New York Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman has undoubtedly been on fire as of late, but is there a future for him in pinstripes?
Another job well done for the scouting department. Cashman and Co. have seemingly taken the MLB’s misfits, and have created them into fantastic role players and potentials stars. It might be redundant, but for all the players the Yankees have been able to find over the years. It is hard to not be vocal about it. 2018 belonged to Luke Voit. It appears as if 2019 belongs to Mike Tauchman.
There are six outfielders with .290+ AVG, .360+ OBP, 540+ SLG. Yes, you guessed correctly, the ‘Sock-Man” is one of them. On an all star-filled list, Mike Tauchman is mentioned in the same breath as Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich, George Springer, and Charlie Blackmon. It makes zero sense and I don’t know what to say. From the abysmal start at the beginning of the year, Tauchman was destined to be a known Triple-A player. He could not hit an inside fastball to save his life.
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Speculation occurred as fans were confused when Clint Frazier wasn’t called up when Giancarlo Stanton was diagnosed with a right knee sprain and Cameron Maybin injured his hamstring. The sheer confidence to bring up Tauchman received plenty of backlash from the media and fans. However, the Yankees stuck to their guns and made the move they deemed the right choice for the ball club. In hindsight, it did not look too bad after all as he was an above-average defender compared to Frazier’s woes. Exhibit A, the home run he robbed last night. What can’t this guy do?
Little did anyone know, Tauchman would have a huge impact on this team and could very much make certain players expandable such as Maybin. The lefty bat in the lineup creates a decent balance and can break up a righty-dominant lineup. Not only is he getting on base for the likes of LeMahieu and Judge, but he is showing an enormous amount of pop with three home runs in the past two games.
After all the signings and trades in the offseason, the Mike Tauchman trade was never discussed, simply and afterthought. It was certainly something to do with the outfield depth, but no one expected to see him in the Bronx Zoo. It seems as if his energy this past week has rejuvenated this team with his gritty, tenacious play. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Mike Tauchman show, we are proudly living in his world, and I damn happy to be apart of it.