It is no secret that the New York Yankees boast some of the best offensive talent in Major League Baseball. They have elite hitters like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu, and ascending players like Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and more. There is no shortage of star power.
However, have you thought about who is the one batter in the Yankees’ lineup that doesn’t get the recognition he deserves? That ever since he was acquired has done nothing but rake, take walks and hit home runs? We have, and his name is Luke Voit.
He came to the Yankees in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018, and what a September he had. Combining stats from the two teams, Voit slashed .322/.398/.671 with 15 homers in just 47 games in that 2018 season.
He entered 2019 with a chance to prove his worth, and he did, despite having to miss a great portion of the season with a core muscle injury. Last year, he slashed .263/.378/.464 with a .360 wOBA and a very good 126 wRC+ while playing some games hurt. That is a fantastic OBP that, had he been healthier, could have pushed .400.
The Yankees’ walk machine
Yes, the Yankees have had to cope with Voit’s strikeouts (27.8 K% last year) but he had an elite 13.9 BB% that was the cause of that sky-high OBP. Today’s baseball values players that have power and can take a base via walk, and Voit excels at both.
No, he isn’t a particularly good defender, but there is no denying that among the regulars and semi-regulars in the New York Yankees’ lineup (LeMahieu, Judge, Stanton, Torres, Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks) Voit is the most underrated offensive asset.
If there is a season in 2020, the Yankees will likely give Voit the majority of reps and at-bats from the first base, and maybe Voit can start to get some recognition now that he is fully healthy.