Yankees Mike Tauchman making most of his opportunity

Yankees Mike Tauchman is one of six MLB outfielders in 2019 with a minimum 175 PA to achieve a .290+ AVG, .360+ OBP and .540+ SLG. The others are Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, George Springer and Charlie Blackmon.

When the Yankees acquired Mike Tauchman from the Colorado Rockies back on March 24, I didn’t know what to make of the trade.

At the time, the Yanks already had an abundance of healthy outfielders, and the 28-year-old career minor leaguer appeared to be nothing more than extreme depth — something we could never have envisioned the club needing.

Trading left-handed relief pitcher Philip Diehl in the deal (no pun intended), I thought was a bit of an oversight. You see, despite his 4.50 ERA during Grapefruit League play, Diehl struck out 18 batters in just 10 innings and was believed to have impressed manager Aaron Boone.

But perhaps general manager Brian Cashman knew exactly the type of player he was getting in Tauchman, who was coming off a solid Triple-A season in which he hit .323/.408/.571 with 26 doubles, 20 home runs and 81 RBIs in 112 games.

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So Tauchman made the Opening Day roster over Tyler Wade, who had his usual hot spring, only to fall short in limited regular-season appearances.

Although Tauchman, a 10th round in 2013 pick by Colorado out of Bradley was demoted on May 16 — was recalled nearly a month later (June 13) after the Yanks designated the underachieving Kendrys Morales, and suited up in only five games in all of June — since July 5, ‘The Sock Man’ has been on an absolute tear for the Bombers.

In his past 19 games, Tauchman is slashing .443/.493/.820 with 18 runs scored, 12 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs.

On Monday night, Tauchman further proved his importance to a banged-up Yankee lineup, notching his first career two-homer game, giving him a total of nine long balls on the year as the Yanks would go on to beat the Orioles 9-6.

Tauchman’s opposite-field fifth-inning shot set the MLB record for most home runs any visiting team has ever hit in an away ballpark in one season (30). The Yanks would net two more on the evening to extend the mark, and still, have two games left in Baltimore this week.

On the season, New York has hit a whopping 41 homers versus the O’s, which puts them seven away from the record for most home runs against one team in a single season. The 1956 Yankees set that mark against the Kansas City A’s.

While some on the Internet are already debating whether or not Tauchman will be on the Yankees Postseason roster once (if) Giancarlo Stanton returns from his lengthy IL stint; I prefer to focus on what makes him essential in the here and now.

Without his key contributions, like the ability to successfully play all three outfield positions, and a left-handed stick capable of producing a .294/.368/.541 slash line with 34 RBIs across 190 plate appearances, the Yankees probably wouldn’t be up nine games over the Rays for first place in the AL East.