlo Stanton is going to start seeing good results. "He can be streaky like that. Once he gets it going, hop on." - @TalkinYanks
"He can be streaky like that. Once he gets it going, hop on," - Aaron Boone said. The veteran manager knows that it is much too early in the season to panic over Stanton's disappointing slump, yet he is certainly aware of the streaks. This is not something that Boone is fretting over as he believes that Stanton had some quality at-bats and could be on the verge of a breakout.
Stanton is coming off the worst season of his career which saw him limited to only 101 games. In 2023, the former Marlins MVP posted a disappointing .191 batting average with 24 home runs and 60 RBIs. These struggles contributed to the New York Yankees missing the playoffs altogether.
Giancarlo Stanton's well-documented offseason weight loss has not helped him at the plate
Coming into Spring Training, much of the talk around New York Yankees camp was about the much-slimmer physique of the veteran slugger. The All-Star reportedly lost somewhere between 15-20 pounds this offseason in the hopes of remaining healthy and flexible.
It's clear that the changes Stanton made this body have not helped him early on in the season. That being said, there is a chance that he could still be adjusting to his new body and build.