Yankees: Predicting who could be the Aaron Judge of 2018

Last season there wasn’t a bigger breakout star on the Yankees or throughout baseball as a whole than Aaron Judge. Which one of this teammates could follow in his footsteps in 2018?

There’s a lot of options to choose from because of the immense talent all over the Yankees organization, but my pick would have to be first basemen Greg Bird. Bird is no longer a rookie entering what is technically his third big league season, but because of injuries, he has yet to make it through a full campaign with the Yankees.

Bird was the first of the Baby Bombers to burst onto the scene back in 2015 when he replaced an injured Mark Teixeira and hit 11 home runs in 46 games down the stretch. He got a taste of postseason experience in that year’s wild-card game and big things were expected from him in 2016. Unfortunately, a torn labrum caused him to miss the entire season.

In 2017, Bird entered spring training looking healthy and had one of the best preseasons you’ll ever see. He hit .451 with a spring leading 8 home runs and 15 RBI. He looked primed to be the breakout star Aaron Judge ended up becoming until the injury bug bit him once again. Bird fouled a ball off his ankle just days before the season opener and he carried the lingering issue with him into April. After he struggled mightily and batted an eye-popping .100 he was placed on the DL and ended up getting surgery on his right ankle.

Despite the injury, Bird persevered and made his way back into the lineup in late August. Finally healthy, he had a huge impact on the Yankees offense in September and into their playoff run.

He hit eight home runs to finish the season and three more in October including a memorable go-ahead blast off the Indians’ Andrew Miller that helped jumpstart their incredible comeback during last year’s ALDS. That home run was a healthy reminder of the talent Bird possesses and showed opponents that he was as dangerous as any hitter in the Yankees lineup.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Creating a Yankees-Bryan Reynolds trade package after latest Pirates update
• Yankees analyst Cameron Maybin projects surprise landing spot for Gary Sánchez
• Yankees swipe intriguing minor-league FA lefty flamethrower from Braves
• What does Carlos Rodón’s new jersey number mean for Domingo Germán?
• 3 lefty relievers Yankees can still sign without breaking the bank

Will Bird breakout in 2018?

This year Bird is healthy again and with that comes huge expectations. He’ll fall under the radar in comparison to the trio of Judge, Stanton, and Sanchez but he’ll be counted upon to be one of the main lefty power sources in the lineup along with Didi Gregorius.

So far this spring Bird has struggled a bit, hitting .167 with a single home run in 48 at-bats. Of course, Bird’s struggles have caused concern for many Yankees fans, but not for Bird himself or his new manager Aaron Boone.

One of the things Bird has always shown throughout his young career is plate discipline and the ability to work quality at-bats. Despite the lack of results, this spring he has shown that according to Boone.

Here’s the Yankee manager on Bird per Randy Miller of NJ.com:

"“If you’re asking if I’m concerned, I’m not. I think the patience is at an elite level and I think that will allow him over time to be a really good hitter.”"

That’s high praise from Boone and it tells you how little spring training statistics mean in the big picture. As long as Bird is feeling good and seeing the ball well the results don’t matter right now. If he’s hitting .150 a month from now at the end of April than it might be time to worry, but I don’t see that happening if he’s 100% healthy.

Once the regular season rolls around we should see Bird somewhere right in the middle of the heart of that Yankees order. Recently I suggested I would bat him fourth behind Stanton and in front of Sanchez to split up the righties and make it harder for opposing bullpens to matchup late in games. Whether Bird is batting third or fourth he will get more pitches to hit because pitchers won’t be able to nibble around him. They’ll have to attack him with more fastballs and more strikes which should play right into his strengths as a hitter.

I’m not the first to say this but I think Bird is a guy with 40 home run potential in large part because of the home ballpark he plays in. Yankee Stadium is a hitter’s paradise for a guy like Bird with his smooth left-handed stroke and that short porch in right field. Not that he needs any help to hit the ball over the wall, but when you play half your games at a park that’s only 314 ft. down the right-field line, you’re going to run into your fair share of home runs.

Next: Why Sonny Gray is the forgotten X-Factor

When you factor that in along with his “elite” plate discipline and ability to hit left-handed pitching (.286 in ’17) it could all add up to a potentially huge year for Bird. I’m not saying he’s going to mimic the numbers Judge put up last year and end up hitting 50 bombs, but a 30 and 100 season with a .270 batting average is certainly well within reach.

Of course, that all depends on health, but If Bird can play 140 to 150 games the numbers will be there. He still has a lot to prove but by the end of the season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’re talking about Bird as one of the premier first basemen in the game today.