New York Yankees: Who’s on first for the Yanks? It’s up in the Air
By Ed Stein
Luke Voit
2018 was the second season Luke Voit saw time in the majors. The former 22nd round draft pick probably thought he might fall short of his major league dream when he didn’t make the Cardinals roster out of 2017 spring training. He was 26 years old and running out of time. Not many position players debut after 27.
His call-up to the bigs came on June 25, 2017, and Voit spent the rest of the season with the Cards. He didn’t break camp with the team in 2018 either and wasn’t back with St. Louis until the end of May. A slow start did him in, going 2-for-11 (.182) in eight games through June 17 and he was sent back.
Things changed for Voit when he was traded to the Yankees on June 29. He stepped on the accelerator once he donned the pinstripes. In 39 games with the Bronx Bombers, he hit .333 with 14 home runs to close out the regular season.
Voit is a win for the team’s scouting department. In an article from September 21, 2018, appearing on NJ.com, Brendan Kuty interviewed Yankees professional scouting director Dan Giese who said his staff thought Voit had “off the chart skills that could work well at Yankee Stadium.”
The six-foot-three-inch slugger definitely has a shot to win the job, especially if he can come close to the production from last year.