It is official – the expected future for the New York Yankees at second base will begin now. Rob Refsnyder is being promoted to the Yankees, as the continued Stephen Drew Experiment appears to be over.
Hearing that Refsnyder will be recalled from AAA and join Yankees tomorrow.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) July 10, 2015
One of the Yankees top prospects, Refsnyder was seemingly anointed as the future at second from the moment that Robinson Cano departed to Seattle. A converted right fielder, Refsnyder has acquitted himself well at second, showing improved range in each of the past three seasons. Even though he has 13 errors at second his year, the vast majority of those came early in the season, showing further signs that Refsynder is getting more comfortable at second base. While he may not be a defensive stalwart, Refsnyder should not be an embarrassment at the position either.
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The key for Refsnyder to remain with the New York Yankees at the major league level will be his bat. Yankees second basemen have combined for a .188/.252/.348 batting line this season; their OPS of .600 ranking 26th in baseball. Refsnyder, meanwhile, has displayed an ability to actually contribute offensively. In what would be a full season at the AAA level, Refsnyder has produced a .295/.388/.434 batting line, hitting 15 home runs and stealing 14 bases.
The question for the Yankees is whether or not Resnyder can continue this production at the major league level. While his .310 batting average on balls in play is right in line with the league average of .306, Refsnyder may actually be a bit lucky in his batting line. Refsnyder had a line drive rate of only 15.3%, while hitting a ground ball in 56.2% of the time he put a ball in play this year. Those rate would seemingly not be conducive to the .290/.387/.413 batting line that he carried at Scranton-Wilkes Barre this season.
Perhaps the greatest attribute that Refnsyder will bring with him will be his batting eye. Over his minor league career, Refsnyder has an excellent 11.3% walk rate, while striking out in only 15.5% of his plate appearances. While Refsnyder may not be a middle of the order bat, he could end up being a solid second batter in the lineup, or at the bottom of the batting order.
Rob Refsnyder may not be Robinson Cano for the New York Yankees, but he is almost certain to be better than what they have had at the position this season. Then again, that is not exactly setting the bar highly.