Dissection of the Current Yankee Infield and their Offense

The Yankees are in first place in the American League and the roster that has achieved this ranking is absolutely stacked!

The Yankees have created a problem for every other team in the MLB; they have too many good players!

The questions we ask here are 1).How exactly is everyone doing at their position? and 2).Where does everyone play due to men constantly landing on the I.L?

Here is my DISSECTION of the New York Yankee’s current infield:

First Base: 

At first base, we have Mike Ford and DJ LeMahieu. First, I’m going to talk about Ford because he is solely a first baseman and then I’ll get to LeMahieu. 

Mike Ford

Mike Ford at First Base:

Mike Ford Offense:

This Jersey boy is back, hustling and not disappointing! This year, on offense, he has batted during 33 games and has had four doubles, nine home runs, and 12 walks. Not too bad! He’s batting .229 but has an on base percentage of .325. These numbers have only been increasing and I think that has a ton to do with his gain in confidence. 

Fielding wise, he’s not disappointing either. Mike Ford is a classified first basemen and should stay there. I’m not going to talk about Ford pitching because that was a one-time thing that I’m pretty sure everyone would like to forget. 

I actually see Ford having a place on this roster into the playoffs. Within the past three games alone, he has hit three home runs as well as four home runs within the past seven games, and four RBIs in the past three. He is literally on the ball right now. Bottom line is, he has played a significant role on this team as of recent and fans are loooooving it!

Our other guy at first base is the one and only MACHINE, DJ LeMahieu.  

DJ LeMahieu

LeMahieu at First: 

LeMahieu Offense: 

There’s a reason why we call him “The Machine”. He can do ANYTHING. Look at these statistics! He is so quick and within the 33 games that he has played at first, he’s made 19 double plays. As we know, this isn’t the only position that he plays, which is why the Yankees wanted him in the first place. He can play any position in addition to his insane offensive abilities. His average is .335 with an OBP of .382. 

Luke Voit

Also at first base, we have our beloved Luke Voit. *Cue the deep voiced LUUUUUKE’s in the stadium* We don’t have him right now since he’s back on the I.L. Both times Voit landed on the I.L this season, LeMahieu stepped up truly showing the “Next man up” mentality the Yankees have had since the very beginning of this year. 

Voit at First: 

Voit’s Offense: 

Looking at these stats and knowing the kind of player that Voit is, I can’t wait for him to come back. When he comes back, I actually see him and Ford rotating at first and LeMahieu rotating at third, short stop, and second. 

We know that Voit can smash baseballs high up into the stands and that he really won over the fans and made the competition to win the first base position with Bird a true competition. We’ve seen him make diving catches and absolutely hustle while running bases. 

He will be back at first and to be completely honest, I see Bird getting sent down or traded. 

Looking at Ford and LeMahieu, LeMahieu is more consistent on offense while Ford is an amazing asset to have. As for defense, I’ll take either of them. I’m never worried when either of them are at first because they are consistent and do a fantastically solid job. 

Voit is coming back so as I said, I see LeMahieu rotating at second, short stop, and third. I also, as I said, see Bird getting sent down but most likely traded and when Encarnacción comes back, I hate to say it, but Ford will most likely get sent back down. 

Here is my dilemma with Ford getting sent down. As much as I love to see the parrot get walked around the bases and literally sit in the dugout, I never loved this situation. 

Encarnacción is a good player and hits dingers but… he reminds me of and is very comparable to Judge during his rookie year. Listen, Judge had a historic and unforgettable rookie year, but when batting, it seemed it was either home run or strikeout. 

That is Encarnacción right now but in his case, he’s in his 14^thseason. To back myself up, he has played 101 games this year both with Seattle and the Yankees, and has struck out 96 times and homered 30 times throughout 384 at bats. 

I feel comfortable and happy with Ford and LeMahieu at first and I think that’s how it should remain but Encarnacion has a very expensive three-year contract and will become a free agent in 2021 so we’ll see what happens. 

Second Base

At second, we have Gleyber and LeMahieu. Fabulous duo. 

Gleyber Torres

Gleyber at Second:  

Gleyber’s Offense:

Personally, I think Gleyber should always be an alternate at second because he’s not my favorite at short stop but I’ll get more into that later on. 

Surprisingly, he’s played more games at short stop than second and has played 49 games at second. At second, his fielding percentage is .969 which is fantastic and actually greater than his percentage at short which is .967!

 Gleyber is doing a solid job at both positions and we’ve seen him make some incredible plays this year. The only controversial stat with Gleyber at second would be his amount of errors which is six. Some may say it’s a lot in 49 games and some may say it’s not. I feel like it is too much but that’s me being hard on him because I always want everything perfect.  

Gleyber’s in his sophomore year yet it feels like he’s been here forever which is a great thing. He can also do a great amount of damage on offense (as we all know) racking up 33 homers this year so far! My favorite Gleyber is offensive Gleyber but he’s 22 in his sophomore season. There’s only room for improvement. 

DJ LeMahieu

LeMahieu at Second: 

LeMahieu at second is wonderful because he has only committed two errors. He is pretty much perfect. He is your ideal baseball player. If someone were to ask me “Who is the ideal American baseball player?”, I would say LeMahieu. Quite frankly, I’d very much like to see him on the 2020 Olympic U.S Baseball team. 

Obviously, LeMahieu has committed less errors and we always know that he will make a play but he also rotates at three other positions so having Gleyber as the other second baseman is just as great and he goes out there and puts on a good performance. 

Short Stop

Alright, here we have Gleyber and the one and only, Sir Didi. 

Didi Gregorious 

Didi at Short Stop: 

Didi’s Offense: 

DIDI GREGORIOUS!!! I love Didi. I mean, please try and bring me a better man to take over the reigns at short stop from Derek Jeter, than Didi Gregorious. 

I think if/when the hideous day comes where he has to leave New York, it will be like someone died. He is a walking ball of sunshine. A player that I can’t choose what I enjoy watching him do more: making plays in the field or up at bat!

Didi has actually almost committed the same amount of errors at short that Gleyber committed at second. Besides that, I think Didi has had such a wonderful return off the I.L. I have noticed that recently he had some blips with dropping the ball and not making the play and he was out for a few games with a bone bruise but overall I think he has had a wonderful return. 

He has an OBP of .382 which means he’s making plays on offense and defense doing what Didi does best which is producing for the team. 

Gleyber Torres

Now, Gleyber at short isn’t my favorite. 

Gleyber at Short Stop: 

Something that resonated with me was when Gleyber was playing for Didi while he was on the I.L. He made nine errors and even though that was all he made, it felt like a lot. I think what I get held up on, is the fact that Gleyber doesn’t dive as much as Didi. He lets a greater amount of balls past him than Didi does, so the errors aren’t necessarily what get to me, it’s the base hits or doubles he may be allowing.

I recognize that I’m being hard on Gleyber and ironically, during Didi’s sophomore year, he committed 13 errors while he was around the same age as Gleyber while he was with Arizona. Also, Didi is much more experienced than him than Gleyber since he’s in his seventh season. 

On a positive note, Gleyber has had a great amount of putouts and assists. He doesn’t have Didi’s arm, but that’s my argument. I simply wasn’t able to rely as much on Gleyber as I am Didi. 

Third Base

Ok, onto third base. LE-MA-HIEU!!!!! But also Urshela. This. Is. My. Dilemma. They’re both too outstanding. On the official depth chart, Urshela is above LeMahieu so I’m starting with Urshela. 

Gio Urshela

Urshela at Third: 

Urshela’s Offense: 

This is a major dilemma that I have because Urshela who I think is a God sent in addition to LeMahieu, has had an unbelievable year so far. This guy is making throws from his backside after diving for a ball or slipping. His fielding percentage is .949 which should only increase. He is SO EXCITING to watch!

DJ LeMahieu

LeMahieu at Third:

At third, he’s got a .949 fielding percentage. I think I’m speaking for all Yankee fans when I say DJ LeMahieu is basically perfect.

 This year, he has played first, second, and third base and I will literally accept him at any and all of them. 

I think Gio is absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t say he has the same offensive skills that DJ has but…He is insane on offense as well. He’s got an OBP of .370 and 72 strikeouts in 384 at bats and that doesn’t sound all that bad to me. 

Now, I have a lot to say about Gio and him playing this position. 

While we’re still looking at the position of third base, Gio is basically a “fill in” for Andujar. He’s the most magnificent fill in, but still a fill in. Do these two remain on the Yankee roster next year or will someone get sent down? Will someone be traded?

Last year at third, Andujar had a .948 fielding percentage which Gio has already achieved. When Andujar came to the Yankees, he was this young star who soon became a fan favorite as well as a reliant. Personally, and I think many would agree, he did not have the same entrance as Gio. 

I think Gio is an exciting player who people love to watch. I don’t see him permanently going away when Andujar comes back. We can’t afford that loss. He’s also more experienced than Andujar because he’s a veteran. If anything, I think they’ll try to rotate Andujar and Gio at third and then either rotate Didi and LeMahieu at short or continue to rotate LeMahieu and Gleyber at second. Another option would be rotating Voit (when he comes back) and LeMahieu at first if and only if Ford is sent back down. Encarnacion will most likely be somewhere in that first base rotation even though I don’t love that. As I said, with Encarnacion, I feel that he’s comparable to Judge during his rookie year: It’s either a home run or strikeout. 

It pains me to say rotate LeMahieu at any position because of how outstanding he is, but that’s how it is and if there’s going to be a position for him to be rotated at, it would be first or second. If Andujar does not live up to the expectation that there is, then I’d expect him to be sent down, not traded and Gio and LeMahieu would continue rotating at third as well. 

Catching

As for catching, we’re set. Sanchez and Romine. 

Gary Sanchez

Sanchez Catching: 

Sanchez’ Offense: 

Release the Kraken! El Gary is pushing through this season for sure! Our starting catcher has improved quite a bit since last year. Don’t get me wrong, his offense last year was amazing and this year as well. It was the hustling and the base running and the blocking that made me cringe. 

Sanchez just like everyone else *rolls eyes*, spent some time on the I.L this season. He has played in 94 games this year and fielding wise I still think he needs to improve with his blocks. He’s had six passed balls this year and Romine has four in 55 games. That’s not a whole lot less but Romine seems to block better. 

As for offense, Sanchez smashes those baseballs all the way to New Jersey. This year, although he has 109 strikeouts in 359 at bats, he has racked up 30 home runs even though he was on the I.L. It’s pretty amazing. He’s actually also hit 69 RBIs which has obviously had a major impact on the team and their record.

Last year, fans (I admit including myself), were angry and frustrated with Sanchez especially on July 23 against the Rays due to his lack of hustle which could have assisted in the game resulting in a win for the Yanks. 

I think he was able to start on a clean slate this year and although he’s one of the slowest Yankees, he’s truly redeeming himself and has improved. 

Austin Romine

Romine Catching: 

Romine’s Offense: 

In the 57 games that Romine has batted in, he’s struck out 40 times and has racked up eight doubles. I think he’s doing really great right now, especially when he stepped up as the starting catcher while Sanchez was on the I.L. Defensively, he’s been really consistent. His fielding percentage is .998 and he’s only committed one error. 

Romine pitched this year as well, but I’m not talking about that because he was put into a game that ended in a 19-5 score which was not in favor of the Yankees. I applaud him for it but don’t wish to see it again. 

In general, I think he’s doing so well. I’m never worried when Sanchez isn’t playing for whatever reason and Romine is put in. I haven’t been worried when Sanchez gets hurt because I think Romine is so incredibly reliable on both offense and defense. 

Personally, I’ve always been more impressed with Romine’s defense and Sanchez’s offense but Sanchez is a good starting catcher in addition to some dramatic and amazing plays at home plate after being thrown the ball from Judge in the outfield. Let’s be honest, Sanchez isn’t going anywhere and I am very excited for what he is going to do this year and in the future. *dramatic voice* “He is the Kraken”.  

That’s it! 

I just dissected everything every infielder has done so far in addition to my opinion on all of it. Hopefully, this has given you a better insight into exactly what we’re dealing with or I should really say what we’re sustaining a winning record with!

Who knows who will be on the I.L next. It could literally be any of the guys no matter how their doing right now or how healthy they are. The good thing is, is that we know they can work through it as a team and they can continue winning. This “Next Man Up” situation is one of the greatest story lines right now and I can’t wait to see the movie they make based off of it!

I’m Erin Mulligan and that was my Dissection of the New York Yankees current infield and their offense.