Mike Yastrzemski

Note: This page is for major league outfielder Mike Yastrzemski; for his father, click here.

Michael Andrew Yastrzemski

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School Vanderbilt University
• High School St. John's Preparatory School (Danvers)
• Debut May 25, 2019

• Born August 23, 1990 in Andover, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski is the son of Mike Yastrzemski and the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Tragically, his father passed away when he was only 14, from complications from an operation, so he was especially close to his grandfather growing up.

He was drafted out of high school by his hometown Boston Red Sox in the 36th round of the 2009 amateur draft. While attending Vanderbilt University, he was drafted twice more, as a junior in 2012 by the Seattle Mariners in the 30th round, and as a senior in 2013 in the 14th round by the Baltimore Orioles. The highlight of his college career was reaching the semifinals of the 2011 College World Series, the first time Vanderbilt had ever qualified for the tournament.

He began his pro career in 2013 with the Aberdeen Iron Birds of the New York-Penn League, where he hit .273/.362/.420 in 57 games. In 2014, he played 129 games spread among three different teams: the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Frederick Keys and the Bowie BaySox, making it to AA for 43 games. Overall, his batting line was .288/.346/.490 with 34 doubles, 16 triples and 14 homers and he seemed in line to reach the majors relatively quickly. However, he had an off-year at Bowie in 2015, hitting .246 with just 6 homers in 128 games. In 2016, he started off at Bowie and made it to AAA for the first time with the Norfolk Tides of the International League, but it was again a disappointing season as in 127 games, he fell to .234, although he did hit 26 doubles and 13 homers.

Mike again split his time between Bowie and Norfolk in 2017, and in 101 games improved to .274/.349/.483 with 21 doubles and 15 homers combined with 60 RBIs. Back on track although now 27 already, he was with the same two teams for the third straight year in 2018, but was not as productive, with a line of .250/.339/.414 in 121 games. With the major league Orioles having the worst season in their history, he would likely have received at least a look in the Show had he put up just the previous year's numbers. Still, he did receive an invitation to major league spring training in 2019, his first opportunity to show his mettle against major leaguers, even if it was short stay. He managed a two-out 9h inning homer off Ryne Stanek of the Tampa Bay Rays in a Grapefruit League game on March 6th. On March 23rd, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in return for Tyler Herb and was assigned to the AAA Sacramento River Cats. In his first 40 games there, he hit .316 with 12 homers and 25 RBIs, prompting the Giants to give him his long awaited chance to play in the Show.

On May 25, 2019, Mike started in left field for the Giants in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and went 0 for 3 with a run scored in a 10-4 loss. It had taken him 703 games and over 2,600 at-bats to get his chance. He began to play regularly after that, coinciding with the Giants turning things around to surprisingly make it back to .500 on July 19th after having been as many as 12 games below the mark. On July 21t, he hit his 9th homer of the season with one out in the bottom of the 12th off Robert Gsellman of the New York Mets for a 3-2 win. It was his first walk-off homer in the majors. On August 16th, he had his first three-homer game at any level in a 10-9 win by the Giants over the Diamondbacks. His three blasts were part of 12 hit in the game by both teams, one shy of the major league mark, and only the second time that many had been hit. He connected in the 3rd, 7th and 11th innings, the last of these proving the winning margin in the win. It was his 70th major league game; his grandfather had had only one such game in his illustrious career of over 3,300 games. On September 17th, he played his first ever game at Fenway Park, his grandfather' home park for 23 seasons, and he marked the occasion with a homer. He finished the season at .272 with 21 homers and 55 RBIs in 107 games.

He started the delayed 2020 season on fire, as after 10 games on August 7th, he was hitting .343/.500/.657, with 10 runs scored and 11 RBIs. That gave him the highest WAR by a position player at that early point. He couldn't keep that up, but his final numbers were excellent, as he hit .297 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, also scoring 39 runs. His OPS+ was 165, up from an already very good 122 in his excellent rookie season, and he led the National League with 4 triples. He finished 6th in the league in overall WAR and 7th in offensive WAR, 10th in OBP at .400, 8th in OPS and 9th in doubles with 14, as he contributed every which way. He was a major reason why the Giants almost qualified for the postseason, finishing with an identical record as the Milwaukee Brewers but losing out for the final postseason slot on a tiebreaker. He was again a top contributor in 2021 as the Giants took a surprising lead in the NL West early in the season. While his batting average was down, he was still hitting with plenty of extra-base power and maintaining an OPS+ well over 100. On June 15th, he gave the Giants a spectacular win when he hit a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning against Humberto Castellanos of the Arizona Diamondbacks, turning an 8-5 deficit into a 9-5 win. It was incidentally the D-Backs' 21st consecutive road loss, just two shy of the all-time mark. While he eventually ended up at .224 in 139 games, with 25 homers and 71 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 105, the Giants did manage to stay in first place all season, finishing just ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in an epic division race. In the Division Series against these same Dodgers, he was shut out completely, going 0 for 13 with 4 strikeouts as the Giants were eliminated.

The first half of the 2022 season was less spectacular as the Giants were hanging just above .500 while the Dodgers and revived San Diego Padres were dominating the division. On July 15th, he had a great game, however, as he hit a game-ending grand slam off closer Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers, for an 8-5 win. The Giants hit three homers in the 9th inning, with Joey Bart starting off the frame with a long ball, and Darin Ruf connecting as well after one out to make it 5-4 in Milwaukee's favor. Hader then loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a hit batsman before Mike sent everyone home. He ended the year at .214 in 148 games, with 17 homers and 57 RBIs. Hos OPS+ of 97 that year was the lowest of his career. He bounced back in 2023 to hit .233 in 106 games, with 15 homers and 43 RBIs and and OPS+ of 114. He was again a regular in the Giants' outfield in 2024 and was by then starting to put together a remarkable career, as very few position players who make it to the majors at age 28 or later, like he did, ever put together a significant career as a major league regular. However, in his case, it was his fifth season of playing in over 100 games, and he would have easily made it six in a row were it not for the pandemic in 2020, as he had appeared in 54 of the 60 games the Giants did play that season.

Notable Achievements

• NL Triples Leader (2020)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (2019 & 2021)

Further Reading

• David Adler: "Yaz is the legacy you should be watching", mlb.com, February 26, 2020. [1]
• Joe Trezza: "Yaz's leadoff HR feat a reminder that he's right where he's supposed to be", mlb.com, September 18, 2024. [2]

Related Sites

• Mike Yastrzemski on mlb.com
• BR Minors page