The Yankees are just getting started this offseason, so let’s take a look at how their right fielders performed this past year.
We come to the conclusion to our Grading process for the players in the field with the right field spot. The right field position is one of the most talented positions on paper for the New York Yankees. With young rock star Right fielder Aaron Judge to the newly acquired Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees were seemingly stacked in that spot. Did Judge and Stanton live up to the hype? Let’s find out.
Giancarlo Stanton
On December 11, 2017, Giancarlo Stanton was traded by the Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees for Jose Devers (minors), Jorge Guzman (minors) and Starlin Castro. When Stanton was traded, The 2017 MVP had high expectations in New York. While not putting up the same season he did a year prior, Stanton proved that with some time, he will be an amazing Yankee in the future.
Stanton racked up 37 home runs and 100 RBIs in 158 games played. Amazing how with numbers like these, people will still say Giancarlo Stanton underperformed. Stanton’s biggest flaw in New York happened to also be the biggest flaw for the Yankees as a whole. Giancarlo struggled with Runners in scoring position but to many of peoples dismay, the numbers aren’t as bad as we all thought.
With runners in scoring position, Stanton’s batting average stood at .241 with 53 strikeouts in 177 plate appearances. While the strikeout numbers are pretty awful to see, plenty of players struggled to hit with runners on base this season. Stanton in the field was passable, to say the least.
While not being called upon much to play in the field, when he was, Stanton did his job. In 118 chances to make an out, he would only cause one error in that span. At the end of the day, I believe Stanton’s best years in pinstripes are ahead of him but a great first year for the great Stantino.
Grade: B+
Aaron Judge
It’s no secret that Aaron Judge is the face of the franchise in New York. From a great demeanor on and off the field, Judge is what every baseball team wants in a player. After a Rookie of the Year winning performance in 2017, Judge was poised to take the next step in his game.
Due to some injury trouble, Judge would play significantly less than the year prior, skewing his numbers down quite a bit. Judge would hit 27 home runs with 67 RBIs in 2018 with a batting average of .278 in the process. In the field, Judge ranked as the second-best defensive right fielder in the American League behind Mookie Betts in 2017 and he kept up the fantastic play in 2018.
Aaron Judge is another case of “Great numbers for a normal player” but fans in the Bronx expected more from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. That being said, I don’t agree with the fans in this instance. With Aaron Judge on the field, the New York Yankees are simply a better team. I welcome grading Aaron Judge in years to come.