Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa demonstrates the player he can be

BALTIMORE — The circumstances are far different.

Get that out of the way first.

That said, Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s rough first week in pinstripes — and the accompanying howls from an angry and disappointed fan base — is reminiscent of Didi Gregorius'  Yankees debut in 2015.

Gregorius had the unenviable task of being Derek Jeter’s replacement, the most significant difference in the comparison.

Additionally, there wasn’t the hearty crop of standout shortstops on the free-agent market that offseason that there was this winter, with Carlos Correa, who signed with the Twins, and Corey Seager, who went to the Rangers, heading the list.

The Yankees, contrary to some of the reporting at the national level suggesting otherwise, were never seriously involved in discussions to sign any of them.

Still, from a getting-used-to-the-New-York-spotlight standpoint, there are similarities between the two situations.

In totality, Gregorius’ start actually was worse than Kiner-Falefa’s (taking into account the opening month is far from over).

Indeed, Gregorius, then 25 and an unproven big-leaguer, went through an absolute horror story of an April that season. In addition to starting 5-for-35, he struggled in the field and didn’t distinguish himself on the basepaths in the handful of times he did get on base.

Kiner-Falefa, 27, who grew up a Yankees fan in Hawaii and said the day he got to the Steinbrenner Field clubhouse that “this is where I want to be”, can relate.

The righthanded-hitting shortstop, who was obtained from the Twins early in spring training, got off to a 1-for-17 start at the plate before going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs in the Yankees' 3-0 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday night at the Stadium.

The difference? “Not being scared,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I think the first couple of games I was very tentative. I was letting a lot of pitches go. Today something clicked. I was just aggressive. I felt like myself today.”

Kiner-Falefa came to the Yankees with a well-earned reputation as a terrific defender — he won the Gold Glove at third base for the Rangers in 2020 and also has big-league catching experience — but with a bat rival scouts have long questioned.

Still, Kiner-Falefa had been far better in that department than his start, batting .271 with eight homers, a .670 OPS and 20 steals in 25 attempts in 158 games with the Rangers last season.

“I feel like it’s close,” Aaron Boone told reporters before Thursday’s game. “Some of his best contact has been that hard ground ball at someone. So just by getting those elevated a little bit, turning those into line drives, and he should be able to take off. He’ll settle in here and be the quality of contact guy that we know. I do feel like he’s on the verge.”

Kiner-Falefa, though not his usual smooth self in the field, hasn’t been as bad there as Gregorius was in that first month in 2015, either.

The point?

One week of games is far too soon to draw any grand conclusions for any player, just as in the case of Gregorius, who turned into a dangerous hitter and a terrific shortstop, not to mention a fan favorite.

“It’s been a tough week for me,” Kiner-Falefa said Thursday. “The team’s been picking me up a lot, defensively, offensively . . .  This is just one game in a really long season. I have to keep it up. I’ve got to be consistent this year.”