Yankees hope table setters such as Gleyber Torres arrive for 2018
By Cory Claus
Austin and Frazier
Judge got 542 AB’s in 2017; primary backups Ronald Torreyes, Clint Frazier and Chris Carter got 643. The people who fill these roles in 2018 will clearly have a huge impact on the club’s fortunes.
I’m going to leave backup catcher out of it as it is likely to remain Austin Romine. And Clint Frazier is a known commodity, and likely to be traded this year. Instead, I will focus on three new bats that might decide the season.
1B/OF Billy McKinney
Between injury and ineffectiveness, the Yankees have begun to move on from Tyler Austin. That’s why they have been grooming Billy McKinney at first, especially in the AFL.
Billy brings some negatives. He’s a streaky hitter whose power saves him, especially in 2017, when he hit .277/.338/.483. He would never be thought of as a long-term solution at first base, but that’s what Greg Bird is for. And Austin still has a higher upside.
But Tyler can’t seem to stay on the field. He could have taken the first base bag and never relinquished it. And then he might have been the one to get the big hits in the playoffs.
Instead, he appeared in only 20 games last year; upside has nothing on consistent production.
Because, of his positive qualities, one is that McKinney plays every day. He appeared in 124 games last season, and 123 the year before. Remember the minors have truncated seasons compared to the majors.
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Also, that he bats from the same side of the plate as Bird makes him all the better for maintaining batting order. Boone can flip him with a lower leftie spot, such as that of Hicks, without disturbing the rest of the line-up.
McKinney will get a long look in Spring Training and has the inside track to be the backup first baseman.
IF Thairo Estrada
Estrada has continued to grow as a player and prospect. While most evaluators in the AFL could see Estevan Florial has incredible potential, everyone could see Estrada’s impressive talents. He followed his regular season slash of .301/.353/.392 with one of .342/.381/.430 in the fall.
The problem is obvious: Power. Thairo is never expected to hit twenty home runs in a season, as is every projected starting member of the infield. But he has several advantages over incumbent and fellow right-handed hitter Torreyes.
Thairo is essentially a younger, bigger, stronger player with a better arm. He’s also under team control for far longer. And he has a higher upside. If he is not traded this year, the Yankees are betting he can better Ronald’s line of .292/.314/.375 next season, most notably OBP.
He will probably start the season at Triple-A, but at some point, he is going to get important at-bats.
2B/OF Nick Solak
Solak is another exciting young player who will is very likely to start the season in Pennsylvania. But he is almost the opposite of Estrada: Solak shines best with his bat. Between High and Double-A, Solak compiled a .297/.384/.452.
If his defense were as good as his offense, he would be in the Yankees’ top three.
But his D is adequate, at best. That makes him perfect as a backup, and he will probably get his chance by June. He needs to get some AB’s at Scranton, but his offense will put him on the Yankees bench at some point in 2018.
His right-handed bat can do a lot more than just replace Torreyes’ when Solak plays second. He can also take a corner outfield spot, but no one could expect him to produce at their level. What he can do is provide less of a drop off than any other homegrown replacement.
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The tandem makes a lot of sense. This gives Boone a fast defensive player when he needs one, and an additional offensive threat when appropriate. The one minor drawback is that they are both righties, but that is not unusual.
The Yankees continue to get younger and better. But it is odd that a team with so much promise still has so many holes to fill. If they choose wisely and get lucky, this team can go a long way into October.
If not, we can start the Mets comparisons.