Yankees 2021 Season Thread
With the team likely done with additions (save a possible reunion with Gardner on the cheap), it’s time to start the season thread. Yanks made it to the ALDS and lost a thriller to the eventual AL champion Rays mostly because their owner and GM got cute and burned two starters in a day for game 2, a game we should have won. Either way, a new year is upon us and time to look at the lineup, rotation, and pen
Lineup
C- Sanchez and Higashioka- Sanchez was horrible last year. He’s never been a good catcher, but his bat made up for it. Last year, his bat was a huge minus, leading to his benching in the POs. He’s already lost the trust of their ace and will likely lose more established pitchers (like Kluber) and turn this into a true time share or even find himself as the backup. My bet is he starts the year as the starter with the Yanks hoping he can find his 30+ HR swing. His upside is massive, but his downside is also massive. Enter Higashioka. Higgy is a solid defender with a good arm and power. He’s actually not that dissimilar from Sanchez offensively, although he doesn’t have the talent to reach Sanchez’ ceiling. Higashioka will be the opening day starter as the personal C for Cole, but I do expect him to catch only about 40% of the games at best early on. He has turned into a very important player on this team, and could ultimately be the full time starter if Gary proves 2020 wasn’t an aberration.
1B- Voit and Ford- Luke Voit took his 2018 hot finish and 2019 hot start and put together a massive 2020 shortened season as the AL HR champ. He’s got power to spare and should be a 40HR type player in 21 if he can stay healthy. Ford, OTOH, took a step back last year in limited duty. With the Yanks pretty RHed, I do expect to see him find a spot on the bench and rotate into the lineup as an injury replacement.
2B- Lemahieu is back. Best pure hitter in the AL is back atop the lineup ready to tear apart the opposing team’s pitcher.
SS- Torres had a rough shortened season, but at his age and with his ceiling, there’s a strong likelihood he rebounds. He’s a 30+ HR hitter with the chops to hit for average long term. His conditioning was an issue in 2020 and my bet is he comes into camp in great shape.
3B- Urshela was a find for 2019 and showed even better in 2020. His defense is top notch, he hits for a good average and added power to his repertoire. He’s locked in as the 3b.
Utility- Wade, Estrada, and Andujar- Wade has proven to have a solid glove and good speed, but hasn’t translated his minor league numbers into any sort of consistent offensive production. Estrada has a good glove, less mobility than Wade and likewise hasn’t translated his numbers in the minors into production as a big leaguer. Andujar was second in ROY voting in 18 then tore his labrum and struggled to find consistent ABs in NY last year. His issues aren’t offense, it’s his defense that’s the issue as he’s backing up 1B, 3B, DH, and LF.
LF- Frazier. The kid’s time has finally come. He mashed last year and showed very well defensively in the OF last year as a RFer (although very poorly in limited innings as a LFer). He’s pegged as the Yanks full time LFer and should finally have no hindrance to 500ABs.
CF- Aaron Hicks- weird year offensively. BA was down, power was down, walk rate was a career high and his contact rate was way up with a really low BABIP. There is always the health concern, but he stayed healthy last year. And the other concern worth watching is the defense. Traditionally a plus defender, he was near 0 in UZR/150 in 2019 and plummeted to -11 in 2020. Hard to know if that’s just sample size or if he is starting to lose a step. In YS, CF defense is really important, so stay tuned
RF- Aaron Judge. Monster offensively. Great D. Cannon for an arm. Can’t stay healthy. They’re taking a different approach this offseason with less weights and more Yoga/stretching/flexibility. If he can avoid the IL, he should put up an enormous year
UTIL OF- Tauchman had a weird 2020. His minor league numbers pointed to an offensive monster but he never got the chance in Colorado. In 19, he puts up a 2.4 WAR in a half season’s worth of games and mashes 13 bombs. In 20, he hit no homers and barely slugged .300. His defense also regressed. Hard to say which player he is, but if 2020 Tauchman is who he is going forward, he might as well be cut. If he can return to 19 Tauchman, then he’d be a hell of an asset for the Yanks
DH. Stanton is a more injury prone Judge. Has the offensive potential to be an MVP. Has the body of a regular on the IL. They’re doing the same offseason regimen to avoid soft tissue injuries as they’re doing with Judge. If he can stay healthy, he will have a humongous year, but that’s a big IF
My expected lineup
1. Lemahieu 2B
2. Judge RF
3. Hicks CF
4. Voit 1B
5. Stanton DH
6. Torres SS
7. Urshela 3b
8. Sanchez C
9. Frazier LF