New York Yankees: How do Yanks stack up against top AL contenders?
By Sean Dyer
Center Fielders
- George Springer (HOU) – 4 points
- Jackie Bradley Jr. (BOS) – 3 points
- Aaron Hicks (NYY) – 2 points
- Bradley Zimmer (CLE) – 1 point
The top center fielder in this group is unquestionably George Springer. He’s the only one who’s in consideration to be a top-five center fielder in all of baseball. He’s also the only one with a World Series MVP under his belt.
Springer has always hit for power (20 HR in ’14, 16 HR in ’15, 29 HR in ’16) but he set a career high with 34 dingers in 2017. He also had a career-high .283 batting average and 85 RBI. Springer started his career as a right fielder and split time between right and center last season. He’s been a stud in center field and should stay there full-time in 2018.
Springer will look to build on his ridiculous postseason, hitting .292 with six home runs in 18 games, and should become a perennial All-Star.
Deciding between Jackie Bradley Jr. and Aaron Hicks was hard. They are very similar players. Brian Cashman even compared Hicks to JBJ back in 2016. The comparison was about how Bradley struggles up until he broke out in 2016 and Cashman thought Hicks could do the same in 2017. And he did.
The reason Bradley gets the nod here is that although his 2017 season was a disappointment compared to his breakout 2016 campaign (.267-26-87), JBJ still hit 17 home runs last season with 63 RBI.
His .245 batting average has to improve but Bradley’s defense in centerfield can’t get much better. JBJ has great range and an absolute cannon for an arm. Aaron Judge can attest to Bradley’s range.
Sound a lot like Hicks, right? Hicks is third on this list because we still don’t know how he’ll follow up his breakout season. His breakout season was also an injury-filled one.
Hicks finally put it all together in 2017, setting career highs across the board. He also continued to play great defense and hose out runners. He robbed two grand slams and threw out Eduardo Nunez at third base in one of the great games of last season.
As the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox battle for the AL East crown, these two center fielders will be battling for second place on this list (Springer would have to really slip up to lose the top spot).
Rounding out our list is Bradley Zimmer. Zimmer showed flashes during his rookie year of being an important part of Cleveland’s future. He hit eight home runs with 39 RBI in 101 games and played a very good center field, especially for a man his size (6’5, 220 lb.). He also stole 18 bases in 19 attempts. Zimmer will have to improve upon his .241 batting average and 99 strikeouts which should come as he settles into the major league game. He’s a promising young player.