Valentine’s Day Lovefest for the 2017 Yankees
The Infield, Part 1
Gary Sanchez is all that and a bag of chips! The fact that he’s still only 24 and possesses the All-Star caliber skills that he does is a testament to his work ethic and that of the Yankees’ Minor League coaches that trained him. It’s very possible The Kraken bats around .300 with 35 HR and 100 RBI in his sophomore season. Don’t worry about a second-year fall off either — if you’ve ever watched an interview with Sanchez, he doesn’t let anything bother him. The new face of the franchise is on the fast track to greatness.
Greg Bird is exactly the type of first baseman the Yankees need to take advantage of that short right-field porch at Yankee stadium. He’s a gap to gap hitter with a solid approach at the plate, capable of working counts and advancing runners. His defensive game is growing — and last year’s shoulder surgery should add some much-needed velocity to his throwing arm.
I’ll throw in Matt Holliday here because, why not? If Tyler Austin is sent down to Triple-A to begin the season, Holliday would be a better defensive backup for Bird than Chris Carter. At 36, Holliday is at the tail end of his career. But the thing I love about Holliday, besides from his clubhouse leadership and his well-documented charitable works, is the fact that he wanted to play for the Yankees. Hell, he wore No. 7 in honor of fellow Oklahoman Mickey Mantle. For one year, if Holliday sees most of his at-bats from the DH role, a .295 BA with 25 HR and 85 RBI is a real possibility. What he’ll do to mentor the many young minds on this team is truly invaluable.
What’s not to like about the first middle infield in Yankees history to hit 20-plus home runs in the same season? Didi Gregorius is making a real push to enter the conversation regarding the best young shortstops in the game. Showing an increased ability to regularly hit left-handed pitching (.324 BA in ’16), and a career high in home runs (20) and RBI (70), if he can work on better adjusting his defensive footwork to cut down on the 15 errors he made last season, there is a real chance Gregorius causes the organization to switch the positions of its top-flight shortstop prospects.