• He’s #1! Move over, Posey!
• Second best. Everyone who voted for #1 is stupid.
• #3-5. He’s a great young player and he’s only getting started.
• #6-10. We haven’t seen him play enough.
• #10-20. He’s still a baby! He needs to finish a few full seasons.
• #21 or lower. I hate the Yankees too much to be objective.

Without further ado, here are the poll results:

Overwhelmingly, most of us think he slots into the #3-5 range. Interestingly, more people voted for “He’s #1!” than “Second best.” Undoubtedly there’s a case to be made for Sanchez as the top catcher in the world. Most likely, there appear to be a few Yankee diehards who can’t bring themselves to put him lower than the top spot. Thankfully, no one selected “#21 or lower.” That would be pretty indefensible. So where does Sanchez actually rank?

The WAR Story

In 2018, he’s the fourth best catcher by fWAR. Former Yankee Francisco Cervelli is having an amazing season so far, and he leads the way with 1.8. Yasmani Grandal is second with 1.4. Willson Contreras has 1.1, with Sanchez a few hundredths of a win behind.

However, since the beginning of 2017, Sanchez is actually #1. He leads the way with 5.5 fWAR, with Buster Posey right behind him at 5.2. No one else is north of J. T. Realumto’s 4.6.

Sanchez burst onto the scene as a starter in August 2016. Despite missing the first four months of the season (as well as the first month of 2017), he’s been the second most valuable catcher since the start of the 2016 season. His 8.7 fWAR is only 0.4 behind Posey despite having played 108 fewer games. Realmuto sits half a win behind Sanchez with 89 more games played. No one else is even within two wins of Sanchez.

Normalized for 150 games played, here are the fWAR leaders since 2016:

Sure, WAR has its flaws. But on a rate basis, no one comes anywhere near Sanchez over the last three seasons. Sure, you could bump him down behind Posey if you value playing time. Perhaps you could even put him third behind Realmuto, but that’s really a stretch.

The bottom line is Sanchez is the absolute best catcher in baseball when he’s in the lineup. What’s even better for the Yankees is he’s just 25 and won’t become a free agent until 2023. The majority of people voted him #3-5, so perception hasn’t quite caught up to his outstanding performance. But they are right about one thing: he’s a great young player and he’s only getting started.

Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports

This past Thursday morning, I broke one of my own unwritten rules: avoiding sports talk radio shows at all times. Not to disparage an industry that’s far more established and successful than I am, but I nauseate at the general lack of logic and civility. I find it exasperating that the person who yells the loudest wins the argument.

But that morning, I had left the radio on in my car from listening to the Yankees the night before. They had just wrapped up their 17th win in 18 games. It was yet another exciting comeback win thanks to Brett Gardner’s triple and Aaron Judge’s home run in the eighth inning. I decided to leave the radio on while I drove my daughter to school. With the team playing so well, there’s little to complain about. How bad could it be?

It was a huge mistake. The show devoted the entire segment to bashing Gary Sanchez. “He’s too lazy to ever be a good catcher!” “He doesn’t care about his defense at all!” “Austin Romine should be starting AT LEAST half the games, and they should trade this bum!” “He misses half the pitches! They smack the umpire in the face!”

My morning was ruined. Shock and disillusionment replaced any positive feelings from the night before. Never mind the larger question of whether Yankee fans can ever truly be happy. Is this what the fanbase really thinks of Gary Sanchez? Was I mistaken that The Kraken is a beloved member of their exciting young core?

Last June, on the occasion of Sanchez’ 100th career game, I created a poll at Banished to the Pen to determine where Sanchez ranks in the current hierarchy of catchers. He was coming off a dominant final two months of 2016 in which he impressed enough to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting. Following a stint on the disabled list at the beginning of 2017, he continued to punish the American League. The idea was a thought experiment to see how much credibility a player can generate after only 100 games.

Now I’d like to recreate that experiment for a different reason. Assuming that most readers of BP Bronx are Yankee fans, I’d like to find out just how highly the fanbase rates Sanchez. After a few days, I’ll present the poll results here at BP Bronx.

Click here to vote!

Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Last night, Chapman drilled Bradley with a 103.3 MPH fastball. Nearly every sports media outlet chronicled how this was the fastest pitch in MLB this season, and that Bradley was tragically unlucky to take it on the elbow.

(Here’s a link to a gif of it because we can’t embed tweets for some reason.)

But the history of these two All-Stars goes deeper. In 7 career plate appearances against Chapman, Bradley is 2-3 with a walk and 3 HBP! On one hand, kudos to Bradley for reaching base 6 out of 7 times against perhaps the greatest lefty reliever of all time. On the other, that is NOT a sustainable way to reach base, let alone extend one’s career. Let’s examine these HBP a little further.

A (Very Painful) Trip Down Memory Lane

August 13, 2014: The first pitch Bradley ever saw from Chapman came up and in at 100.8 MPH. Bradley couldn’t get out of the way and got plunked. No, he didn’t; he got drilled. Plunked is what happens when a batter gets hit with a curveball or changeup. Chapman has never plunked anyone in his life. 2014 was Bradley’s first full season, and this was the first 100 MPH fastball he’d ever seen in the majors (and probably ever).

August 13, 2017: Three years to the day after the first HBP Chapman nailed him again, this time at 101.5 MPH on an 0-2 count. StatCast actually recorded the exit velocity at 51.7 MPH. That’s not the exit velocity off a wooden bat, that’s off bone and sinew! The ball traveled a distance of 43 feet. At the risk of being immodest, this is the single greatest application of StatCast in history.

May 8, 2018: 103.3 MPH, as shown above. This is the fastest velocity on a HBP ever recorded by StatCast, breaking the previous record of 102.7 from Chapman to Khris Davis on August 24, 2013. One would think after three near-assassinations, Bradley and Chapman might have words (or fists) to share with one another. Instead, Bradley simply takes his base, and Chapman walks toward him presumably to apologize or check that he’s OK. We don’t often get to congratulate ballplayers for showing maturity. Well done, gentlemen.

Bradley’s Terrible HBP Misfortune

This was not supposed to happen. Neither Bradley nor Chapman are prone to HBP (thank goodness). Bradley has faced 8,216 pitches in his MLB career and he’s only been hit by 34 of them (0.41%). Chapman is one of the most dangerous pitchers on the planet simply because of his blistering fastball, but he’s only hit 21 batters with 7,633 pitches (0.28%). Averaging the two, a pitch thrown from Chapman to Bradley should result in a HBP only 0.35% of the time or once every 286 pitches. In actuality, 3 out of 23 pitches have left a bruise.

However, not every pitch by Chapman reaches triple digits. He throws a lot of sliders and plenty of fastballs that only reach the high 90s. Roughly 1/3 of Chapman’s pitches cross the 100 MPH threshold (35.6%), so the chances of Bradley getting hit with a 100 MPH Chapman fastball are only 0.12%. Mathematically, it should happen once every 805 pitches, but in real life, it’s been once every 8!

Other pitchers have thrown 100 MPH, but last night’s 103 MPH high cheese was truly rare even for Chapman. He’s only thrown 262 pitches in his career at that speed or higher, which is 3.4% of all his pitches. Before last night, no one had ever been hit by a 103 MPH pitch. Based on the HBP rates of both Chapman and Bradley, it should happen once every 8,347 pitches from the former to the latter. Unfortunately for Bradley, it happened on just the 23rd.

Bradley has paid his dues against the Cuban Missile. The odds of getting struck 3 times in just 23 pitches by the hardest thrower in baseball history are unbelievably long. It’s highly unlikely to happen ever again. However, next time he faces Chapman he should consider standing a few inches further back in the batter’s box.

Photo Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees are on a certifiable hot streak. 15 of the last 16 games have ended with John Sterling belting out, “THEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!” They’ve have gotten fantastic pitching from young stars (Luis Severino), old vets (CC Sabathia), and rookies (Domingo German, wow!). There’s been clutch hitting from nearly everyone in the lineup, with a new hero leading the team to victory each day.

There have been a few blowouts, such as the 14-1 obliteration of Minnesota on April 23, and the 11-1 bludgeoning in Anaheim on April 28. But the hallmark of the Yankees’ unbelievable run has been late-inning drama. Incredibly, 6 of the 15 wins featured the go-ahead run in the ninth inning or later. It’s almost too many fairy tale endings to keep track of. Here is a recap of the 5 biggest hits of the hot streak by WPA.

5) May 6: Neil Walker RBI Double, 36% WPA

The aforementioned walk-off bomb from #GleyberGood wasn’t the biggest hit of the game. In fact, it wasn’t even the biggest hit of the inning! Trailing 4-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, Aaron Hicks starting things off with a double. Neil Walker followed with another line drive double to right field, tying the score. Walker’s hit was worth 36% WPA, increasing the Yankee odds of winning from 46% to 82%. After a groundout by Miguel Andujar and an intentional walk to Giancarlo Stanton, Torres increased the win expectancy from 71% to 100% with his moonshot to right-center.

4) May 4: Miguel Andujar Game-Winning Single, 36% WPA

The opening match of the Cleveland series was an emotional whirlwind. The Yankee bullpen blew a 5-0 lead in the top of the 8th inning, thanks to a three-run smash by Bradley Zimmer. In the bottom of the frame, the Yankees regained the lead with a two-out, bases loaded walk by Aaron Judge. However, Aroldis Chapman failed to shut the door, yielding a single to Yan Gomes, a HBP, and two wild pitches. With the score tied at 6 in the bottom of the ninth, Stanton led off with a double. Gary Sanchez flew out to right field and Hicks grounded out to the right side, advancing Stanton to third. Walker walked (which is a fun phrase to type), then took second on defensive indifference. That brought up Andujar, who slapped one into right field on a 1-2 count, scoring Stanton to win the game. The base hit was worth 36% WPA, but perhaps it should be penalized because Didi Gregorius was kicked in the head during the celebration. With all these dramatic wins, you’d think the team would know how to celebrate more safely.

3) April 27: Didi Gregorius 10th Inning Home Run, 38% WPA

In the first game of the road trip, the Yankees trailed the Angels 3-2 in the 9th inning. Brett Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game with the bases loaded and one out. David Robertson pitched a flawless bottom of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. With one out in the 10th, Gregorius did this:

The blast increased the Yankees’ chances of winning from 44% to 82%. Chapman nailed down the victory in the bottom of the inning, 4-3 Yankees.

2) May 3: Gleyber Torres Two-Run Single, 39% WPA

Gleyber does make the cut after all! Astros closer Ken Giles was out of commission after getting blown up the day before (and perhaps nursing a bruised jaw), so Will Harris took on the Yankees in the top of the ninth with a 5-3 lead. He surrendered a walk to Walker (there it is again!) and singles to Andujar and Hicks to load the bases with no outs. Brad Peacock came in to face Torres, who lined a single to left to tie the game. Two batters later, Hicks scored on a groundout to give the Yankees the lead, which Chapman preserved for a victory. The Torres single was the big play, of course, improving the Yankees’ win expectancy from 42% to 81%.

1) April 26: UNLEASH THE KRAKEN, 66% WPA

When Sanchez stepped to bat in the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees had just a 34% chance of beating the Twins. They were trailing 3-1 with two men on base and no outs. His blast traveled 381 feet and miraculously stayed inside the foul pole. Everybody goes home, 4-3 Yankees. A WPA event of 30% or higher is rare. A 66% WPA event can almost exclusively be a come-from-behind, walk-off winner like Gary’s. Much like the Yankees’ entire hot streak, it should be savored and remembered.

Photo Credit: Adam Hunger / USA TODAY Sports

Even the most fanatical supporters of Sir Didi could never predict his incredible power surge this season. When he was acquired from Arizona before the 2015 season, he had only 13 career home runs in 183 games. During his first three years in The Bronx, he blasted 9, 20, and 25 long balls, setting a new Yankee record for home runs by a shortstop in a season.

Now, he looks like he might break that record before the All-Star Break. In fact, with 10 in 25 games, he’s on pace to finish 2018 with 65 home runs! That is a clearly unsustainable rate, but it makes for some fun projections while it lasts.

If he should actually finish the year with 65 bombs (he won’t), his average increase would be 18.6 home runs per season with the Yankees. If he continues that even more unsustainable rate of growth, here’s what the rest of his career will look like:

Let’s unpack this a little bit:

• In September, 2019, Gregorius will break Barry Bonds’ single season home run record of 73. He’ll hit his 74th in the 145th game of the season.
• Derek Jeter holds the Yankees record for 260 career home runs by a shortstop. Didi will break that record in the 92nd game of the 2020 season, which should be shortly after the All-Star Break in July.
• Gregorius will more than double Bonds’ old, long forgotten single-season home run record in 2023.
• A couple of special things will happen in 2024, his age 34 season. Gregorius will become the first player in history to average more than one home run per game. He will also surpass Bonds’ career record with his 763rd home run in the 25th game of the season.

None of this will actually happen, of course. Didi will slow down at some point. But until he does, let’s enjoy the power show while it lasts.

Miguel Andujar is a third baseman but shared a similar scouting summary with Sanchez and Montero: good bat, questionable glove. The Tigers questioned his glove repeatedly in the 7th inning of yesterday’s 8-6 Yankee victory. Victor Martinez, JaCoby Jones, and Jose Iglesias all tested the young third baseman. Andujar’s defense was a major factor in the outcome of the inning, so it’s a good a case study to judge the early returns on his glove.

Victor Martinez Double

After a leadoff single by Nick Castellanos, Martinez smoked a hard ground ball inside the bag. After an overthrow by Brett Gardner, Martinez found himself at third base. Score it an RBI double, with the batter advancing to third on the E7. Here are some of the Statcast metrics for the batted ball:

This was not an easy play by any means. Anything with triple-digit exit velo is tough to glove. Luck of defensive positioning is a big factor as well. Still, with an xBA of .375, this batted ball is usually an out. The Arenado/Beltre/Donaldson level third baseman probably snags it, but Andujar does not.

JaCoby Jones Lineout

Following a sacrifice fly, Jones sends a screaming line drive toward third. With fortunate positioning and quick reflexes, Andujar stabbed it cleanly for the second out of the inning.

Andujar should be proud of this one. This ball was crushed 4.3 MPH harder than the Martinez double, and the 7° launch angle meant neither ground nor air would slow it down. 104.8 MPH equates to 154 ft/second, and our protagonist made the play 128 ft from the plate. Therefore, he caught the ball only 0.83 seconds after contact. A liner such as this is a base hit nearly 70% of the time, but Andujar turned it into an out. Nicely done.

Jose Iglesias Double

The next batter was Iglesias, who hit a ground ball to Andujar’s right. The third baseman dove toward the foul line and deflected the ball with his glove, but could not prevent it from rolling into the outfield.

If the Jones line drive was Andujar’s best, the Iglesias double is his worst. This was not a hard hit ball. It was basically a regular chopper toward third base. While it would have been a pretty good-looking play had he completed it successfully, only 1 time out of 9 is this kind of grounder a base hit. Anecdotally, as I watched the play on TV I thought it could have easily been scored an E5 instead of a double. Iglesias failed to score in the inning, but Andujar probably should’ve made him the third out.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no conclusion. As stated on FanGraphs glossary page for UZR:

“Beware of sample sizes! If a player only spent 50 innings at a position last season, it’d be a good idea not to draw too many conclusions from their UZR score over that time. Like with any defensive statistic, you should always use three years of UZR data before trying to draw any conclusions on the true talent level of a fielder.”

If 50 innings is too small a sample to make sense of defensive value, one inning certainly won’t cut it. Furthermore, there are two aspects of defense that are equally important for third basemen: fielding and throwing. Andujar had three chances to field the ball in this inning, but no chances to use his arm.

What we did learn is that Andujar might need to work on his consistency with ground balls to his right. Perhaps he needs to position himself better before the play or maybe he needs to get a quicker jump on the ball. Then again, maybe he’s fine. We can’t really know for sure until we see him play a lot more.

Andujar hit a double and a triple in four trips to the plate. If he keeps racking up extra-base hits of his own, the Yankees will give us lots more chances to see what he can do in the field.

As it turns out, the Yankees are really good at these things. Their pitchers AND hitters are the among best in baseball at generating positive three true outcome (TTO) results. Let’s check the team leaderboards for each TTO stat through Saturday’s action.

Home Runs

The Yankees’ big bats are only just getting started, but they’re already third in MLB in HR, two off the lead. They hit 241 of them last year and then traded for Giancarlo Stanton, so they ought to be at or near the front of the pack all season. Their pitching staff is roughly average at HR prevention, having yielded 10 thus far. Their net total is +3, good for 7th in baseball.

There are other factors here, of course. Each team has only played 7-10 games so far (the Yankees have played 9), so there are small sample size considerations. Park factors vary greatly and are probably a big reason why the Giants pitching staff has only given up a pair of long balls all year. Early April weather is a major variable as well. Still, the Yankees are a net positive, and that’s a very good thing when we’re talking about the most game-altering event possible in any plate appearance.

Walks

Yankee hitters are the most patient in the league (tied with Arizona), leading the way with 43 walks. Shockingly, Didi Gregorius leads the team with 8 after collecting only 25 free passes in all of 2017. The pitching staff is middle of the road, sitting 15th in MLB with 29 walks allowed. Altogether, they have a net +14 walks, 5th best in MLB.

Strikeouts

Here’s where the pitchers shine. The home run hitters are usually strikeout prone, and Stanton and Judge have 26 already. However, the pitching staff is the best in baseball at inducing Ks. Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman have struck out 19 of the 37 batters they’ve faced! Their net +27 strikeouts are second only to Boston

*-Net K is reversed from net HR and net BB because K is good for the pitcher while the other two are good for the offense.

Put it All Together

There’s really a fourth true outcome, HBP, that has the same impact as walks. It doesn’t happen that often, but it’s a true outcome all the same because only the pitcher and the batter can control it. Combining all four of these net outcomes, the 2018 leaders look like this:

The Yankees, while not being the net leader in any one of the TTO categories, have a healthy advantage over the rest of baseball in combined net TTO. This passes the sniff test, as the top 5 teams on this leaderboard are 29-12 this season.

However, not all of these outcomes have an equal weight. Homers and walks are both good outcomes for the batter, but a home run is REALLY good while a walk is just a little good. Knowing this, the creators of FIP assigned weights to each outcome to accurately reflect their impact on a game. We’ll borrow from the FIP formula to weigh our TTO leaderboard as well:

wTTO = (Net HR*13) + (Net (BB+HBP)*3) + (Net K*2)

The same teams comprise the top 5, but the order is jumbled a bit. The Yankees are still out in front, and their lead looks much more impressive. Given their level of talent, they should be able to stay near the front of the league all season, and the wins will surely follow.

Quite simply, they performed exactly as expected. Judge had a pretty good day. Sanchez added just the one RBI double. Stanton carried the load and was the indisputable offensive star of the game. Rarely will all three of them be outstanding at the same time, but with three hitters as gifted as they are, one of them will probably do something special on any given night. Sometimes, the simple act of getting on base is special enough. In 2017, their OBP were as follows:

Each is pretty impressive individually, but collectively they become insurmountable. The opposing pitcher has a greater than 50% chance of getting any one of them out, but when they bat consecutively, the pitcher has to retire all three. The chances of getting past them completely unscathed are only 23.6%. Roughly 3 out of 4 times, at least one of them will get on base.

That’s daunting enough as is, but a starting pitcher usually has to get through the batting order more than once. The pitcher has just a 5.6% chance of facing Judge/Stanton/Sanchez twice and recording 6 outs. If the pitcher is having a particularly good day, he might have to face them a third time. In that case, he’s only got a 1.3% chance of retiring them three times each!

Against a right-handed starter, manager Aaron Boone will probably split them up in the lineup. However, Opening Day was a special case. J. A. Happ, the Blue Jays starting pitcher, is a lefty. Assuming the trio will bat consecutively mostly against lefties, we should use their OBP vs. LHP to determine their odds of success:

As expected, all of them were even better against southpaws last season. Judge and Sanchez saw a minor jump in OBP, but Stanton improved 76 points!

Using their OBP vs. LHP, the opposing pitcher has a 20.0% chance of getting them all out one time, a 4.0% chance of doing it twice, and just a 0.8% chance of getting them to go 0-9!

Out of the 162 games the Yankees will play in any given season, they’ll face a lefty starting pitcher probably 30-40 times. Those pitchers will each have less than 1/100 odds of retiring the side against Judge/Stanton/Sanchez three times in a game. At that rate, it might happen just once between now and the end of the 2020 season. Judge and Sanchez won’t become free agents until at least 2023 and Stanton’s contract is guaranteed through 2027. Barring trades or injuries, opposing LHP will have plenty more chances to face them, but their odds of success are insanely long.

Photo credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bird’s right foot-the same foot that cost him most of last year- is mysteriously inflamed. In retrospect, the Yankees should’ve prepared for this as an inevitability. While it must be incredibly frustrating for Bird himself, the team just can’t rely on him to play 150+ games in the field. They haven’t announced yet whether or not he’ll start the season on the DL. Even if he returns to action in time for Opening Day, there’s at least a reasonable chance he’ll miss time at some point during the season. Should that happen, here’s where the Yankees will turn for a first baseman, in order of likelihood.

Neil Walker

Other than Bird, there will probably be only four players on the 25 man roster with any first base experience whatsoever. Brandon Drury played one inning at the position in 2013, and Gary Sanchez spent three innings there last year. Both have starting jobs elsewhere and almost certainly won’t be moved to first. Austin Romine barely hits enough to keep his job as a backup catcher, so even though he’s played 20 games at first base, he’s unpalatable as a long-term option. That leaves the most recent Yankee acquisition: Neil Walker

Walker is a 9-year MLB veteran who played second base almost exclusively from 2009-2016. His calling card is offense, and he brings a career 114 wRC+ into this season. He’s never been particularly adept at his natural position, posting -16 DRS and -23.5 UZR for his career. At age 32, he’s more likely to regress than progress, and frankly, he can’t afford to lose any range and stay up the middle. Last year, while playing for the Mets and Brewers, he was asked to spend some time at first base as well as third. Transitioning to the corners may be the key to extending his career into his mid-30s.

There’s another reason why Walker is the best backup first base candidate: Tyler Wade. Improbably, Wade beat out top prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar for a spot on the major league roster when the Yankees break camp. The fleet middle infielder impressed the coaching staff with his superior speed and defense. He’s no slouch at the plate either, batting .310/.382/.460 in AAA last year and has a .404 OBP in Spring Training. Manager Aaron Boone already announced plans to use Wade concurrently with Walker at second base, so if the latter moves over to first, there’s an in-house replacement at second.

Tyler Austin

Remember when Tyler Austin was a top prospect? Along with Mason Williams and Slade Heathcott, the Yankee outfield of the future never really materialized. Of the three former can’t-miss stars, Austin has the brightest future remaining. After moving to first base, he finally conquered the high minors in 2016, only to get hurt for most of last season (along with everyone else on the first base depth chart).

At age 26, Austin has nothing left to prove in the minors. He hasn’t hit much in the big leagues so far- just .236/.294/.447 through 136 PA, but the power is real. He’s crushed 4 HR and 2 2B this spring, so his bat looks pretty hot at the moment. If the Yankees aren’t comfortable with Walker at first base, or if Wade fails to hit, Austin will get the first call from the minors (assuming he doesn’t make the team out of Spring Training).

Miguel Andujar

What if the third baseman of the future isn’t a third baseman? Miguel Andujar posted a .850 OPS in AA and AAA last year and shot up the prospect charts this offseason. He followed that up with 7 XBH this spring. No one questions his ability to hit, nor the major league readiness of his bat. The Yankees even felt comfortable enough with him that they traded away Chase Headley before they had other third base alternatives (they’ve since added Drury and Walker, of course).

Most of the time, when a team sends a player down to “work on his defense,” it’s a euphemism for “we’re playing games with his service time.” (See Acuna, Ronald.) However, in the case of Andujar, they might be telling the truth. According to Jarrett Seidler in the Yankees BP Prospect Rankings, “The plus arm strength plays down because it isn’t paired with stellar accuracy. His hands aren’t great, and he doesn’t always make the best of choices on how to play the ball at third, which has led the Yankees to talk about exposing him to other positions, most likely first base.”

It’s too soon to give up on Andujar at the hot corner, so the Yankees aren’t likely to move him to first just yet. However, if Bird misses significant time again and can no longer be trusted with a starting job, Andujar’s future might be at the cold corner instead.

Other Options

The Yankees have two more imperfect options to fill a first base void. There’s Billy McKinney, who is on the 40 man roster but not really a first baseman. There’s also recent Rule V Draft returnee Mike Ford, who is not on the 40 man roster but is a real first baseman. Both showed the ability hit for some power and drew a few walks in the minors as well as Spring Training (though Ford was at the Mariners’ camp). Neither are exciting options at the moment, but if they get hot in the minor leagues, you never know what can happen.

In the event of a significant injury to Bird, perhaps the most likely outcome of all is that the Yankees go outside the organization. GM Brian Cashman still has some room under the $197 million luxury tax threshold as well as an overstocked farm system. Rather than suffer a war of attrition at first base for the second year in a row (third if you count Mark Teixeira’s final season), look for a major acquisition if things get desperate.

Photo credit: Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

Humphreys came to the Yankees as a player-to-be-named-later before the 1991 season. He hit like crazy in Spring Training and earned the affection of 7-year-old Danny Epstein. He did not, however, earn an extended stay in the Bronx. The same process repeated in 1992 and 1993: a fantastic spring followed by merely tepid cups of coffee in the regular season. He never played in the majors again after 1993 and retired with a career .176 average in 100 PA.

Humphreys, now 51, is long gone from professional baseball. he left behind only a sparsely populated Baseball-Reference page, noteworthy only for his 80-grade dad hat:

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? I get that it was the early 90s and fashion was a little bizarre, but where does the blank red hat come from? And IF he’s going to wear the blank red hat, why is that his profile picture? This man was a major leaguer! There’s no remaining decent photo of him in an actual baseball cap?!?

Anyway, old Spring Training stats are hard to come by. MLB.com only has them as far back as 2006, which won’t help us with Humphreys. So I did what nearly all baseball fans do at some point when trying to remember an old player: I called my dad.

“Hey Dad, did I wake you?”

“Yes, Dan, you did. What’s up?”

“Sorry about that, but I have a really important question to ask you. Do you remember Mike Humphreys?”

“Now where do I know that name from? It sounds familiar.”

“He played for the Yanks in the early 90s. Always hit a ton in Spring Training.”

“Yeah, Mike Humphreys! Always seemed like a good ballplayer. Just, for whatever reason, never panned out. Reminds of another guy they had a few years later. Bubba something-or-other…”

The conversation went on from there, meandering past Bubba Crosby, Garrett Cooper, Hensley Muelens, and Billy McKinney. As a rite of spring, there will always be a young player or two that looks like something special but never becomes an impact major leaguer. 2018 is no different, and here are the Mike Huphreyses of this year’s Spring Training:

Offense: Kyle Holder

Perhaps this isn’t fair to Holder. If you squint just right, you can see a lengthy major league career ahead of him. He was drafted in the first round out of the University of San Diego in 2015 as a glove-first shortstop. He’s never been a particularly potent hitter, sporting a career slash line of .264/.309/.327 in the low minors. But if Brendan Ryan can stick around the major leagues for 10 years, maybe Holder can as well.

In spite of small sample size, this spring may be his offensive breakout (though probably not). He is the current Yankee leader in OPS (1.147), going 8-17 with 3 doubles and a walk. Last year in Tampa, he managed only 22 XBH in 442 PA, so 3 doubles qualify as a power outburst.

Holder probably begins the year in AA Trenton. There are several middle infielders ahead of him on the prospect depth chart, so he’ll need to kick his bat into high gear to stay on the Yankees radar.

Pitching: David Hale

Hale has already had a bit of a major league career. He pitched for parts of four seasons for Atlanta and Colorado from 2013-2016 with a 5.30 DRA. He split 2017 between the Dodgers AA and AAA affiliates.

As a non-roster invitee for the Yankees, Hale has gotten decent results this spring. In 10.2 IP, he’s amassed 12 strikeouts and allowed just 4 runs (3 earned). The 14 hits and 7 walks tell a different story though, and he’s darn lucky to have given up so few runs with so many baserunners.

If he sticks around in the Yankees system, we may see him at some point in the regular season. He could surface for a few games as they rotate out tired or injured relievers, then drop down below again.

***

Neither Holder nor Hale looks to be a legitimate major leaguer with the Yankees. Nevertheless, there’s a 7-year-old kid somewhere who saw them play this spring and now thinks the world of them. Years later, someone will remember for no good reason and make fun of the goofy smile on Holder’s Baseball-Reference page. They’ll be the next Mike Humphreys; the I-told-you-so that never was.

Photo credit: Double G Sports