FanGraphs’ present Depth Chart projections for subsequent season have the Yankees outfield combining for 12.3 Wins Above Alternative in 2026, essentially the most helpful of any staff forward of the Padres (11.6), Braves (10.5), Mariners (10.1) and Cubs (9.5).
That is largely as a result of Aaron Choose, after all, who you may pencil in for an additional MVP-caliber season. Nevertheless it’s additionally due to Trent Grisham.
What’s attention-grabbing is how a lot of a distinct participant Grisham is than when he arrived in New York two years in the past. When the Yankees received Grisham within the Juan Soto commerce, he profiled as an elite defensive outfielder who may possibly slug a well timed house run for you. Now, as he enters his third season with New York after accepting the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying supply for 2026, Grisham is a top-tier slugging outfielder who can possibly play just a little protection.
Grisham’s newfound house run energy, not his former Gold Glove protection, is what’s powering his over fourfold improve in wage from 2025 to 2026. His career-high 34 house runs final season ranked seventh amongst all outfielders, behind solely Choose (53), Soto (43), Jo Adell (37), Riley Greene (36), Taylor Ward (36) and Byron Buxton (35).
For the primary time, the overwhelming majority of Grisham’s worth got here from his bat and never his glove. And Grisham is in place to maintain slugging homers in 2026, as a result of he is remodeled his hitting profile to maximise his energy.
See, Grisham has all the time been a fly ball hitter. However he wasn’t all the time the identical kind of fly ball hitter that he is change into. Now he is rather more of a pulled fly ball hitter. And pulled fly balls go over the fence quite a bit simpler, particularly for a lefty enjoying at Yankee Stadium.
Grisham was one in all seven left-handed hitters with at the least 25 pulled house runs final season. The Yankees had three of these hitters — Grisham, Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Most pulled HR, LHH, 2025
This was the primary time Grisham actually tapped into that ability set. He’d by no means had greater than 12 pulled house runs in a season earlier than 2025.
In his profession, Grisham has hit near 60% of his batted balls within the air, which is quite a bit, and he tends to hover round that quantity most seasons. That is why he was all the time capable of at the least pop double-digit homers as a Padre. However over time, he is been capable of change the route of these batted balls.
Grisham pulls the ball extra yearly. And he pulls the ball within the air extra yearly.
Grisham’s pull fee, final 5 seasons
Grisham’s pulled airball fee, final 5 seasons
Grisham now pulls practically half of all of the balls he hits, and practically one in 4 balls he hits is each pulled and within the air, which is the best recipe for house runs.
The rise in his total pull fee is being pushed fully by extra balls pulled within the air, too. He isn’t pulling any extra floor balls than he used to, which might simply be outs. His further pulled contact is the entire extra damaging selection.
5 years in the past, Grisham was within the backside half of Main League hitters when it got here to pulling the ball within the air. Now, he is inside the highest quarter.
Should you have a look at Grisham’s spray charts from season to season, you may see the shift in the place his injury is coming.
First, there’s the broader shift of Grisham’s hits from the opposite-field facet to the pull facet. Second, there’s the shift of his hits deeper to proper discipline, as he is tapped into his pull-side house run energy with the Yankees.
Grisham would not should be Choose, an elite all-fields energy hitter with the dimensions, energy and uncooked bat velocity to crush house runs to each a part of the stadium. He has the affected person strategy to select the balls he can drive within the air to proper discipline and get his house runs that method.
So long as he retains doing that, Grisham will likely be in for an additional sturdy slugging season for the Yankees in 2026. And which means the Bronx Bombers’ highly effective outfield — which led the Majors with 112 house runs final season — may nicely be in for a repeat.
