Can Luke Voit Carry the Yankees Back to First Place?

New year, same storyline, different outcome. As if they were cursed, the Yankees star sluggers are injured again, leaving the backup players and few starters to pick up the slack. Last year, somehow Mike Tauchman, Cameron Maybin, Gio Urshela, Austin Romine, and Brett Gardner drilled in with the next man up attitude and helped the Yankees reach within one game of their first pennant since 2009. In 2020, the Yankees call upon Clint Frazier, Mike Tauchman, Miguel Andújar, Tyler Wade, and Thairo Estrada to rise to the occasion. These are a talented group of players, but they can only contribute so much. 

In 2019, regulars such as Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres, and DJ LeMahieu were a beacon of hope during a series of tumultuous injuries. Sánchez got hot and mashed the ball seemingly every night, Torres continued the legacy of Yankee shortstops, and LeMahieu, The Machine, was the best damn leadoff hitter in baseball. Even when the trio had an off day, which happens to even the best players in baseball, the replacement players and the bullpen picked up the slack. Last year’s Yankee team felt special; they had heart, grit, and were savages in the box.

Perhaps it was the seven game losing streak, Aaron Judge injuring his calf again, Giancarlo Stanton’s contract feeling like the exhaust port in the Evil Empire’s Death Star, or Urshela’s injury scare, but Yankee fans are worried. They see how the finely-tuned Rays are sitting pretty in first place, especially after taking six out of their seven games from the Bronx Bombers. Meanwhile, the Yankee faithful are anxiously awaiting for Hicks to raise his batting average over .200, praying that Gardner can once again turn back the clock, and wishing that Sánchez could tap more into his eye-popping power. 

Although starting pitching has looked better as of late, the worried whispers do not go away. Gerrit Cole should not have a 3.51 ERA, especially after being snubbed for the Cy Young award last year and striking out 326 batters last season. Their beloved Masahiro Tanaka still cannot find consistency during the regular season. Jordan Montgomery, who can one day become a solid three starter and give the Yankees distance every time out, is still working through growing pains. J.A. Happ shows a flash of his 2018 magic, but it is hard to believe if he is legitimate. Lastly, Jonathan Loaisiga and Michael King may throw in the mid-to-upper nineties, but lasting getting pulled in the fourth inning or earlier will hardly do the trick. 

Finally, their once lights out bullpen looked like a shell of its former self. The bullpen has one goal: get the ball to Chapman. This once easy task now compares to climbing Mount Everest. Chapman came in on Friday and issued a rare blown save against the Mets—a walkoff homer to Amed Rosario, which extended the losing streak to seven. The usual setup men, Britton and Kahnle, are injured with the latter out for the year. Their next best setup man, Adam Ottavino, is predictably being burdened by the free passes. 

Then there’s Chad Green. The lights out reliever turned postseason hero has fallen victim to the long ball. His upper-nineties fastball does not have the same effect it did back in 2017, so he needs to hurl in more curveballs. The Yanks are trying to take chances on their young relievers in Nick Nelson and Michael King, but these prospects still need adequate seasoning before blossoming into dependable arms. 

In a year full of tragedy and difficulties, in a season filled with bad luck, and Injured List (I.L.) stints, just who can step up and bring hope to the masses? One man: Luke Voit.

“He looks like he’s a completely different runner.”— Suzyn Waldman, Yankees announcer.

This description is of Luke Voit scoring innocently enough from first on a Clint Frazier double, but it reveals so much more about him. He is a man on a mission, a mission to bring the Yankees back to first place. He’s the savior during the Yankees midseason crisis.

After years of Lyle Overbays, Travis Hafners, Greg Birds, and Tyler Austins, Luke Voit finally looked like the first baseman of the future in 2019. However, Voit was just 1-for-39 at the end of the regular season, and on October 12^th, 2019 Luke Voit was left off the ALCS roster. The golden boy first baseman of the Yankees might have been a fluke.

Fast forward to just before the 2020 regular season begins. The Missouri native lost thirteen pounds and somehow looked even more jacked than before. He mentioned how he felt like he was in the best shape in his life. So many players say this before spring training, but Voit was different; he let his bat and performance do the talking.

In a Yankees season filled with their star players being placed on the I.L., or succumbing to fatigue, a slump, or COVID-19, Voit has been consistently producing all season long. As of now, he leads the American League in slugging (.697), is second for OPS (1.064), and is tied for second with 12 HRs. 

Voit has been the only dependable, and healthy player wearing pinstripes. DJ LeMahieu was repeating his 2019 performance before having a short I.L. stint with a thumb injury. Aaron Judge looked like the best hitter on the planet before reinjuring his calf. Gio Urshela proved that 2019 was not a one off, but found himself in a normal hitter’s slump, and was out of commission for a few days. 

Voit is more than just a slugger and was originally listed as a poor defensive first baseman. Baseball fans came to a consensus and agreed he was yet another all or nothing corner infielder. While that still may be the case, his nimble form has already paid dividends on the other side of the ball. In 2019, he had -12 DRS* and -3.9 UZR* in 706.1 innings at first base, but so far in 2020 he has just -1 DRS* and -0.1 UZR* in 188.2 innings at first base. Although the sample size is quite different, Voit is proving he can hold his own.

As mentioned by Suzyn Waldman, Voit looks completely different on the basepaths. Voit was a player in the running for the slowest player on the Yankees. Every Yankee fan was shocked that Voit scored easily on that double by Clint. This is the same player with -3.8 BsR* last season. This year, he grades out as an above average runner at 0.4 BsR*. 

Even though Voit looks like he is a new and improved player, he is not enough to carry the Yankees back to first place. His ridiculous HR/FB (38.7%)* ratio regress as will his unsustainable slugging percentage since they are much greater than his career averages (26.5 HR/FB%* and .528 slugging* respectively). While there is a good chance he can be productive for the rest of the year, he needs reinforcements. 

There is no question that the pitching staff needs to find some consistency. Gerrit Cole needs to pitch effectively into the sixth and seventh inning every time. Tanaka, Montgomery, and Happ just need to get to the fifth inning. As for Loaisiga, the Yankees just need three strong.

The bullpen needs to wake up. Ottavino will always give up walks but needs to strand them on base. As for Chad Green, he needs to throw in his offspeed pitches more often. He cannot overpower hitters just with his fastball alone. Jonathan Holder is pitching like he did back in 2018 and should continue to be used as a late inning option. As for the tier two relievers such as Luis Cessa, Nick Nelson, Michael King, Jonathan Loaisiga, and any other pitcher they call up for a cup of coffee, they should only be used in close games if absolutely necessary.

Hitting wise, someone needs to help out Voit. Clint Frazier has proved time and time again he can hit big league pitching. Tauchman or Andújar need to find their power output, which they have flashed throughout their career. Lastly, if only one of the Yankee regulars such as Urshela, Gardner, Sánchez, and Hicks could catch fire, that could be just enough to get the Yankees over the hump.

Yankee fans should feel slightly disappointed by the team right now. Although they are still a playoff bound team, ending the season without a division title would be a major blow since the Yankees were the AL East favorites. This team still consists of many of the same players that went out and won 103 games last season. Everybody knows that the 2020 Yankees team can be the best team in baseball; they just need to hold their own until Aaron Judge, Zack Britton, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, Kyle Higashioka, and James Paxton come back. 

The Yankees did end their week on a high note. After dropping the first two games to the Mets, they won the next three, including both games of a double header on Sunday. Gary Sánchez came up big by hitting a go-ahead pinch hit grand slam in game two of Sunday’s twin bill. Furthermore, DJ LeMahieu is back in the lineup, and the bullpen looks like it just had a few midseason hiccups before bouncing back. Also, the starting pitching staff has been firing on all cylinders this past week, which would come in handy for the last three game series against the Rays starting on August 31^st. The Yankees would need everything working for them to be the best team in baseball, but if they have a chance at bouncing back, it all starts with Luke Voit.

Key:

*: Statistics taken before Sunday’s doubleheader

Slugging: A measurement of a hitter’s power output. It can be calculated by adding up total bases (ex/ a single is one base and a double is two bases) divided by at bats. MLB average: .435

OPS: On base percentage + Slugging Percentage. MLB average: .757.

UZR and DRS: Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved are both statistics from Fangraphs that measure fielding. If UZR or DRS is above 0, the fielder is above average. Equal to 0 means the fielder is average, and less than 0 means the fielder is below average. 

HR/FB%: The percentage of Home runs hit on fly balls. MLB average: 9.5 %.

Sources: 

https://www.fangraphs.com/

https://www.mlb.com/news/luke-voit-sheds-weight-during-quarantine

https://www.pinstripealley.com/2019/10/12/20911272/yankees-alcs-roster-astros-aaron-hicks-cc-sabathia-luke-voit-tyler-wade