Gary Sanchez Needs to Figure it Out
When the Yankees acquired Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, they expected that him along with Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez would create a new “Murderer’s Row” of sorts. Stanton struggled at the beginning of the year but has come around, Judge has played well, but Sanchez’s play has turned New York’s fearsome lineup into a two-man show for number 27 and 99.
Sanchez’s game is revolves around his offense and because he is a below average defender behind the plate, so when he hits .190, like he has so far in 2018, it makes it very hard for Aaron Boone to pencil him into the lineup everyday. Frankly I’m surprised the Yankees are even continuing to put him behind the dish.
Sanchez still has the raw power, as evidence of his 12 2018 home runs, but that pretty much makes him a Chris Carter type player. No I am not talking about the former Vikings wide receiver. I am talking about the former Astro who has seasons of 41 and 37 homers on his resume. Still, Carter (who remains unsigned) played subpar defense while owning a career .217 average.
Sanchez is a better player than Carter, so his career average will most likely end closer to .300 than .200, but the way he is playing right now is concerning. In the last month “El Gary” has 11 hits in 69 at-bats, and in June he only has 2. He was supposed to be the best offensive catcher in the league. This was the year people thought he’d make his leap to stardom with guys like Stanton, Judge, and Didi Gregorious surrounding him in the lineup. Too bad that has not happened.
With the Yankees pitching staff being suspect behind ace Luis Severino, their offense becomes even more important to the team’s success. It is going to get harder for the Yanks to win games when Sonny Gray gives up five runs and Sanchez going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.
New York is still in great position to make the postseason with 43 wins so far, but if they want to do more than just get into the postseason, Sanchez is going to need to heat up.
-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)