Yankees Midseason Report Card: Outfielders

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Jun 7, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Hicks (31) makes an out against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

As the New York Yankees reach the midpoint of the 2016 season, Yanks Go Yard is taking a look at how each player on the roster has performed in the first half. Here are the midseason grades for the team’s outfielders.

The Yankees outfield has fared surprisingly well in the first half of 2016 considering the New York lineup’s poor overall performance. The first three months of the season has seen a significant bounceback from de-facto Yankees star Jacoby Ellsbury, an All Star nod for Carlos Beltran in what will likely be his final season in pinstripes, and streaky but acceptable production from Brett Gardner.

With two of these three names popping up in early trade discussions, it’s possible that the team’s outfield picture could look very different on August 1st. Fourth outfielder Aaron Hicks has struggled in a part-time role up to this point, but the Yankees have Ben Gamel, Rob Refsnyder, and Aaron Judge all looking ready for big league work with Triple-A Scranton.

If anything, the success of Beltran, Ellsbury, and Gardner could be exactly what leads to the upcoming shakeup, as they have significantly increased their value as trade chips, especially Beltran. For the time being, however, these three are at the heart of the Yankees offense, and any chances New York has of contending this year literally starts with them.

Next: Carlos Beltran

Jun 22, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran (36) hits a three run home run in front of Colorado Rockies catcher Nick Hundley (4) during the seventh inning of their inter-league game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

First up, Yankees Right Fielder Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran will be the Yankees lone position player representative in the 2016 MLB All Star Game, and with good reason. He has been the team’s only productive hitter for long stretches of this season. With Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez shells of their former selves, Beltran has found himself as the sole power threat in the middle of the Yankees lineup.

At the age of 39, few expected Beltran to establish himself as one of the premier sluggers in the American League, but that is exactly what he has been this season. As of Thursday, he was tied for ninth in the AL with 19 home runs, ranked sixth with a .563 slugging percentage, and landed fifteenth in the league with 54 RBIs.

Beltran is hitting .297/.337/.562 (134 wRC+) through his first 300 plate appearances this season. He leads the team in most major offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs, and wRC+.

His declining defense is still a major concern, although there are some indications that he may see the majority of his time at designated hitter going forward. A hamstring issue has kept him out of the field recently, and with A-Rod sitting against right-handed pitching, there are more DH at-bats available.

The three year $45 million contract Beltran signed prior to the 2014 season has miraculously become something of a steal for the Yankees, despite being widely panned at the time. A contract of that length for a player in his late 30’s was seen as too big of a risk, but luckily Beltran has declined rather gracefully. As bad as the Yankees offense has been this year, it’s difficult to imagine how horrible they would be without him.

Midseason Grade: A-

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Centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury

You could very easily make the case that Jacoby Ellsbury was the very worst full-time hitter in baseball down the stretch last season. After missing nearly two months with a knee injury, Ellsbury hit .224/.269/.332 (61 wRC+) in 331 plate appearances upon his return. His timing was off, he stopped stealing bases, and he looked unable to drive the ball with any authority in the second half.

His seven year $153 million contract, already thought by many to be an unwise investment, appeared to be a sunk cost in just its second season. Fortunately for the Yankees, that hasn’t entirely been the case. While Ellsbury has not been the superstar he’s being paid to be, he has been an above average regular (more or less) in 2016.

Believe it or not, Ellsbury is tied with Carlos Beltran as the Yankees’ most valuable position player in 2016 by fWAR with 1.5 wins above replacement. Jake was worth just 0.9 fWAR the entire 2015 season, so he’s already helped the team more in the first half this season than all of last year.

A lot of that value has come from improved defensive numbers. Ellsbury was noticeably slowed in centerfield last season. This year he appears to be back to his old self, and is having his best defensive season since joining the Yankees by most metrics.

Ellsbury’s bat has started to come around as well. He’s batting .280/.348/.396 (100 wRC+) through 314 plate appearances. That’s not peak Ellsbury by any means, but as we saw last year, things could be a lot worse. In addition, Ellsbury has started to run with a little more frequency, stealing 16 bases in 22 attempts this year.

One of the few veterans the Yankees have no chance of moving at the upcoming trade deadline, Ellsbury is likely to be a Bronx resident through 2020 when his current deal expires at age 36. That being the case, it’s nice to see him back to being at least a solid contributor.

Midseason Grade: B-

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Leftfielder Brett Gardner

The Yankees may have waited one year too long to trade Brett Gardner. His value may have been at its peak last winter following his 2015 All Star selection, even with a wrist injury sapping his performance down the stretch.

After three straight seasons as an above-average hitter by wRC+ (100 represents league average), Gardner offensive production has taken a dive in 2016. He’s hit .254/.353/.348 (93 wRC+) in his first 325 plate appearances.

While his on-base skills remain undiminished, Gardner’s power output has been well below his usual standard. That .348 slugging percentage would easily be the lowest of his career, and represents a 51 point drop from last season.

Gardner’s defense in left field has continued to slip as well. His centerfield-caliber speed once made him elite in an outfield corner, but no longer. At best, he seems like an average defender in left these days.

A league-average bat combined with league-average defense has value, but with his 33rd birthday looming next month, Gardner may be on the verge of falling below both of those measurements.

He’s yet another name expected to come up in trade talks this month, although at this point he isn’t going to fetch much of interest in return. At best, moving Gardy will open up a spot for one of the Yankees talented Triple-A outfielders chomping at the bit.

Midseason Grade : C

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Jun 14, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Hicks (31) during batting practice prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Fourth Outfielder Aaron Hicks

The move to acquire former first rounder Aaron Hicks from the Twins this winter for blocked backup catcher John Ryan Murphy seemed like a nice low cost gamble for the Yankees. While there is still plenty of time for the trade to pay dividends, Hicks has been undeniably disappointing for the Yankees in his first few months in pinstripes.

Although he doesn’t have an everyday job, the Yankees have managed to find Hicks fairly regular plate appearances in the first half (he has 200 and counting) spelling the club’s starters. He has even been given something of a platoon role lately with the struggling Alex Rodriguez. Unfortunately, he has yet to do much with these chances.

Hicks has hit just .201/.266/307 (49 wRC+) through 71 games. Even with his dynamic play in the field, he’s been below replacement level for the team this year (-0.7 fWAR). Last season Hicks looked like a player finally ready to take advantage of his wealth of natural talent, but he has taken several steps backwards this year.

Midseason Grade : D

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