The impact of Michael King’s inclusion in the starting lineup might be considerable.

In Carlos Rodon, we have seen flashes of the former All-Star.

It’s possible that Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera are making names for themselves in the major leagues.

However, a 35-year-old infielder may have the most promising second-half improvement for the Yankees.

Key for a lineup regular who is due $45 million over the next three years, DJ LeMahieu is once again hitting like DJ LeMahieu.

LeMahieu has woken up in the second half after a difficult first half in which he posted some of the worst оffensive figures in baseball.

His improvement has come far too late to help the Yankees this season, but he should be an easy pick for a corner infield role in 2019.

Despite LeMahieu’s first-half.643 OPS ranking deаd last among qualified hitters, the outfielder never questioned whether his finest days were behind him.

During the first half, “I knew there was nothing I wasn’t capable of,” LeMahieu said before the Yankees opened a series with the Blue Jays in The Bronx on Tuesday. In other words, “I just wasn’t doing it.”

He had been doing it and was hitting.836 when he came into the game. He has come dangerously close to channeling his old self.

There has been a need for contact hitters at the top of the lineup, and LeMahieu believes that a “little bit of everything” has helped him regain his form as an effective leadoff hitter.

As part of that “everything,” LeMahieu brought on Sean Casey, a hitting instructor who has a deeper grasp of LeMahieu’s swing and has helped him adjust his lower body.Casey has witnessed a more self-controlled batting approach from LeMahieu.

Recent comments from Casey highlight the importance of striking zone management for DJ. “I think when he has good command of the strike zone, he can extend his arms for that fastball that’s up and away. In foreign lands, he thrives. The pull-side opens up for him when he drives the ball to right field.That’s why he’s been one of the top hitters in the majors for the last six, seven, eight years, in my opinion.

LeMahieu’s exceptional bat-to-ball skills have set him apart as a Yankee and as a baseball player.

But through the first three months of the season, he chased more pitches out of the strike zone.

A player who struck out 13.1 percent of the time last season went down on strikes nearly double that — about 25 percent — through the end of June.

Since July began, LeMahieu entered play striking out 18 percent of the time in July, August and September, a much more ordinary rate for the 13-year veteran.

“The biggest thing for me is I’ve seen the walks that he’s putting up,” Casey said of LeMahieu. He isn’t going for the kιll when it’s too late. He’s getting his pitch to Һit, and a lot of the time he’s hitting it hard.”

The quiet LeMahieu did not want to dive into specific changes, physical and mentаl, that have helped unlock him, but he has been unlocked.

He entered play having reached base in 15 of 16 games and having posted an .852 OPS since Aug. 4.

“I don’t think I was chasing terribly in the first half,” said LeMahieu, who again Һit leadoff and played first base against Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi. “I just don’t think I was squaring up balls like I should have. But it kind of goes hand in hand.”

There were times during the first few months of the season when it would have been logical for the Yankees to wonder what they could expect from an aging hitter who will be under contract until he is 38.

But in the final months of a dark season, LeMahieu has become a needed bright spot.

“It’s definitely nice to have some results,” LeMahieu said.