Yankees state of the system: First Base

Greg Bird can be terrific when healthy. But can the Yankees realistically expect a full season from him in 2018?

The 2017 season was a puzzling one for Yankees first baseman for Greg Bird.

After missing the entirety of 2016, he came into camp healthy. And for a minute, he looked like the best hitter on the planet.

In 23 Spring Training games, Bird batted .451 with a team-high eight home runs and more walks than strikeouts. While Aaron Judge and Luis Severino battled for roster spots, Bird had the starting first base job sewn up immediately.

But the moment the season started, Bird’s bat vanished. Like, completely went away.

As good as he was in Spring Training, that’s how as bad he was during April. In 19 games, Bird batted 6-for-60. Mercifully, the team placed him on the DL in early May with what was supposed to be a minor leg injury. Supposedly, he fouled a ball off his leg in spring, which begat a bone bruise that sapped his productivity.

What was supposed to be a short recovery turned into a prolonged affair. As reported by ESPN’s Andrew Marchand, Bird underwent surgery in July to remove a bone in his foot (???). Many (myself included) assumed his season was over. Realistically, Bird was looking at two lost years, jeopardizing his future with the Yankees.

But miraculously, Bird was back on the field six weeks later. He made his triumphant return on August 26th and posted a robust .253/.316/.575 slash line the rest of the way. He popped eight home runs and re-established himself as a legitimate major league starter.

In October, Bird was even better. Rising to the occasion, he batted .250/.421/.500. His seventh-inning home run off of Andrew Miller in Game 3 of the ALDS was arguably the team’s biggest and most clutch hit of the year.

It’s hard to know what to make of Bird, though. He’s only 25-years-old. For the most part, he’s been a terrific player when healthy. He’s both powerful and disciplined at the plate, and his left-handed swing plays perfectly in Yankee Stadium.

Bird is an All-Star level talent. He has the potential to be one of the best-hitting first basemen in the game. He’s a good fielder, although he’s not quite as apt as Mark Teixeira was. And although he’s the slowest player in the Yankees’ lineup, he can make up for it with a sweet power stroke that could easily net him 35-40 home runs a year in the Bronx.

Tyler Austin

Until Greg Bird proves he can play a full season without missing massive amounts of time, the Yankees would be wise to add some insurance behind him.

Right now, that player is Tyler Austin.

The 26-year-old has shown promise in his 53 Major League games. He’s got great opposite-field power and profiles as a pretty decent hitter. But Austin also has injury problems. He managed just 86 games played in 2017, with 20 of them coming at the major league level.

His numbers in Triple-A Scranton were terrific (.260/.335/.519 with 12 home runs in 66 games). In fact, the Yankees tried to hand Austin the first base job in June, after they released Chris Carter. But he lasted just four games before hitting the DL with a hamstring strain.

Austin returned nearly two months later and started at first base for about a week until he was displaced by Bird. In September, Austin played sparingly.

Zack Martino of EliteSportsNY.com recently compared Austin and Bird, and you’d be surprised by his findings.

Austin, a right-handed batter, does not have as many major league at-bats as Bird. However, he does possess good numbers in a field where Bird lacks. In his combined appearances in 2016 and 2017, Austin had 36 at-bats against southpaws. He posted a .361 average, hit 4 home runs, and drove in 12 runs. While Bird did hit .286 against left-handers in 28 at-bats this past season, it isn’t quite an accurate representation of his game.

As of right now, Austin seems to be in line for one of the team’s four bench spots. Depending on which infielders the Yankees choose to carry, he might be bumped back to Triple-A for a bit. But Austin will get at-bats in 2018. It’s up to him to make the most of them.

Triple-A

The Yankees lost Mike Ford to Seattle in the Rule 5 Draft last December. There’s a good chance he doesn’t stick, but let’s assume he does.

Ford’s departure means more playing time for Ryan McBroom, who should open the season as Scranton’s starting first baseman.

The 25-year-old McBroom was acquired from Toronto last summer in the Rob Refsnyder trade. He spent all of 2017 at the Double-A level, first in New Hampshire and then with Trenton.

McBroom is a righty thumper with legitimate pop. He’s launched 38 home runs over the last two years — 16 in 2017 and 22 in 2016.

The power plays. But McBroom strikes out a lot and isn’t a great on-base guy.

2018 will be a big test for McBroom. It’s his first chance to prove himself against Triple-A pitching. With the brittle pair of Bird and Austin ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s not impossible to imagine McBroom getting a shot with the big club in 2018.

If McBroom can close the holes in his swing, he could be dangerous. But if his game doesn’t coalesce, he might just be another run-of-the-mill power-hitting first baseman who can’t do anything else. The upper minors are teeming with those.

While McBroom will likely be Scranton’s primary first baseman, he won’t play there every day. The RailRiders should receive contributions from both Billy Fleming and their No. 22 prospect Billy McKinney.

Fleming, a 25-year-old infielder, split time between first base, second base and third base last season.

2017 was a bit of a down year for Fleming offensively, although his versatility makes him a sneaky candidate for a midseason call-up.

McKinney, meanwhile, is an outfielder by trade. The Yanks acquired him as part of the Aroldis Chapman deal back in 2016. Formerly one of the Cubs’ top prospects, McKinney’s stock has cooled a bit in recent years. But a strong 2017, in which he batted .277 with 16 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A put him back in the mix.

Although he hadn’t played the infield since high school, the Yankees stuck McKinney at first in the Arizona Fall League. They hope that McKinney can master first base quickly enough to become a viable major league option by early 2018.

McKinney is still just 23-years-old and, unlike McBroom and Fleming, he’s currently on the 40-man roster. The Yankees outfield is already jam-packed, so if McKinney shows he can handle first, he’ll likely be the team’s third option if and when Bird and Austin inevitably go down injured.

Double-A

With the graduation of McBroom, Trenton should call on Chris Gittens, a towering, powering right-handed masher.

At 6’4″ and 250 pounds, the 23-year-old Gittens is an imposing presence in the batter’s box. Last summer in Tampa, he slashed .266/.372/.472 with 13 home runs in 73 games. The previous year, Gittens managed 21 dingers across 107 games with Charleston.

The Yankees selected Gittens in the 12th round of the 2014 Draft out of Grayson County College in Texas. He stunned evaluators by batting .341 with plenty of pop in his first pro season. Since then, he’s come back to Earth a bit.

Nevertheless, Gittens has hit everywhere he’s gone.

He’s a bit in the McBroom mold — effortless power and a sweet stroke to all fields, but the rest of his game is suspect.

Gittens will be tested this year. It’s a bit of a cliche, but 2018 is make-or-break for him. The caliber of quality pitching skyrockets between Single-A and Double-A. If Gittens performs at this level, he can establish himself as a legitimate prospect.

The Thunder might also call on Tim Lynch, the team’s ninth-round pick in 2016.

After four seasons at Southern Mississippi, the 24-year-old Lynch posted a tremendous 2017 in Tampa. Batting .310/.368/.573 with 13 homers in 57 games, Lynch was one of the best hitters in the Florida State League.

With one full season of pro ball under his belt, Lynch needs to be challenged. The Yankees should consider promoting him aggressively. Clearly, he can handle A-ball pitching. Plus, at 24, he’s a bit old for his level of competition.

Like Gittens, Lynch has a chance to establish himself as a possible big league prospect. It’s not absurd to believe that either one of them might finish the season in Triple-A.