New York Yankees: Is Giancarlo Stanton due for a breakout season?

New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton struggled to stay on the field last year. He only appeared in twenty-three games. Yankee fans have been very critical of the 31-year old outfielder since he was acquired by New York in December 2017. But is he due for another breakout season?

Fans often forget how good Stanton was in 2018. Here are his stats from his first year in New York: 617 AB, 164 H, 38 HR, 100 RBI, 70 BB, .266 AVG, .343 OBP, .509 SLG, .852 OPS, oWAR 3.7.

Yankee fans expected Giancarlo Stanton to hit 50 home runs in 2018 because of how much success he had the previous year with the Marlins. When Stanton only hit 38, fans seemed to be very disappointed and started calling him “overpaid” and “overrated.” What fans didn’t see, was how good of a season Stanton had compared to his past years. He had the most doubles in his career, the second-most hits, and the second-most home runs. His AVG was only .266 but was still the fourth-highest in his career. Stanton carried the Yankees to a playoff berth that year and it goes unnoticed. 

What should we expect this year?

With two years in the Bronx under his belt, I feel it’s time that Stanton has a similar 2018 season. He’s been off the field for too long and is starting to get frustrated with himself. You can tell all he wants to do is be out there and help his team. I think this is the year he does that more than ever. A shortened season is the perfect time for Stanton to get hot and have a great 60-game stretch. From June 22 – Aug 29th, 2017, Stanton hit 33 home runs and averaged a .824 SLG percentage. That was from his incredible MVP season, but it shows how hot Stanton can get in a short span. With the talent the Yankees have offensively, Stanton can do half of that and still have an incredible season. Stanton is one of those players that is either really cold or really hot. But even when he’s cold, he still puts up top-notch hitting numbers.

Here are my predictions for Giancarlo Stanton this season: 220 AB, 65 H, 14 HR, 37 RBI, 14 BB, .295 AVG, .354 OBP, .510 SLG, .904 OPS, oWAR 2.4

Don’t give up on Stanton yet.