New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez appeared to take a major step back in 2018. Instead, his performance actually gives hope for the future.
The catcher position is an unexpected question mark for the New York Yankees heading into the 2019 campaign. Rumors continue to swirl about their interest in J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins, although it would take quite the package of prospects to come away with one of the biggest prizes in the trade market.
Yet, at this time last season, catcher appeared to be one of the positions that the Yankees were in good shape for years to come. Gary Sanchez had built upon his impressive two month stint in 2016 to establish himself as one of the top young catchers in the game. He earned a berth to the All Star Game, and produced a .278/.345/.531 batting line, belting 33 homers. The Yankees tradition of great home grown backstops appeared to have another member.
Then the 2018 campaign came about. Sanchez struggled in every facet of the game, producing a miserable .186/.291/.406 batting line. While he did hit 18 homers, that was about the only positive. Sanchez was called out for his defense, and saw Austin Romine pass him on the depth chart by the end of the season.
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Heading into 2019, Sanchez is a giant question mark in the Yankees lineup. And yet, even in his underwhelming production last year, there were several signs that show that Sanchez could easily return to form.
One of the most interesting developments from last season was Sanchez’ patience at the plate. Although he saw an uptick in his strikeout rate, which increased by 2.2%, his walk rate climbed to a career best 12.3%. While it is great to see a younger player showing more patience at the plate, there is a difference between an improved batting eye and a passive approach. At times last season, Sanchez appeared to have the latter.
Sanchez also had miserable luck on those occasions when he did put the ball into play. Last year, he had an 18% line drive rate, which was not only below his previous career average of 24%, but a full eight points below the major league average. Sanchez also saw had the worst percentage of infield popups when putting the ball into play, popping the ball up 19% of the time he did manage to put the ball into play. Those issues led to a horrendous .197 batting average on balls in play, over 100 points below the league average.
Even in those numbers, there were positives. Sanchez had a similar ground ball to fly ball rate as he did in 2017, and still showed a solid amount of power. His home run to fly ball rate of 17% was only two points lower than 2018.
Improved health could also make a major difference when it comes to Sanchez’ performance at the plate. He had offseason surgery on his left shoulder, which had been bothering him since 2017. Those injury woes may well explain his issues with the bat last season, giving further hope that he will be able to bounce back and be that force at the plate he was over the previous two years.
The New York Yankees looked like they had their next homegrown star behind the plate in Gary Sanchez prior to 2018. With improved health and better luck next season, he may reclaim that title.