The Yankees appear to be ready to part ways with second baseman Gleyber Torres after the longtime Yankee hit free agency after their World Series loss. The absence will be felt the most at the leadoff position where Torres seemed to find his bat. That leaves the leadoff role in the 2025 lineup unknown. Here are some directions Aaron Boone could go for next season, going from most favorable to least favorable.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.
If we’re going purely off on base percentage, Jazz Chisholm isn’t statistically the best option but he should at least be given the go at the leadoff role to start the season. In his five year career, Chisholm’s recorded a .311 on base percentage, and has recorded 99 stolen bases. Giving him the leadoff role gives him more at bats to potentially get on base to manufacture runs on the basepaths.
According to statmuse, Chisholm’s hit leadoff in 192 games, almost half of his career games played. His play style is tailor made for the leadoff role, however strikeouts can be an issue, and if that’s too much of a concern Aaron Boone may go in another direction.Â
- Aaron Judge
This is a rather unlikely option but it wouldn’t be the worst thing to try. Judge in his nine year career has a career on base percentage of .406, and sat in the 100th percentile in 2024 for walk rate, walking at an 18.9% clip. For the amount he walks and the amount of power he hits for, Judge would be the most feared leadoff hitter in baseball.
There is validity to argue that taking potential RBI away from Judge would be a bad thing, but he could potentially create more runs by getting on base at the rate he does. While again this most likely won’t happen, there is definitely an argument to be made that it would be a favorable direction to go in.
- Jasson Dominguez
2025 should be a big season for Jasson Dominguez. The Yankees current top prospect could very well be given this role as Aaron Boone should look to utilize him way more with no Alex Verdugo. Dominguez has a play style suited for the leadoff role as well. He has an above average run grade, with higher power upside while being a switch hitter. He has a career .310 on base percentage, and could very well be the option next season.
While only 21-years old, Dominguez should take a step forward next season, and giving him more at bats can help his development massively.
- Anthony Volpe
This should be a direction Boone goes towards if all else fails. Volpe was not a very viable option at the leadoff spot last season. In his short career so far, Volpe has a career on base percentage of .288. Not only does he have a lower career on base percentage compared to these other options, but he walked at a 6.1% clip in 2024, sitting well below average in the 20th percentile among all qualified hitters.
His strikeout and chase rate are also below average, and with his previous history at leadoff it may not be in his favor to put him there for his development. There’s simply better options than to settle for Volpe in this spot.
- Caleb Durbin
This option has been gaining some buzz around social media since Durbin has made quite the name for himself in this year’s Arizona Fall League. In 22 games in the Arizona Fall League with the 2024 Salt River Rafters, Durbin has hit for a slashline of .301/.425/.518 with a .943 OPS. He put up great production all season long in AAA Scranton, hitting .287 and getting on base at a .396 clip in 82 games.
While Durbin hasn’t broken the big league club yet, the 24-year old has clearly made massive strides in his development. Against some of the leagues best prospects, Durbin has looked great and as a guy who stole 29 bases in those 82 AAA games, he could be a solid experimental option again if all else fails. Regardless, Durbin looks like he can contribute to this Yankees roster at the major league level.
The most favorable decision here is to go with Jazz Chisholm or Jasson Dominguez. Jazz has the slight edge for what he’s already shown he can do when it comes to manufacturing runs for this Yankees lineup. Dominguez may not be ready for such a big role, and to start the season may need to be lower in the order. Only time will tell until Spring Training when we start to see these lineups get constructed.