When Cape Cod Baseball League’s beat reporter Conor McPherson put out the first CCBL power rankings of 2026 on Thursday, Y-D was the clear and obvious choice at No. 1. The league-best plus-43 run differential speaks for itself, but Y-D’s high-flying 9-1 start extends well beyond that, especially at the plate.

At times on Red Wilson Field, Y-D hasn’t found major success at the plate yet ranks first on the road in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Even more impressively, Y-D has collected the most hits, runs and the highest OPS on the road. Assistant coach Craig Gianinno knows where the credit should be given.

“Their overall chemistry and camaraderie is what has them at this level right now,” Gianinno said. “They're just a fun group that demonstrates two types of personalities. There’s this social personality, and then there's this fiery competitive personality. All of them know when those two should be used, and it's shown so far. Whether it's having fun on bus rides or at the camps, these guys love being around each other, and it translates onto the field.”

Knowing when to deliver has become a major theme of Y-D in 2026. No team has come through in bigger moments than Y-D. With runners in scoring position, Y-D has a staggering 56 RBIs and a .946 OPS — no other team has cracked .800. With two outs, Y-D boasts a league-leading 23 RBIs, as guys like Brock Ketelsen (Stanford), John Beverley (Auburn) and Jake Souders (Mississippi State) are delivering in key situations. Y-D’s eight runs all came with two outs in Wednesday night’s 8-1 win over Brewster.

Two-strike counts haven't slowed the Y-D Red Sox, either. They lead the league with 23 RBIs and the highest on-base percentage with two strikes, yet another example of Y-D's offensive prowess. In either situation, Beverley knows how to attack accordingly. He was a pinch runner on Wednesday and stayed in the game to record two hits, including one with two strikes.

“With two strikes, it's go time. Before two strikes, you're trying to take a team at-bat. With two strikes, especially with me and my speed, I got to put the ball in play, so I'm just doing everything I can to just still swing at a good pitch and find a gap,” Beverley said. “My focus is 10 out of 10 focus before two strikes, but with two strikes it's a 15 out of 10.”

Y-D has scored the first run in only four of its first 10 contests and has trailed in eight of those 10 — Y-D’s hitting has repeatedly embodied grit and determination. It possesses the best batting average, on-base percentage and OPS in the CCBL when trailing.

“There's a lot of confidence up and down our lineup, and while guys may struggle here and there in this league, there's a ton of trust and belief in themselves right now,” Gianinno said. “It's a special thing when you're getting production out of nine guys plus another three or four off the bench. We scored eight runs [on Wednesday] and Tommy Goodin didn’t even play.”

If there’s one area to improve in the hitting department, Y-D can probably point to the beginning of games. Although Y-D has come back in almost every one, Y-D could still benefit from getting off to faster starts, which would be much appreciated by the league's most dominant bullpen so far.

“In the first three innings [on Wednesday], we were getting beat by the heater. We were popping balls up, maybe beating the ball to the spot,” Gianinno said. “We got to do a better job early in the game in making that adjustment, because we started slow, and even though that’s the DNA of our group right now, hopefully we can flip that around.”

On Friday at 6 p.m., the Hyannis Harbor Hawks provide another opportunity to see whether Y-D's situational hitting can continue.