Yankees in 2018: Stars or scrubs?

By Chris Northrop | Jan 17, 2018

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 18: Greg Bird /

While Yankees fans anxiously await the 2018 season when they can see what sort of offense the team provides with the addition of MVP, home run leader Giancarlo Stanton.

Fangraphs 2018 ZiPS projections by Dan Szymborski of ESPN have appeared and, in it, Fangraphs describes the Yankees prospective roster as “stars-and-scrubs.”

The ZiPs prospective Yankees’ roster:

On the one hand, the core of the offense is obviously Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, two of this past season’s best players. On the other hand, is the remainder of the offense with Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and an infield of those whom I presume are the “scrubs,” naemly Greg Bird, Ronald Torreyes and Miguel Andujar.

As of now, Bird, Torreyes and Andujar are all predicted to play in 2018, but the hot stove may change this scenario at any time. Are any of these three players “scrubs,” and, if they are, should Yankees fans necessarily object?

According to Fangraphs, Bird is dinged with lower projections because of injury and shortened seasons. He is projected to slash .240/.333/.480 with 19 home runs, 60 RBI and a 114 wRC+ in 372 plate appearances.

In ’17, his projected line was .286/.234/.307 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs in 397 plate appearances, but Bird had been shut down in 2016 due to a shoulder injury, so the projection was based on his 2015 numbers.

Bird was promoted to the big leagues in August of 2015 and slashed a respectable .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 46 games and 157 at-bats.

Due to the ankle injury in ’17, Bird played in only 48 games and ended up with .190/.288/.422 with nine home runs in 170 plate appearances.

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Projections aren’t great at predicting things like injury, and Bird’s unusual ’17 was marred by injury, but in the Postseason, he hit .244/.426/.512 with three home runs and six RBI.

No scrub hit the series-altering solo shot off of Andrew Miller in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. Bird’s game-winning home run off Miller that day was only the second home run Miller had allowed on a fastball to a lefty in the last three seasons.

What is needed to get a solid projection for Bird is a full healthy season behind him, as Yankee fans are convinced he is no scrub at all, but only very unlucky.

Ronald Torreyes is a utility player who ably filled in when Didi and, later, Starlin Castro went down with injuries last season. This “scrub” stands 5-feet-7 inches tall and weighs in at about 140 lbs, but in ’17, his performances at different times made him an essential part of the team and elevated him to Judgian heights (or was that Didi elevating Toe?).

In addition to his strong April when he batted .313 while Gregorius made his way back, Torreyes batted .321 in August while Castro was out until the final week of the month with a hamstring injury.

Not only did Torreyes fill in aptly, defensively, but he also slashed a .292/.314/.375 line with four home runs andRBIsrbis.

Ryan Chichester summed up Torreyes’ season saying:

"“For a backup infielder though, one who required a heavier than expected workload, Torreyes stepped in nicely.”"

Torreyes is projected by ZiPS to have a .258/.290/.340 season with three home runs and 32 RBI. Yankees fans know Torreyes will be up to the job this season, should second base become his. The team values this hustling “scrub” infielder who is a fan favorite.

Among candidates for the Yankees’ third base position is their No. 5 prospect, Miguel Andujar, who Keith Law recently called “the rare unheralded Yankees prospect.”

After offseason rumors that he was desired by the Pirates in exchange for Gerrit Cole, it is clear that Andujar is no longer “unheralded.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said that potential trade partners insisted on Andujar, but he is too valuable to the club going into the 2018 season to consider including in any trade, at least to date.

Cashman has also said during the offseason that he has confidence in Andjuar at third base. The knock on Andujar in the past has been his weak footwork at third base and needed more time, which is why the Yankees kept him down in the minors in 2017.

However, according to Jason Cohen of Pinstripe Alley, although Andujar has never been considered a defensive wiz at third base, given his ability to stay at the position all these years, he has apparently improved on that side of the ball.

According to River Avenue Blues, last season the 22-year-old Andujar slashed .315/.352/.498 (132 wRC+) with 16 homers and a 13.6% strikeout rate in 125 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

ZiPS projections have him slashing .267/.307/.432 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI in 576 plate appearances in ’18. Even if Yankee fans get a scrub’s defense from Andujar, they will consider his performance a success if he performs as well as his offensive projection.

Next: Yankees Rumors: Travis Shaw

As Shakespeare so famously said, what’s in a name? If the Yankees field “scrubs” such as Bird, Torreyes and Andjuar — then the word “scrubs” will come to be synonymous with grit, hard work and success, as these Yankees may prove to be champions by the season’s end.

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