Yankees lineup: What will it look like throughout the season?

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In 2017, the Yankees finished the season with 858 runs scored. Of those, 285 were driven in by outfielders. So, what did GM Brian Cashman do? He went out and added 132 RBI from Giancarlo Stanton.

The problem is where does manager Aaron Boone shoe Giancarlo Stanton into the Yankees lineup? The plan has been for Aaron Judge and Stanton to split the DH and right field duties, with both of them, set to work on playing left field in Spring Training to increase their versatility.

However, this still begs the question of where to place them in the lineup.

Last year, Judge anchored himself into the No. 2 spot with Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius right behind and Brett Gardner at the top.

This gave the top four of the Yankees’ lineup a lefty/righty balance. However, moving Gregorius out of the cleanup spot in favor of Stanton would put three righties all in a row.

Another problem this could cause would be all the lefties coming in a row. The next three spots in the lineup could be Gregorius, Greg Bird and then the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks.

As such, batting Judge, Sanchez and Stanton two-through-four might not be the best idea. Perhaps a better way to examine this would be to take a look at the spots in the lineup one by one.

No. 1 spot

Last year, all but 11 of Brett Gardner’s at-bats came from the leadoff spot. His ability to grind out AB’s and get on-base is one of the big reasons he begins each game for the Yanks’ offense.

Because of this, Gardner is likely to be the first to the plate on March 29 in Toronto. His gritty ability to make a pitcher work gives him the top spot.

However, Gardner’s designation in the lineup might not be as much of a given as the season progresses.

Brett Gardner

If Gardner struggles at some point in 2018, that leadoff spot could go to switch-hitting Aaron Hicks.

Aside from Aaron Judge, no one on the Yankees had a higher OBP than Hicks. Hicks’ power and the fact that he’s a switch-hitter could make him an intriguing option to leadoff.

No. 2 spot

In today’s analytics age, the honor of the team’s best player has slowly moved from the cleanup spot to the No. 3 spot, to now the No. 2 slot.

Here is where the debate over whether Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton is a better player comes into play. One could suggest that Stanton is more advanced based on his recent MVP Award and higher home run total from last year.

However, a closer look at their statistics might not tell the same tale. For one, Judge had a higher OPS in 2017. Judge hit 1.049 compared to Stanton’s 1.007. However, this minor disparity between the two OPS’ might not be enough to give Judge the advantage.

What will tip the scales is the fact that Judge gets on base more often. Judge’s .422 OBP means he’s more likely to be on base for Stanton to drive him home, rather than vice versa.

No. 3 spot

Putting Stanton here might make sense at first glance, but that would place three righties in a row. Because of this, the No. 3 hole will likely go to Didi Gregorius.

While Didi isn’t thought of as much of a power hitter, he did hit 25 home runs last year after missing the first month of action.

Didi Gregorius

In other words, Sir Didi could have hit 30 long balls on the season if it wasn’t for the injury he suffered in the WBC.

Throw in the fact that Gregorius is a lefty and led the Yankees in both overall batting average and batting average with RISP; it becomes more evident why this spot should go to Gregorius.

However, Gregorius does have a significant challenger. Gregorius’ competitor is last year’s opening day No. 3 hole starter Greg Bird.

It is hard to remember that less than a year ago Bird was seen as the Yankees’ best power hitter.

His sweet stroke that Brian Cashman had called the best in the Yanks’ system, combined with his monstrous Spring Training in ’17 gave him that spot to open the year.

After coming back from injury, Bird put up a .253/.316/.575 slash line that was consistent with the .261/.343/.529 line that he put up in his 2015 cameo with the club.

Once Bird knocked off the rust, he hit a home run once every 10.875 at-bats. If you project that over a 500 at-bat season, that’s 46 home runs. If you consider his .981 OPS in the 2017 playoffs, a healthy Bird could force his way into the three-hole.

No. 4 spot

Of the spots analyzed so far, this is the easiest to determine. With Judge already penciled in at No. 2, the only possible competition would be Stanton vs. Sanchez.

While both of them would make excellent cleanup hitters on any team, the apparent advantage here goes to Stanton. Coming off an MVP season, it’s hard to bat Stanton outside of the top four.

No. 5 spot

The middle of the lineup is where the Yankees’ embarrassment of riches in power hitters comes into focus. Gary Sanchez, a catcher who hit 33 home runs last year after missing the first month of the season, hits fifth.

While it’s possible that slumps can move players around, these four and five spots almost automatically go to Stanton and Sanchez.

No. 6 spot

After two righties, this slot will likely go to a lefty. With either Bird or Gregorius batting third, the other would hit here. Boone would probably rotate guys based on who has the hot bat.

No. 7 spot

Now things get interesting. The Yankees could go with Hicks or Gardner depending on who is batting leadoff (and is producing).

However, with a lefty batting sixth, this spot could go to rookie Miguel Andujar.

The righty has good power and contact bat. Andujar doesn’t strikeout much, so he would be suitable for driving in runners. Another candidate for this spot would likely be fellow prospect, Gleyber Torres.

Gleyber Torres

While Gleyber Torres will likely start the season down at Triple-A Scranton to delay his free agent clock, once at the major league level, Torres can move up the lineup if he hits well.

No. 8 spot

Continuing the rotation of righty/lefty, a left-handed stick belongs here. As such, this place should go to Gardner or Hicks depending on who is batting leadoff. A lefty would make the lineup so far S/L-R-R-L-R-R-L-R-L/S and could conclude with a righty.

No. 9 spot

In keeping with the rotation of sticks, a righty belongs in this slot. Come opening day; this place will go to whoever plays second base. It could be Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade or one of the veterans the Yankees signed to minor league deals this offseason.

Wade has yet to prove himself on the big league level. However, his dismal .155 avg last year could be attributed to a lack of playing time or to the fact that Wade had no routine due to his erratic use.

During the season, Yankees’ top prospect Gleyber Torres will likely take over at second base. Expect Torres to hold the No. 9 spot or switch with Wade depending on who’s not.

As you can see, this lineup in loaded

From top to bottom, there isn’t a single offensive liability. Furthermore, while some pessimists might worry that injury could derail this offensive juggernaut, it is important to remember that for the first month of 2017, the Yankees were missing both Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez.

Then, in a two-month stretch, they lost Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro, and Matt Holliday; all of whom were critical to the club’s first-half offensive success.

Add all of that to the fact that Greg Bird’s injury created a black hole at first base for most of the season, and you can see why not even injury will be able to derail this 2018 offense.

Next: Should the Yankees go for Odorizzi

The Yankees were hit hard by the injury bug last year and they still managed to finish second in runs scored. Now, add in the incredible depth that the Yanks have in Clint Frazier, Jake Cave, Billy McKinney and Tyler Austin — and it’s clear to see why the Yankees probably have the best lineup in MLB.

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