New York Yankees: What are realistic expectations for Luke Voit?
By Kyle Cardoza
Many New York Yankees fans fell in love with first baseman Luke Voit after he demonstrated his power in the second half of 2018. But should fans expect him to recreate his numbers from a year ago?
The New York Yankees have plenty of depth on the current roster. However, if there is one position with a limited amount of options, it’s first base.
Despite recent troubles in the corner infield spot, New York found a bargain in Luke Voit, who crushed opposing pitchers in the second half of 2018. Nevertheless, it will be difficult for the hard-hitter to translate that short span into an entire 162-game season.
The 27-year-old is capable. However, Yankees fans shouldn’t necessarily anticipate him to smash 30 home runs and produce 100 RBIs. Of course, given the state of New York’s lineup, he wouldn’t have to in order for this team to succeed.
Still, the Yankees expect him to contribute significantly as the starting first baseman. That is, if he can retain his spot over Greg Bird.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Voit ranked third in the MLB in OPS among hitters that had more than 125 plate appearances. That is impressive, despite the small sample size. The infielder was on pace to rocket more than 50 homers in 2018 had he approached 500 plate appearances on the year.
His numbers in Yankee Stadium look similar to those registered on the road. Yet, it is clear that he feasted on left-handed hurlers in the Bronx. But he owned an uninspiring .211 average versus right-hander pitchers with twice as many strikeouts compared to southpaws, per FanGraphs.
What is more striking is that Voit was extremely productive away from home. A third of his balls hit on the road were line drives, while more than 50 percent his balls were hit hard, per FanGraphs.
Nevertheless, Voit fell into the trap of fly balls in New York, as more than half of his balls against lefties ended up in the air. That worked for him last season, since he smacked several balls out of the park.
But pitchers will catch on to the slugger. It is likely that Voit endures an uptick in strikeouts, though his walk rate may remain the same. He will need to continue his line-drive approach, although he was unlucky in that sense against right-handers in 2018.
New York has to field a productive everyday first baseman, as it ranked in the middle of the pack in most offensive stats last season. Voit improved the club’s standing late last season, but his superb numbers shouldn’t be expected once again.
However, Voit could be an underrated hitter in the bottom half of the lineup compared to those on other teams. Of course, he will have to continue to fend off Bird.
If Voit can continue his hot hitting, his expectations might be greater than what most projection-based websites have. Most claim he will hit in the .260s with about 18 bombs and 60 RBIs.
Next. Will Thairo Estrada get a promotion anytime soon?. dark
While that is realistic considering he doesn’t have much MLB experience, he could easily eclipse 20 home runs and possibly accrue 75 RBIs, based on how intimidating the Yankees are on offense.