If you told me at the end of last season that DJ LeMahieu would be having one of the best years of his career come August 2022, I probably would’ve blocked you on Twitter. LeMahieu was painfully average in 2021, and not only the statistics but also the eye test would tell you just that.

Take a look at his stats from last year:

.268 AVG, 10 HR, 57 RBI, .349 OBP, .362 SLG

.340 xwOBA, .094 ISO, 10.8 BB%, 13.8 K%, 0.78 BB/K

100 wRC+, 2.0 WAR ,-3 DRS, 0 OAA

Descrepancies

There’s a lot to unpack here to properly analyze his 2021 season. First off, his wRC+ and WAR are much lower than years past, with the wRC+ at exactly league average and the WAR ranking 20th amongst American League 2nd baseman. In fact, LeMahieu’s WAR in 2021 was 0.4 wins lower than his 2020 total, despite playing in 100 more games. He lacked power, with his 0.94 ISO being considerably lower than his insane .226 clip in the prior year. While his walk to strikeout ratio continued to be very solid, the lack of a high average and power really dragged down his numbers in 2021. Fans wondered if LeMahieu was on a downward spiral and at 34, heading towards the end of his career.

Now check out his 2022 numbers:

.288 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI, .393 OBP, .435 SLG,

.372 xwOBA, .147 ISO, 13.9 BB%, 12.2 K%, 1.13 BB/K

142 wRC+, 3.8 WAR, 8 DRS, 8 OAA

transformation

LeMahieu has completely transformed himself both offensively and defensively so far in 2022, and became one of the most important contributors on the Yankees dominant roster. His average, OBP, and SLG are all way up from last year, and have contributed to a sparkling 142 wRC+ and 3.8 WAR. His power has returned after a lackluster 2021, with an ISO up to .147 and more home runs than he hit all of last year. An astounding 1.13 walk to strikeout ratio puts him in elite company, as only 7 other players in the game have a BB/K ratio higher than one. However, arguably the biggest change to DJ’s game from 2021 has been the defense. After spending most of his time at 2nd base last year, LeMahieu has turned into more of a 3rd baseman, yet still logging more than 180 innings at 1st and 220 innings at 2nd. This defensive switch has greatly improved his defense, and he has logged an impressive 8 DRS and 8 OAA at the three positions this year.

LeMahieu has turned his career around, and helped the mighty Yankees to the 2nd best record in baseball. “The Machine” has been one of the best defenders in the game, with a high above average offense and a reinvented power stroke. And as much as it pains me to say as a Red Sox fan, LeMahieu is not going away, and will continue to perform at a high level for years to come.