Yankees Middle Infield: Can It Become One Of The Best?

The Yankees middle infield tandem of Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro first season playing together, dazzled on both sides of the field for the New York Yankees. Is this a portent for the future?

For the first time in Yankees-history, both of its middle infielders hit 20+ home runs. In fact, the pair became just the third duo of middle infield teammates age 26 or younger to do so in baseball history.

The American League boasts several elite middle infield duos, namely Houston’s Carlos Correa/Jose Altuve, Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor/Jason Kipnis and division-foes Xander Boegarts/Dustin Pedroia in Boston.

In a previous post, I pointed out a few of the burning questions facing the team heading into 2017. As spring training games begin around the league, it’s time to wrap up this series of weekly questions with the In the fifth and final installment. Let’s take a look at what Yankees fans can expect up the middle.

While both players made significant improvements last season, perhaps the greatest of either player was Gregorius’s offense improvement against left-handed pitching.

Before he joined the Yankees at the start of the 2015 season, the left-handed hitter had hit .177 (30-for-169) with zero home run runs against LHPs. In 2017, Gregorius hit a solid .320 AVG/.357 OBP/.469 SLG with four home runs against lefties.

The tandem dazzled on both sides of the field, as Castro produced a career-high .980 fielding percentage, and Gregorius nearly matched him with a .974 clip, a career-high of his own.

While some of been critical of Gregorius’s range at shortstop, his ability to throw out runners from deep short frequently puts him on the SportsCenter highlight reels.

While the two both made great progress in 2016, neither produced statistics that are representative of their peak level of talent. After having a full season of working together under their belts, I expect the duo to have a real breakout season in 2017.

Look for both players to once again hit 20+ home runs, but improve upon the other aspects of their games.

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The primary aspect of Gregorius and Castro’s game preventing them from becoming one of the leagues best middle infield duos is their lack of plate discipline. Gregorius finished 10th among all qualified MLB hitters in O-Swing percentage (swings at pitches outside of the strike zone) with 40.1 percent, and Castro (36.4%) trailed shortly behind him for the 19th highest mark.

In fact, Gregorius swung at 55.4% of all pitches he saw last season, the seventh most among qualified MLB hitters.

Castro once again trailed shortly behind Gregorius, as the Dominican Republic-native swung at 51.7% of all pitches he saw, the 25th highest mark last season.

Next: This Week In Yankees History

If the two can continue to improve in the field and better their discipline at the plate, look out for this duo to be knocking on the door of the AL’s best middle infield tandems.