NEW YORK — Before the 2026 season began, Jazz Chisholm Jr. set a target that turned heads across baseball. The Yankees’ All-Star second baseman declared he would chase a 50-50 season, joining the elite company of players who have hit 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in the same year.
Nine games into the Yankees’ season, the power half of that promise is nowhere to be found.
Jazz Chisholm has yet to hit his first home run of the season. He is batting .194 with a 49 wRC+, a figure that places his production well below the league average mark of 100. He has four stolen bases, which shows the speed remains intact. But without the home run bat, the 50-50 chase cannot get off the ground.
A slow start raises questions about the big promise
Chisholm, who slugged 31 home runs and stole 31 bases in 2025 for the Yankees, arrived this spring with legitimate reasons for optimism. He had just turned 28 years old, was entering his second full season in pinstripes, and had shown the ability to make the leap into elite territory.
But nine games represent nearly 6 percent of the 162-game schedule. At this pace, the math on 50-50 is already steep. To reach 50 home runs, Chisholm would need to average roughly one every three games from this point forward.
His at-bat totals tell the story. Through Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the Miami Marlins, Chisholm was 7-for-36 on the season with three RBI. His walk rate stood at just 2.6 percent. His strikeout rate was 31.6 percent. Neither figure points toward the kind of plate discipline that historically fuels big power numbers.
The gaffe on the basepaths adds another layer of scrutiny
Chisholm’s bat has not been his only talking point this week. On Saturday against the Marlins, he laid back on a routine ground ball at second base, allowing Miami’s Otto Lopez to reach on an infield single. Lopez eventually scored, briefly threatening the outcome before the Yankees escaped with a win.
Manager Aaron Boone addressed the mental mistake with Chisholm after the game. Asked about it Sunday, Chisholm did not shy away.
“We all know how I play baseball,” Chisholm said. “The guy caught me with my head down. He did a good play. I do it to other teams all the time. Someone caught me. It’s no big deal to me. If I was him, I would do it, too.”
Boone’s response was measured but direct. He said Chisholm was fundamentally sound on the play but needed to be more aware of the runner getting down the line.
“He laid back on the ball,” Boone said. “Fundamentally, he was fine with it. He’s just got to be a little more aware of the guy getting down the line. It’s a play we’ve got to make.”
Chisholm backed up his words Sunday with a two-run double in the ninth inning off Anthony Bender, a ball that left his bat at 106 mph. It was not enough to flip the result. But it was the kind of exit velocity that hints the raw power is still there, waiting to emerge.
“I feel like that could help a lot,” Chisholm said of the ninth-inning knock. “Right now, we’re just working day-to-day, getting better every at-bat, and hoping to get hot soon.”
Yankees’ bottom of the order last in baseball
Chisholm’s slow start is one piece of a wider problem for the Yankees. Through nine games, the No. 6 through No. 9 spots in New York’s batting order have combined for a .143 average and a .404 OPS, both of which rank last in the majors.
The Yankees are the only team in baseball that has not received a single home run from those lineup positions this season. Strip Chisholm out of the equation and the damage deepens further: the No. 7 through No. 9 spots are a combined 11-for-90 (.122) with a .360 OPS.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon has been particularly rough. He entered Monday batting .087 with a 31 wRC+, a strikeout rate of 37.9 percent and minus-0.2 fWAR. An 0-for-20 stretch finally ended with a single Sunday, but McMahon still looks far from the reliable presence the Yankees hoped to get from his offseason addition.
Shortstop Jose Caballero, starting in place of the injured Anthony Volpe, carries a 5 wRC+ and has struck out 10 times through 31 at-bats. Catcher Austin Wells is hitting .167 with a 34 wRC+. Together, the group has put significant strain on the top of the order to carry the offense.
Boone acknowledged the problem after Sunday’s loss but did not sound alarmed.
“We need to get some more production there,” Boone said. “And we will.”
He struck a similar tone on McMahon, pointing to the third baseman’s tendency to be overly cautious at the plate.
“Not wanting to chase or not wanting to make a bad decision, which is great, but you’ve also got to go out there and let it rip a little bit,” Boone said. “That’s the early season where you’re scuffling a little bit, you’re a little bit in between, so just want him to get out there and, ‘Let’s get after it.’ Because he is really talented. He’s got pop. He does know the strike zone.”
Stats from a year ago offer some reassurance
The 2025 Yankees posted a .224 average from their No. 7 through No. 9 hitters. That ranked 25th in the majors in average, but those same spots combined for 67 home runs, tied for the MLB lead, and a .687 OPS that ranked eighth. The Yankees’ pop was there when it counted.
This year’s Yankees are still averaging 5.2 runs per game, matching last season’s pace. The offense ranks 13th in home runs with nine and 11th in OPS at .705 through nine games. Both figures are expected to climb.
Volpe is expected to begin a rehab assignment in mid-April. His return could stabilize the Yankees’ shortstop position and give Caballero a rest. For Chisholm, the talent has never been in question. The 50-50 clock, however, does not wait for a player to get comfortable.
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