Yankees: Gary Sanchez needs to play key role in 2019

Gary Sanchez will be arbitration eligible for the first time following the 2019 season. A motivated Sanchez would drastically improve the Yankees and help him secure a hefty payday.

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez burst onto the scene in 2016. It immediately felt like The Great Bambino had woken up from the grave and walked into Yankee Stadium.

In 53 games, Sanchez slashed .299/.376/.657 while hitting 20 homers with 42 RBIs and 34 runs scored in just 201 at-bats. He had a WAR of 3.0 while playing in only a third of the season.

However, Sanchez’s numbers have dipped since his debut year. The Yanks need Sanchez to step up, on both sides of the ball in 2019 and reach the potential he once flashed.

In his first full season, Sanchez’s slash line understandably dropped to .278/.345/.531, though he did manage to hit 33 homers with 90 RBIs in just 471 at-bats. His 4.1 WAR was among the league leaders for catchers.

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Unfortunately, in 2018, his numbers regressed to a slash line of .186/.291/.406, as Sanchez finished the campaign batting under the Mendoza line.

He faded badly as the season progressed, posting batting averages of .121, .143 and .179 in June, July and September (he missed all of August due to injury). If his stats continue to drop, Sanchez will have morphed into another version of Greg Bird, the Yankees’ oft-injured yet talented first baseman.

The problem with Sanchez is that his defensive struggles have affected his hitting — or vice versa. In 2016, he threw out about 40% of base runners. Last season, that number fell to 30%.

The key for Sanchez in 2019 is getting off to a good start and maintaining consistency throughout the year. No one is expecting him to put up numbers as he did during his rookie campaign. But he needs to be confident at the plate and make a conscious attempt to apply plate discipline in his at-bats.

When Sanchez gets ahead in the count at 2-0 and 3-1, his batting average goes to .333 and .500 while slugging over 1.100. When seeing more pitches, Sanchez increases the probability of putting the ball in play and striking out less (he hits below .200 when he falls behind the count at 1-2 and 0-2). His power numbers also drastically increase as the majority of his home runs have come when he’s in a hitter-friendly count.

While it’s easier said than done, Sanchez needs to avoid chasing pitches off the plate and expanding the pitcher’s strike zone. By laying off bad pitches and keeping a compact swing, he will improve his contact numbers, and that will only help revitalize his offensive game.

This is a crucial year for Sanchez because he will enter his first offseason of salary arbitration. If his poor habits were to continue, the Yankees could look to trade him and go with Austin Romine as the full-time catcher. But the hope is that Sanchez regains the form that made him such an explosive talent, just two years ago.