Outfielder Risers: Gardner & Snider
Let’s take a look at a pair of 20-something AL East outfielders with a chance to move up the rankings this summer…
Speed Demon: Brett Gardner
Gardner is pretty much everything a Yankees’ player isn’t supposed to be. He’s relatively young (27), fast, great defensively, homegrown, and cheap. Those guys aren’t common in the Bronx. Gardner went from undrafted in most leagues to a .277/.383/.379 line with 47 steals and 97 runs scored last year, but it could have been better if not for a second-half wrist issue. He took a Clayton Kershaw fastball to his right wrist on June 27th, at which point he was hitting .321/.403/.418 in 275 PA. From that point on, Gardner hit just .232/.363/.340 in his final 295 PA, missing a few days with wrist soreness/inflammation down the stretch. He has surgery to clean things out this offseason and is 100% heading into the season.
Most teams would hit a player with Gardner’s skill set lead off, but the Yankees are sticking with Derek Jeter in that spot (at least to start the season) and will have Gardner act as the second leadoff guy in the nine-hole. Maintaining his first half production over a full-season isn’t realistic, but a repeat of last year’s overall performance is. The projection systems peg him for an AVG in the .270’s with an OBP in the .360’s and anywhere from 37-50 steals. I think we’ll see Gardner steal some lead off time from the Cap’n and get on base enough to swipe 50+ bags and score 100+ runs. He’s not going to give you much power (career .100 ISO), but a second outfielder than can impact four categories in an OBP league is quite the commodity.
The Lunchbox Hero: Travis Snider
After spending parts of the last three seasons in the big leagues, it’s tough to believe that Snider just turned 23 years old last month. Like Gardner, a wrist issue gave him trouble a big chunk of the 2010 season (he was on the disabled list from mid-May through mid-July), and it appeared to hamper him down the stretch. Following a .241/.323/.483 line with ten doubles and six homers in his first 130 PA, he hit just .264/.294/.451 with ten doubles and eight homers in his final 189 PA. His ISO dropped 55 points after the injury, and his walk rate went from one every 9.3 PA to one every 27.0 PA. We know Snider’s capable of more just by his minor league numbers (.302/.376/.530 in over 1,600 PA).
For the first time in his career, Snider heads into the season with a clear shot at playing time and free from the occasionally head-scratching ways of Cito Gaston. We don’t like the over-emphasize small samples, but Snider finished the year with 15 hits, five homers, and ten runs scored in his final ten games, so at least he went into the winter on a positive note. The projection systems see him clearing 20 homers with regular playing time, along with an AVG in the .270’s with an OBP close to .340. I’m a believer and think Snider’s capable of more, but that production is rock solid when you consider that he’s going in the 15-17th round in standard leagues.
Mike writes about the Yankees at River Ave. Blues and baseball in general at CBS Sports.
Sorry, you lost me at the second sentence. There are plenty of reasons to bash the Yankees but bashing them for not having any homegrown talent is just plain stupid. If you look at Yankee minor leaguers playing at a high level in the majors right now, the Yankees are in the top three in all of MLB. If you look at their roster alone, they have more all-stars/hall of famers produced in-house than any team I can think of. Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, Cano, Hughes…how many teams can claim that?
So go ahead and bash them for screwing up the economics of baseball but I don’t think you can claim that their system doesn’t produce any talent.
some argue that players like the core 4 would have left in free agency if not for the yankees’ payroll and ability to pay them more to stay put. that’s not to say that they don’t have a ton of homegrown talent (most of their pitching and about half the lineup), but that it stays on the team because of the yankees’ ability to pay them all/ keep them when they get good, unlike a team like the indians who produce incredible talent and lose them all to free agency.
you seem very sensitive pete.
This is actually pretty funny considering the author of this article runs a blog about the Yankees and is a big Yankee fan.
right, and where did he mention ‘screwing up the econ of baseball’…
pete, give me what your smoking, you obviously don’t know how to handle it.
Sorry, but you’re completely wrong. You assumed the writer – from the second sentence, no more – was taking a not-so-sneaky jab at the Yankees, which is entirely unfounded. There is legitimate criticism to be directed at the Yankees’ development of young players over the past ten years or so, and that is exactly what the writer was aiming to say. Plenty of other teams boast more farm-developed MLB talent, and if you look up this information, you’ll surely find it.
If you’re going to criticize someone’s hard work, at least be justified in your accusations. And in case you’re concerned about bias again, I can tell you that this post was written by a lifelong Yankee fan.
I was just cracking a joke at the stereotypical Yankees players, that’s it.
That’ll learn you for having a sense of humor!
Not among fantasy baseball geeks, no you don’t!