New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has had disappointing 2018 and 2019 seasons and is ready to get back on track in 2020.
The 27-year-old backstop out of the Dominican Republic had an up-and-down 2019 season that was held back by injuries. He hit .232 with 34 home runs and 77 RBIs. The righty had a .525 slugging and a .841 OPS.
I call his 2019 up-and-down season because of the low average but high power numbers. For just 396 at-bats, his power numbers are extraordinary. If he stays healthy all year, he hits 40 home runs and drives in 100 runs, even if he continued to bat .232.
His defense was…..better. It’s not quite where the Yankees want it, but he made strides in the right direction. He had seven passed balls, an improvement from 18 in 2018.
2020 Expectations
The Yankees need a lot more out of Gary Sanchez in 2020.
His average needs to go up. It’s not like we haven’t seen him hit for average before, hitting .299 in 2016 and .278 in 2017. It would be great if he could hit .260 in 2020 and keep up the same power numbers.
He needs to continue to make defensive strides and make the number of passed balls decrease. Sanchez needs to communicate with pitchers better to avoid run causing cross-ups.
And finally, Sanchez needs to stay healthy. He’s battled injuries throughout the past few seasons and needs to put those issues behind him. With new training and rehab staff, we need to hope that they can help keep him healthy.
Gary Sanchez is ready to put behind previous struggles to make 2020 his best season yet.