Yankees Tyler Austin Looks Worthy of Everyday Role Next Year

New York Yankees rookie Tyler Austin showed enough during his big league debut to warrant a starting job to start the 2017 season.

It is probably fair to characterize Tyler Austin’s first taste of the big leagues as uneven, but he had some of the New York Yankees biggest hits of the season following his August 13th promotion, and was promising enough that the team should commit to giving him regular at-bats next season.

Austin finished the season strong, going 6-for-10 with two home runs and five RBI in his last three starts, raising his batting line to a solid .241/.300/.458 (99 OPS+) with five homers in 90 plate appearances.

Like any rookie, he definitely struggled to adjust to life in the big leagues, at one point going 1-for-18 during one particularly rough stretch in September. However, it is worth noting that he continued to make adjustments, demonstrated a better approach at the plate as the season wore on, and showed he has the pop to be a legitimate 20+ homer bat next year, which is something the Yankees need desperately.

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One of Yankees manager Joe Girardi‘s more controversial choices during the team’s second half playoff push was his decision to more or less bench Austin in favor of scrap-heap pickup Billy Butler and the struggling Mark Teixeira. Many fans pointed to this as yet more evidence of Girardi’s tendency to favor veterans over youngsters when filling out his lineup.

Girardi clearly wasn’t given the same mandate from the front office to play Austin everyday that he was with fellow Baby Bombers Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. The 25-year-old Austin will likely need to have a strong showing next spring if he wants to have any hope of landing an everyday spot in Girardi’s lineup.

The current plan is to have Austin compete with Greg Bird, who missed the 2016 campaign following shoulder surgery, for the starting first base job next year. Bird is the clear favorite as long as he’s healthy, but Austin could serve as a platoon partner for him and incumbent DH Brian McCann at the very least.

Next: New York Yankees 2016 Season Awards

It’s worth remembering that Austin also has significant experience in the outfield corners, so he could even compete with Judge for playing time in right if the big man continues to rack up Ks at an unsustainable rate. He could also keep left warm for Clint Frazier if the Yankees deal Brett Gardner this winter.