Jake Bauers’ bat is here to stay

At a time when the Yankees’ offense has fallen off a cliff, Jake Bauers’ steadily above-average bat has entrenched him in the leadoff spot for the time being. When Billy McKinney cooled off, the Aaron Judge-less outfield was inept at the plate along with most everyone else. And while Harrison Bader is a perfectly average bat, he lacks the thump of an authoritative outfield bat.

However, with Judge out, Bauers kept hitting at a solid clip as other outfield options like McKinney and the since-demoted Oswaldo Cabrera struggled. Peripherally, his positive trends are sustainably backed up by his metrics. His average exit velocity is up to 90.9 mph, the best mark of his career. His 90.6-mph mark…