When the Yankees traded for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the book on him was well-established: elite utility defense, slaps singles at a fairly high rate, but not much else. 2022 brought constant chatter about replacing him as the starting shortstop, which happened when Anthony Volpe debuted in the 2023 opener.
Upon losing his everyday spot to Volpe, Kiner-Falefa didn’t sulk — instead, he worked. He finally found the right combination of tweaks and, starting in May, he’s looked like a different hitter with power he hadn’t shown until now. Over the past month in particular, IKF has enjoyed the best offensive performance in his Yankees career.