Having the American League’s top home run hitter wasn’t enough for the New York Yankees, so they decided to grab the National League’s most prolific slugger as well.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman made the biggest splash of the off-season, acquiring Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins in December. Stanton and phenom Aaron Judge combined for a whopping 111 homers in 2017 and are giving new meaning to the nickname Bronx Bombers.
While Stanton and Judge are the team’s biggest bats, the rest of the lineup is riddled with offensive threats, making this Yankees squad one of the deepest in MLB. New manager Aaron Boone has been tight-lipped about how he’ll deploy his weapons, but here’s how we see New York’s batting order shaking out in 2018…
vs. RHP
LF – Brett Gardner
RF – Aaron Judge
1B – Greg Bird
DH – Giancarlo Stanton
C – Gary Sanchez
SS – Didi Gregorius
CF – Aaron Hicks
3B – Brandon Drury
2B – Neil Walker
[snippet]
It’s a new season with a new manager, but you can bank on Gardner once again holding down the leadoff spot. His .350 on-base percentage over the past two seasons should play nicely in front of the sluggers below him in the lineup. He’s 34 years old but remains a threat on the bases, and has stolen at least 20 bags in four of the past five years. You don’t want to run into outs with the likes of Judge and Stanton batting behind you, but that speed will be useful in ways aside from just stolen bases.
Here comes the thunder. Judge will be looking to duplicate an incredible 2017 season in which he hit 52 home runs and posted an OPS of 1.049 en route to Rookie of the Year honours. Behind him will likely be Bird, whose career has been slowed down by injuries. The 25-year-old has just 94 games to his name and missed the entire 2016 season with a shoulder injury. But Bird’s potential remains sky high due to his power, and having a big left-handed bat between Judge and Stanton would complicate late-inning decisions for opposing managers.
Stanton lands in the clean-up spot to start the season and if he’s able to stay healthy he should be a lock for at least 50 home runs. The idea of Stanton playing in the homer-friendly AL East is frightening considering he doesn’t just hit baseballs, he demolishes them. Sanchez, who swatted 33 homers of his own a season ago, caps off the fearsome five. The catcher is entering just his second full season in the majors, so it’s not unreasonable to think there’s still room for growth there, especially with the calibre of players hitting in front of him.
What makes the Yankees so dangerous is their offensive depth. Even if a pitcher can manoeuvre his way past the first five batters, Gregorius is waiting in the six-hole. The shortstop is coming off his second consecutive 20-homer campaign and lengthens a lineup with plenty of thump pencilled in above him. Hicks played in just 88 games in 2017 but impressed in that brief time, registering an OBP of .372.
The final two spots in the lineup belong to a couple of savvy off-season pickups. Drury arrives in New York after a pair of solid seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. At age 25, there’s still plenty of room for him to improve. While Drury has considerable upside, you know what you’re getting with Walker, who was signed on March 12. The veteran had a combined .362 OBP with the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers last year, which would flip the order over nicely for the heavy hitters up top. An extra luxury of adding Drury and Walker is that the Yankees can now bring along super prospect Gleyber Torres at a slower pace.
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vs. LHP
LF – Gardner
RF – Judge
DH – Stanton
C – Sanchez
1B – Bird
CF – Hicks
SS – Gregorius
3B – Drury
2B – Walker
J.A. Happ takes the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays on opening day, which means we’ll get an immediate look at how the Yankees plan to line up against southpaws. We’ll leave Gardner at the top, although Boone could get creative and drop him to ninth, opening the door for Judge to lead off. It sounds crazy, but the Yankees seem at lease somewhat intrigued by the possibility.
The next three spots are an absolute murderers’ row for pitchers to try and navigate. Judge, Stanton and Sanchez back-to-back-to-back is as daunting a trio as you’ll find league-wide. If you manage to make it through unscathed, Bird awaits in the five-spot and although he’s a left-handed hitter, he has actually hit lefties better than righties to this point in his career.
We’ll bump the switch-hitting Hicks into the six-hole, dropping Gregorius to seventh. Drury and Walker once again round out the lineup.
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