The New York Yankees are back to being Major League Baseball’s “Evil Empire” after acquiring slugger and reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins.
A season after hitting 59 home runs, Stanton now joins a Yankees lineup that already features Aaron Judge, coming off a rookie season in which he blasted 52 round trippers. The Yankees now have last season’s top-two home-run hitters, making them the first team since the 1965 San Francisco Giants, who sported Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, to feature a lineup with two such bats.
But the Yankees have so much more, which makes them such an imposing unit. Gary Sanchez is the best power-hitting catcher in baseball while Didi Gregorius is coming off a career season in which he set a Yankees franchise record for most home runs in a season by a shortstop.
On paper, there is little denying that this is the best lineup in baseball. So we tried to figure out just how good it could be.
Here is a look at the Yankees 2018 projected lineup with predicted numbers for each player:
1. Brett Gardner
2018 projected stats: .260 BA, 14 HR, 60 RBI
2. Didi Gregorius
2018 projected stats: .280 BA, 22 HR, 85 RBI
3. Aaron Judge
2018 projected stats: .275 BA, 44 HR, 103 RBI
4. Giancarlo Stanton
2018 projected stats: .290 BA, 60 HR, 125 RBI
5. Gary Sanchez
2018 projected stats: .275, 31 HR, 83 RBI
6. Greg Bird
2018 projected stats: .240 BA, 16 HR, 55 RBI
7. Aaron Hicks
2018 projected stats: .250 BA, 17 HR, 52 RBI
8. Chase Headley
2018 projected stats: .265 BA, 12 HR, 50 RBI
9. Gleyber Torres
2018 projected stats: .260, 11 HR, 65 RBI
