The Yankees have built an outstanding infield over the last few years. It is full of very young players that have shown they can perform at an above-average rate both offensively and defensively. Brian Cashman has found a way to develop an infield full of incredible talent.
In 2016, the Yankees infield was different. At first base was Mark Teixeira, at second was Starlin Castro, at shortstop was Didi Gregorius, and at third was Chase Headley. Now in 2020, the Yankees have Luke Voit at first, DJ LeMahieu at second, Gleyber Torres at shortstop, and Gio Urshela at third. As you can see, Cashman has brought youth into the Yankees infield, and they can play.
Are they the best infield in the MLB?
Some would say that last year was a better representation of how great the infield is. However, New York has gotten off to a pretty good start this year as well. Out of the four infielders (Voit, LeMaheiu, Torres, and Urshela), these are their combined stats:
.302 AVG, 91 H, 55 R, 52 RBI, 18 HR, 33 BB, .379 OBP, .518 SLG, .896 OPS.
Those are incredible hitting stats, and that’s not even from their best sample. Gleyber Torres is one that led the pack last year in a lot of these stats but has struggled this year. That just shows how great they are even when they aren’t performing at their best.
Defensively, they are great too. Gleyber Torres is one that has again struggled but is improving every game. He has had some trouble with errors; the rest of the infield has been immaculate. LeMahieu and Voit are above-average fielders, and Gio Urshela is a fielding phenom. He is going to win many gold gloves starting at third base and carries this infield defensively. New York’s excellent infield success has been thanks to Brian Cashman. He traded for Torres, Voit, and Urshela and then signed DJ LeMahieu to be a back-up.
It’s no doubt that these four infielders have surprised everyone in the MLB. The way that they have been playing has been outstanding and puts them up at the top of the league. The scary thing is, it’s only the start. Look to see how they contribute to the Yankees’ success this season.