Yankees most intriguing questions as the 2018 season starts

Judge and Sanchez

In Judge’s favor is his easy, almost superhuman power. The difference in his ability to hit home runs versus all the other so-called power hitters in baseball as evinced by last season’s HR Derby was stunning.

It was effortless. He barely broke a sweat. When it was over, Judge looked like a pitcher in Spring Training who finished his innings but still needed more time on a back field to get all of his work in. I think I was more tired from yelling than he was hitting.

That kind of power has not been seen in a long, long time, and makes all things possible. So, yes, Judge could easily lead the team in home runs.

The Sanchino

And so could Gary Sanchez. Remember his first half-season when he clobbered 20 home runs in just 51 games? Some fans were even saying he was the next Babe Ruth. Well, he did something the Babe never did, which was to hit 50 home runs in his first 161 games.

He is only the fourth catcher in history to accomplish the feat, the first since Mike Piazza. If he stays healthy for a whole year, he has as good a chance as the other two at leading the club. But even if that is not true, he might still prove to have the most overall dangerous bat in the lineup.

So who will lead the Yankees in home runs? Here’s the answer: Because Judge and his league-leading OBP will bat in front of Stanton, it is a certainty that Stanton will lead the team in home runs.

Readers should take the word, certainty, with a pinch of salt here, I must say. This is, after all, the same man who once wrote that baseball has a 27-man roster, when it always has had a 25-man. Felt it best to say something, there.

Now on to number two, and a question of slightly more import for the season.