Yankees: Predicting statistical leaders for the 2018 season

Home Runs: Giancarlo Stanton

The obvious choice here is Stanton after he put up a career-high 59 home runs on his way to the NL MVP a season ago. He’s the best home run hitter in baseball and while teammate Aaron Judge might take his crown in the coming years Stanton is still in his prime and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Last year Stanton played in a notorious pitcher’s park and he was only one away from hitting 60. Imagine the damage he’s going to do at Yankee Stadium. He’s going to hit home runs by accident to the short porch in right field just because of how freakishly strong he is. A routine fly ball or a simple line drive the other way could end up in the seats. Last year we saw that happen with Judge countless times.

In addition to the dimensions of Yankee Stadium another thing that’s going to benefit Stanton is his spot in the lineup. Whether that’s in the three hole or the clean-up spot, hitting in between Judge and Sanchez or Judge and Didi will help him because nobody is going to be able to pitch around any of them. That means more fastballs and more pitches to hit.

With Stanton leading the way it wouldn’t surprise me if this Yankees team came close to breaking the 97′ Mariners’ single-season home run record of 264. It also wouldn’t surprise me if by seasons’ end we’ll see Stanton break the Yankees single-season record held by Roger Maris. He’s said in the past that he thinks that’s the true home run record so you know it’s a record he would love to be his.