Among major leaguers who finished with at least 150 plate appearances in 2018, future Hall of Famer Mike Trout unsurprisingly led the way in wRC+ (191). But who finished second? Was it AL MVP Mookie Betts, NL MVP Christian Yelich or another big-name superstar? No, it was Luke Voit, who put up a 187 wRC+ in 161 PAs divided between the Cardinals and Yankees. Voit took a mere 13 trips to the plate until late July, when New York acquired him from St. Louis for a pair of relievers, and then proceeded to give the first baseman-needy Yankees an answer at the position over the final couple months of the season.
During his first 148 PAs as a Yankee, the burly, boisterous Voit batted a video game-like .322/.398/.671 with a Ruthian ISO (.350) and 15 home runs. And Statcast backed up Voit’s production, ranking the soon-to-be 28-year-old first in barrels per plate appearance and expected weighted on-base average (.437) among those who racked up at least 150 PAs on the season. While Voit benefited from a .365 batting average on balls in play, a number he may not approach again, the Yankees are understandably optimistic he’s good enough to serve as their No. 1 option at first going forward.
This has been an active offseason in the infield for New York, which has signed DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki while showing interest in Manny Machado, but the team has been quiet at first base. Despite Voit’s limited track record, the right-handed slugger’s incredible showing toward the end of 2018 has made him the odds-on favorite to start at first in 2019 for the Yankees, whose previous long-term hope, the lefty-swinging Greg Bird, has fallen short of expectations because of a spate of injuries and less-than-stellar overall production. The Yankees have been bullish on Bird, but he missed all of 2016 because of a shoulder injury, and then produced very little from 2017-18 while dealing with foot problems. His horrific 2018 campaign made it necessary for the World Series-contending Yankees to address first, where they ultimately chose to turn to Voit over the summer.
While it’s still too soon to give up on the 26-year-old Bird, he may not receive regular playing time with the Yankees again unless Voit falls flat. Although Bird was a much better prospect than Voit during their younger days, there’s no doubt the latter has been the superior major leaguer to this point. Consequently, as the Yankees prepare for a championship push, they’ll continue with Voit at first, undoubtedly hoping last season wasn’t a mirage and they’ve acquired a star-caliber hitter for next to nothing.
The Steamer projection system doesn’t expect the 2019 version of Voit to serve as an offensive force, though, as it predicts he’ll wind up with an above-average but hardly world-beating .262/.335/.458 line. That would make for a .793 OPS, far better than what Yankees first basemen managed from 2016-18 but also much less impressive than the production Voit offered during his abbreviated showing last season. Now that he’s the Yankees’ preferred choice at first, how do you expect Voit to perform in 2019?
(link for app users)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
unanimous MVP
Anyone that thinks he’ll be better than replacement level is either a Yankees fan or a mathematically handicapped.
And you know this how?
kayrail i guess youre seriously mathematically handicapped. replacement level is set at 20 percent below average and considering he was considerably above average last year. you are predicting he’ll get released
therefore you have set a very high standard for failure for yourself
or conversely you are an idiot which is far more likely
You have disqualified yourself from learned fans based on your adolescent name calling – but if I must use your language usage – Knucklehead comes to mind for you
Lol, so a Yankees fans opinion is discredited because of bias.
But we should all respect the opinion of a rabid Yankees hater?
Moron.
I respect it.
agreed replacement level player for 2019. Last year wont sustain..
So unless his defense pulls him down I expect him to be well above average hopefully he gets the DH a lot
He’ll guarantee a WS win!
How do you know Mike Trout will be in the Hall of Fame in the future? What if he decides to use steroids to hit 80 HR?
Trout was hall of fame bound after his second year
Hes already on steroids
Trout hasn’t even drank 2% milk.
Scumbag.
Voters aren’t that impressed by long balls anymore
If he really wants to be a lock he needs to spend more time hanging out with the voters so they have some fluff story to write about him when he gets elected
Pickle, a lot of people are giving you crap, but around this point in Bond’s career is when obvious steroid use was starting, so I do think you have a point.
No it isn’t. Bond didn’t start using steroids until after the ‘98 season, at which point he had been in the league for 13 years. Trout has only been in the league for 8 years.
Dude, if anything that makes his point more relevant. Trout could use steroids for 5 years longer than Bonds, meaning he would be even harder pressed to make it in the HOF.
So.. You’re saying a guy who is a guaranteed Hall of Famer, who is going to pass up Derek Jeter in career WAR this season (which is true, look it up), is going to go on steroids to break an unbreakable record out of spite?
Yes sir!
Ok, that legitimately could be a xabial comedy comment. Trout is about to sign a record contract when he becomes a FA; no steroids. What player in their RIGHT MIND would forfeit his Hall of Fame possibilities, remove his credibility, and ruin his public image to attempt to break a record that he may or may not break anyway.
Umm…Arod? I highly doubt Trout ever does PEDs but you really teed that one up
Barry Bonds…..
I think they are saying he is already on them.
Cano
News flash: Trout is better than Bonds or A-Rod were at 26 years older
Ummmm Trout was not better than Arod at 26. Seeing Arod was putting up 50 homers as a SS, Arod was better, although that better was enhanced by PED’s.
Ah yes Trout was better then Aroid there is no part of his career that he was better then Trout sorry but you are wrong. Trout has been the best player of easily a generation and it’s not really even close. Arod was never at any point Imi. His career better then Trout and it really isn’t even close.
“Ok, that legitimately could be a xabial comedy comment.“
@nubbz18
Strange. This comment.
We never interacted and dont know who u are
Ohh I get it.. you mean. xabial imposter accs… Ouch
Rafael Palmeiro did
Um, you know how steroids work, right? And that players are tested for them rigorously, right?
I don’t know about rigorously. Some get tested every other week, some don’t get tested for years. It’s random.
Not true. Per the CBA, each player is tested three times a year, and some more often.
It’s a great situation for all parties. For Greg Bird, he has 1 more shot and getting it together or he’s in AAA or heading to Japan in 2020.
For Voit, he can prove last year was no fluke for Luke and can be the starter if Bird falters.
If both falter, Cashman goes after a 1B like Encarnacion or Smoak. Both carry expiring contracts.
Please, enough of my Jays to the Yankees. It hurts
Stupid sxxt!
Trout is already the 7th best center-fielder of all time, according to JAWS, and IMO is better than Speaker and Griffey. He should easily pass everyone except Mays.
Wait Voit the Soccer ball ? Lol
OH YA BABY!!!! Luke Voight’s takin’ Rob Refsnyder’s place in the Hall of Fame.
AAA flotsam that cries regression. If the Spanks are smart (and they are) , Brandon Belt will be in pinstripes by May 1.
Because overpaid injury prone first basemen are always in high demand?
if the yankees are smart the stay as far away from brandon belt as possible
Ya we all know Belt has his warts. He’ll also likely be the best available out there.
Depends on lots of stuff: if Stanton bounces back, how Judge does, Tulo, etc.,etc. And exactly how far back they are approaching August; no one seriously thinks they’ll be ahead.
There are worst solutions out there than Brandon Belt.
When a guy who hits .266BA 38HR and 100RBI needs to “bounce back” it makes me giggle
You Yankee fans speak your own language
They drink beer with corn syrup.
We don’t drink Bud Light.
Ya, ever since King George, you guys are more into Kale Smoothies and Coconut Lattes. I remember when normal people could be Yankee fans……
Because real men drink light beer. Apparently.
Bud lite is absolute piss m8. I like me a Corona or Modelo
What’s interesting about the Voit deal is that the primary goal was to acquire international spending pool money and free up a 40-man roster spot.
Voit’s 2018 production was purely a happy bit of luck.
Ninja Cash strikes again.
I don’t think that’s true. How do YOU assume it was about the pool money? You’re drawing your own conclusion based upon how YOU see things.
Cashman has said ““He was someone that was on our radar, our analytics crew had noticed him early on, and in a lot of our meetings last year, he was someone that we coveted from St. Louis and we finally matched up,”
He goes on to say that Voit “has exceeded his expectations” but notes that the talent to perform at that level was the reason they acquired him. He also said that he was acquired to replace Austin whom was out of options and would be traded to acquire Lance Lynn. So he WAS what they wanted and I would suggest the pool money was the bonus, even if they latler used that money to sign an international prospect to a large bonus. I think it was equal parts a move for Voit and the money.
Of course he said that. Do you really think he would announce to the public, “Yeah, we are just as shocked as you are. We thought he was a throw in”?
with regards to scouting he said that before his success.
Could YOU type out a comment that isn’t multiple paragraphs? Noone who values their time is going to read YOUR comment.
Not true at all. Cash stated they were looking at Voit for awhile so Con-Men the snowflake just likes to spew fake newz because of his obvious bias. No need to look any further then his silly name bringing politics into sports talk.
Will have a better career than Shane Spencer.
Voit had .333/.405/.689 with 14 home runs 39 games for NY
Xabial, you should use one of your alt accounts that get less boos. Then maybe you can see whether people vote down on your posts cause they’re bad, or you cause you’re awful.
TF are alt accs?
Do you even follow the upvotes, downvotes jeers, constantly get for posting under the name xabial (?)
I (still) power thru, continue post under “xabial.” Feel most dont even read my posts cuz personal, off-topic attacks thrown my way constantly.
Case in point… probably now!
Only have 1 acc. Same acc I’ve been using all these years. Dont care about constant dv votes. All i care about is wantinh to talk baseball. I don’t understand what’s “bad or awful” about my post.
If any of my comments were posted by another name, prob have much less personal backlash, but I still only have 1 account. Lighten up, guys. This game is supposed to unify us. Baseball is unifying. Even for being an overzealous Yankee fan, these disgusting rude replies are constantly tolerated
Xabial: The True Underdog Story
Xab, while I’ve often felt that you walk right into trouble, I’ve also always applauded that you haven’t let the vultures here dissuade you from posting. Do your thing and ignore the nonsense. What makes you happy makes you happy and your aren’t hurting a soul.
yes what srechter said, you are a name I always read, stay up X
X
You pollute the site
Hahaha! X is awful
xabial’s posts, a summary:
*copy/pastes stat line*
“this good/bad”
OR
“wahh wahh mods ban this guy plS!!! whY dOeS eVerYonE DV mE?!! i-i dont even care about DV!!! wah wah ppl don like me on the internet:((((((“
OR
extremely safe opinion that actually says nothing of value all to appear level headed
OR
incoherent drivel (possibly due to lack of sleep because he constantly refreshes the website in hopes for a new article he be the first commenter on)
His 2018 performance was a giant mess and thats why people “boo” him. Maybe his 2019 season will he different. Comeback player of the year candidate????
Cool Hand Luke will mash this year, Ba Ba Lu has a bet here. But I don’t think he can eat 50 eggs.
he’ll be on the bench shakin the bush for attention by all star break.
One thing’s for sure. Bird’s a bust.
“Voit grabbed that job, there’s no question about it.”
Now that’s a post we can all get behind.
Calling it now, Bird will have a better season than Voit.
.216 with 7 hr vs .199 with 1 hr and a minor league option executed
AAA maybe
i wish Bird the best. im a fan of his. however what are you basing it off of? your hunch? no shade intended.
Bird has sustained a better ISO and a better walk rate than Voit throughout his career despite his struggles. Given his extreme flyball rate he won’t ever have a “high BABIP” but he should be able to sustain a .270-.280 rate. If he can do that that would put him in line to slash .245/.325/.490 which is not amazing but that would require no “improvements” just to have his luck sort of regulate itself. It could be even better if he shows improvements in his peripherals. Compare this with an expected slash from Voit of .260/.320/.440 (see my comment lower in the column for my Voit breakdown). That’s an OPS of .815 for Bird and .760 for Voit. Given Bird is a better defender than Voit, overall, that would be a much better season.
any good production Bird had was back in 2015. I think both will be garbage next year, but at least Voit will have earned his roster spot.
I like Voit. I liked him with the Cards, but they (Matheny) wouldn’t give him much of a look. I don’t now, and didn’t then, think he is a star, but he doesn’t have to be. If he can be at, or slightly above, replacement level, then he’s a fit. If, that is, he can improve his defense some.
Thank you for this article. I posted this on some thread a while back about Voit so I’ll post it again here.
Okay, here is why you shouldn’t trust Voit to continue what he did last year.
1. He had a 40% flyball/hr rate. This is insanely high. He has a career minor league rate of about 11%, which means he will have a 75% regression.
2. He had a ISO of .350 while averaging an ISO of about .180 in the minors. This means you can half the number of extra base hits (20). By the way he had 15 hrs and only 5 doubles. That ratio is incredibly skewed and further shows that his hr rate will not continue.
3. He had a BABIP of .365 last year which is .060 higher than his track record at the Major Leagues and the MLB average. Given his hitting profile, a .305 BABIP would seem like a realistic hope for him over a full season. Lowering his .322 average to about .260.
4. Last year in only 1/3 of a season, he graded out as a crappy 1B, which isn’t a huge deal as most 1B are bad fielders, but there is nothing he is doing with his glove to save any mediocrity at the plate.
So in conclusion, he will most likely be a .260ish hitter with a .320ish OBP with 18 or so HRs and plays a bad 1B. That is not an everyday player. Sure, if he was a SS, he would be something special, but as a 1B, he is replacement level. He would make a solid weak side platoon, or a RH bat of the bench, but a championship team should not be rolling him out there everyday.
Which is why he was expendable by the Cardinals. Andujar is a terrible 3B and has a better bat than Voit. The Yankees will move him to 1B at some point this coming season, maybe even in spring training.
right so the yankees are going to go thru what they went thru for the whole offseason just to move Andujar to 1b and create a hole to be filled by whom?
i just don’t understand ppl. Voit has earned the right to start at 1b. let’s just see what he can do.
About #1
I wouldnt necessarily pin that regression against him based off his minor league numbers. A lot of the time players develop more power once they hit the bigs, even if their minor league numbers disagree. That said, i would expect a regression, just not straight back down to his minor league numbers.
So giddy when I saw this topic. First, disclaimer. He has an obvious small sample size.
That being said, he is the perfect victim of ageism and non-top 100 pedigree status.
He was a 4 year player at MSU. Drafted out of HS by the Royals but declined to sign.
Drafted at age 22.
His was not a story of a guy who struggled to find his way. He didn’t wow anyone but he posted a solid .274/.352./.421 at A+ in his 2nd and 3rd seasons. His “breakout” season was his 4th year in the minors at AA with a .292/.377/.477.
He was called up to the majors by the Cardinals and failed to wow anyone with a .246/.306/.430 line and was sent to AAA in 2017 and but together a 3/4/5 season.
In 2018 he posted a combined .301/.390/.506 at AA/AAA and a .322./.398./.671. He showed he belonged in the majors.
By no means do I expect him to keep the pace of 2018. However, I don’t think a .270/350 line with 25 homers is far fetched.
What’s his favorite color?
Magenta. He also love long walks in the park and pictures of kittens wearing superhero costumes.
That burn is gonna leave one helluva mark…
Can MLBTR provide us a daily update from The Steamer projection system? Recalculating each day for each team to factor in players being added onto and subtracted from the roster.
That way we won’t have to watch those messy games with the silly baserunning, cutoff men (whatever that means), hitting to the wrong field when the defense is positioned on the other side, sliding, and all that nonsense about which team won the game.
We’re intelligent baseball fans. We want to know how fast the pitcher throws his pitches, how many bats he misses, how many pitches the batter sees – and how all this stuff affects our fantasy league teams.
Enquiring minds want to know.
That’s what Fangraphs is for.
I feel like MLB Facebook comments are more your speed then…
Jose Bautista was a late bloomer. Cant write this guy off yet.
You are right, both Bautista and Voit have punchable faces.
Rougned Odor will be the judge of that
Can’t wait for the projection for Cory Spangenberg to come out.. oh wait he’s not a Yankee.
He’s not an everyday player. He just isn’t.
Yankees will not catch lightning in a bottle with him.
My thoughts…
The Yankees, if not seriously in on Machado or Harper, should have traded for Goldschmidt.
Goldy was their answer at 1B.
based off of?
If I had Cashman’s job…Bird and whatever else it took, would be Arizona-bound for Goldy.
Arizona might do it but the Cardinals probably wouldn’t approve .
Lol!
Do you think Bird as a headliner would have been more attractive to Arizona than what they got? A top catching prospect, a pitcher with a lot of control that has had success at the MLB level and an infield prospect that has power. Bird would not have headlined any trade, let alone one for an all star.
Put down the bong. Goldy is not with Arizona and has not been at any point this year.
Voit is THE ANSWER.
To what? Who had 143 AB last season?
Then i’d offer Goldy 5/$150MM to forego free agency.
Then, i’d have been in a bidding war with St. Louis…and they’d have lost.
If the Redbirds challenged, i’d have put Grey in with Bird.
Basically, i’d have done what it took.
Okay give me Bird, Gleyber, Judge, and Severino. You said what ever it took!
Also do you really think a package of Bird and Gray would be enough for Goldschmidt?
Did you know that we passed New Years Eve and it’s 2019?
you really think Bird and Grey would’ve been enough to get Goldy? yeezus.
No.
I said what it took. But for a cost-conscious team like AZ, it’s a start.
Bird, Gleyber, etc…i’d hang the phone up. I don’t deal with crazy.
Bruh, learn how the reply system works.
But Bird would be a nice start for a team like AZ with moving Goldy out.
They wouldn’t want a 26 year old who plays on a dime?
I say they would.
I wouldn’t do anything stupid, but i’ve have beat what the Cards offered.
Bird doesn’t play, that is his entire problem.
Seriously, y’all must be hard up for article material.
Dude…I see how replies work.
You guys are like little girls on this board.
Just shut up, read and comment. Who cares how it’s ordered?
You guys are petty. Children.
And I care less about your down votes…have at it, doesn’t shake me a difference.
I see how y’all do X…y’all act stupid.
You and X are one in the same… literally. Both Yankees fan who think people will trade their beat players for your leftovers. I see your alt-account is just as unpopular as your X profile.
Do you honestly think 1 or 1,000,000 down votes bother me?
You’d be wrong.
I know more about this game than some GM’s employed by MLB.
I guarantee you I do a better job than BVW. I put that on everything.
Dude obviously it bothers you, that’s why you keep talking about it.
Quit showing off your internet peen, no one cares.
If you did, you would be employed in baseball.
Coppy……is that you?
I bet the GM’s could figure out how to hit the reply button.
If you voted over .800, look at his minor league numbers. Players average .52 points lower in the majors than they produced in the minors and he averaged .829.
If you are even looking at his 143 AB in the majors and think that is any indication of what he will do in the future you are relying on too small of a sample size.
Figure somewhere around .775-.780 which is still above average IF he gets enough at bats. Chances are Andujar is the starting 1B most of the season.
Braves fan, fools. Look at the avatar.
And don’t compare me to anyone, you can’t, I rarely post.
I talk about it, because I see it often. You guys could seriously stand to grow up, a little.
>Acts like a child
>Gets triggered when people mock him for it
>Tells everyone to grow up
>Has no friends
.250 / 15 / 55
If that is true from Voit at first, then Yankees still have enough offense to be playoff bound.
Talks trash when he doesn’t even know a person.
Dude, you have issues.
I’m telling you this, to keep you from embarassing yourself.
Who worries about making friends?
Dude, are you even an adult? I hope not. That would, at least, make some sense as to why you comment as you do.
Anyways…
“Coppy, is that you?”
Now THAT…was funny.
This is probably the worst symptom of the slow offseason tbh. No offense to the author
I actually like the article. I had wondered, myself, if the Yanks would really go with him as the starter.
I know they wanna try, I get that it’s a win if he works…I just don’t see it.
Bird will reclaim the job, or NY will be out hunting again by end of July.
Or Andujar gets moved to 1B.
I guess they have options, at least.
I still think Goldy was a match made in heaven for them.
yankees farm is depleted. why use your best prospects to acquire a 1B?
No one has offered a single valid reason why Voit can’t be a player capable of a solid .275/.350 25 hr season. you discredit because he wasn’t a top 100 prospect and his age. both stupid reasons.
Guys, calm down.
People can’t even mention a throw-in without some of you losing it.
No, in no way did I say HEADLINE Bird for Goldy.
I mention a player to add in that they might like to have to take a shot on.
I’m also not putting down the Cards’ offer.
I just think the Yanks would have done well to go all out for Goldy.
And yes, I realize the move happened a while back.
I’m saying IN RETROSPECT
Ya know…HYPOTHETICALLY speaking.
Some of you need a hobby or a female in your lives, lmmfao
I discredit him because he’s done very little in the MINORS…much less MLB.
.288/.370/.479 is as good as many other top 100 prospects. you can doubt how he’ll do going fwd but there’s nothing in his historical numbers to suggest he’d not the the real deal. and real deal in my opinion is a .275/.350 25 hr slash
A fluke is a fluke.
And, I gotta say this…
No, the best minds for baseball aren’t always the ones being hired as GM’s.
You have former players, guys graduating with Master’s degrees in finance, and former agents, like BVW.
There are limited jobs. Just because you have a mind for baseball, doesn’t mean the teams will know you or beat your door down to offer you a job.
Think the guys writing for this site don’t have enough knowledge to work in a FO? They do.
Saying…”if you knew anything you’d have a job in baseball” just tells me you know very little about how life works.
As someone who has interned in 2 different MLB FOs, they are incredibly smart. The amount of things, players, contracts, objectives, and staff they juggle is crazy. I can tell you for a fact, based on the what you’ve shown on this page, you do no have what it takes to work in baseball. For one, humility is paramount.
This comment made me very happy, longball. Thank you.
And if the Yanks system is so depleted…then why trade Sheffield for Paxton?
You base my knowledge for this game off what?
Saying the Yanks would have done well to land Goldy?
I understand exactly what they juggle. I understand all the ins & outs.
Again…you know LESS THAN NOTHING about me, my knowledge of this game or how humble I am as a person.
Fact is fact. I guarantee I know more than some guys holding down FO jobs.
Like it or don’t, agree or don’t, that does not matter, Mr. Intern.
If you think you can gauge ANYTHING about a person based on one thought…you know less than you think you do.
Now, go worry about making friends and downvotes/upvotes and leave baseball to us.
Then why don’t you apply?
i mean i can see the 30 hr 90 rbi mark, but i can’t see him hitting over .250 and i cannot see him playing “defense” at First. He’s a bad mans Khris Davis if he keeps up the same HR pace.
actually be okay with that
Voit will be serviceable, I hope, Bird, I dunno! I can’t bring myself to draft either. 1st base sucks. Neither of these guys help much!
Chicks Dig The Long Ball…
You know how I know you don’t have a mind to cut it in baseball?
You actually had your foot in the door, you claim to have worked as an intern in two MLB FO’s…yet never got hired on.
Obviously…you weren’t of the pedigree required.
I ain’t Xabial…keep talking, keep assuming, and i’ll hurt your heart before this is over.
You’re picking the wrong dude, kiddo.
Seriously, you want a opportunity? I have some contacts. I can send them your resume.
Kingbong,
I’d like you to go back and reread the exchanges you’ve had on this board. Are you happy with this behavior? Are you consistently acting as the more mature individual? Really give it some thought and question how you’d feel if someone else was posting these comments. It’s a little rough and suggests either extreme insecurity or a propensity for trolling. Alas, I’m sure you’ll simply berate me for this comment. I’m just constantly befuddled by commenters or your ilk. Xab is an entirely different breed than this. Not fair to compare.
Wow…something nice.
Thank you, genuinely, but no thanks.
A. I prefer to make my moves on my own behalf.
B. I don’t discuss my personal life or mail out my resume to strangers.
But again, that’s thoughtful. Thank you.
For those wondering why any of us would discredit Voit…it’s not personal. I doubt any of us want him to fail, as a man, as a player.
But there are definitely reasons to be skeptical.
Read what the author wrote…scepticism.
Others have posted here and given ample reason, as well.
Anybody making decisions for an MLB ballclub should have doubts. Obviously his former team did. They almost gave him away.
Anyone who isn’t skeptical, shouldn’t be making those decisions.
I’m sure Steinbrenner and Cashman have doubts…Steinbrenner just HOPES he works out, because if he does, that’s a HUGE win.
I don’t think that Voit will keep up his ridiculous offense throughout 2019; I do however think that he will be a very productive player, if given the chance to play everyday in NY.
He has done everything he needs to do in order to start the season in the lineup everyday as the 1b/DH. Maybe Greg Bird could benefit from a change of scenery, but NY is clearly not going to work for him.
I think he’ll be alright. I do not believe he can keep up the pace he set. I say .260 hitter with 25+ bombs, maybe 30. Unsure how his OBP will look, he is still very young and the Yankees havent had him for long. Its very possible that his walk rate increases with a more patient approach that a lot of the Yankees hitters possess. that is, of course, if the yankees dont end up platooning him with Bird and it ends up working so they keep the platoon. It could be very possible that Bird has a great spring while Voit has a questionable one so they start the season out with a platoon with the intention of keeping the hotter hitter but both end up performing similarly to one another so they just keep it the rest of the season. Thats a scenario i see happening. Of course, there is the scenario that Bird disappoints again and Voit gets the majority of the playing time.
We can all agree that we have to wait and see with Voit. But with respect to his walk rate it’s been around 10% in his minor league career and in his brief mlb time it’s been at 10.6% too.
Thats a good walk rate. I just dont know where exactly I would predict his walk rate to be this season given the fact that he is working with new hitting coaches. Yankees hitting coaches of late seem to have a knack in improving their players approach/walk rate. Just look at players like Hicks and Gardner. You can even look at Bird. Obviously he is not making a lot of contact (and not very hard contact either, which may or may not be attributed to injuries) but he walked at a good clip last year and saw a lot of pitches if he didnt. Voit being with the Yankees for a small amount of time means they couldnt tinker with him much. Im just wondering what changes, if any, we will see out come April.
When he puts upJD Martinez numbers who will be laughing
That would be magnificent but I think, at least for 2019, a .260-.275 batting average, a .340-360 OBP and 25 hrs are more realistic. But we’ll see.
Why shouldn’t he have great he sees more fastballs because of judge and Stanton. It’s the Albert syndrome ask Ryan Ludwig why his numbers in STL where so good.
Srechter…
Are you serious?
I never get in these disputes.
However, I see you guys team up and jump on people for literally nothing.
I am not that guy. I won’t tolerate it.
No stranger is gonna come on here, judge me, make assumptions, tell me i’m this or that or not good enough for this or that.
No insecurities…but I am not overly passive, either.
I’ll respond in kind.
And no, I would not berate you, i’d have you go scroll up and re-read the rude comments he kept making, aimed at me.
Fair enough?
Maybe try the reply button so your post is attached to the post you are replying to.
Also, why the paragraph break after every sentence/couple of sentences? Not that its especially important or anything, but the formatting just makes this post come across as super sluggish almost like you are trying to come across more dramatically. I just dont get why people feel the need to format like this? Maybe its just a pet peeve of mine and im nitpicking
When his tact changed, so did my retorts.
See what I mean?
I can’t believe you’d even direct a post at me saying that.
For one, I hardly ever post. Maybe two times a week…maybe.
I ALWAYS stay on topic. Only baseball. I actually make it a point not to engage in these stupid exchanges.
So…I just say i’m not gonna tolerate it, and it’s a problem?
If so…it’s YOUR problem.
I won’t be talked to out of line by not ONE of you. Much less let y’all gang up like y’all do on Xabial. If I were a moderator, i’d flag you all over it.
We’re here to talk baseball…particularly, Luke Voit, in this thread…nothing else is of any consequence.
You’ve posted 25+ times on this thread, most of which have nothing to do with baseball. I won’t continue to engage with this, I’m just hoping you realize that ceasing to reply to or acknowledge nonsense on an anonymous message board is always the best move.
All the best, bud.
25 on this thread. THIS thread.
And to prove a point…
Too many come on here and act ridiculous, get off topic, start running their mouths…
That’s not what we’re here for.
And it’s time somebody told you all.
I have no problem playing the villain.
Yikes.
Yankees fan perspective here and this is how I sum up Voit:
1. Flash in the pan
2. Platoon type player
3. A short term solution
Definitely not something worth a whole article on MLBTR or anywhere else that matter. Please find something else to write about besides Machado, Harper, or this insignificant BS.
Spacing your paragraphs is called good writing.
It gets all jumbled and sloppy-looking when no spaces are used.
Now you’re critiquing people’s writing styles???
Man…some of you people…i’m sorta reading your stuff in disbelief.
I’d recommend at least 3 sentences to consider it a paragraph. That’s the minimum I instruct my students to use. Sentences followed by paragraph breaks read more like a list. But, no, it obviously doesn’t matter. Just a tip for future “good writing.”
Spacing out paragraphs is good writing. However, you dont even write a paragraph worth of words before you hit the enter button two times. Spacing out each sentence or couple of sentences is not good writing.
As i type this out i realize that this has to be an elaborate troll. Good on ya m8 you got me
Most of mine usually are three or longer.
Wow, we have intern FO’s, literature teachers…who all else we got?
L-O-L, dude, you’re a Lit teacher, you criticize MY writing style, but NO PARAGRAPH BREAKS doesn’t bother you from the other 99.9%?!?
Feel no need to mention that before, right?
You’re a trip, buddy. Hey, weren’t you ignoring me?
It was mentioned by another, and I thought I could offer some advice to clear up the confusion. Now notice how your criticism of me won’t result in a deluge of inane responses on my end. Goodnight, good luck, and happy fighting the invisible people.
.755 meh
Good luck Luke Voit!!! That’s another screw up by The Cardinals front office!! President of Baseball Operations only goes by meterics. He doesn’t know good talent when he see it. Voit was much better both offensively and defensively than Matt Carpenter. But….Mozeliak never gave Voit an honest chance. Prove Mozeliak is wrong again Luke Voit!!! The Cardinals fans miss you and wish you well!!!!!
Are you sure you’re talking about the St. Louis Cardinals? I’m not sure you’ve ever actually seen them. You must be talking about your local little league team and the President of Baseball Snack Operations.
Paul Goldschmidt. Don’t think too many Cardinals fans are going to worry about Luke Voit this year
I don’t necessarily know, but it seemed like just from watching his highlights last year that he benefitted greatly from the really short right field in Yankee Stadium. Take 4 or so home runs that would not have travelled out at a normal ballpark and add them to the total and on such a small sample size the numbers start coming back down to earth. He flew out to right field a lot when he played here, and I suspect that a change of scenery plus an easy right field contributed to a lot of his success last year.
It is Voit’s position to lose. Maybe Bird coming to camp without a guaranteed job will light a fire.
I’d have to agree with this. Based off the incredible pace Voit set for himself I think there is a high chance that his regression will end up disappointing people even if his numbers are still decent. I guess what I am saying is that it wont take much to lose his job, even if he puts up replacement level numbers.
I think the Yankees should do everything they can to trade for a 1B. Belt would be a good fit lefty bat decent glove. Contract is high maybe Giants would look to deal him. Send back California boy Bird to San Fran with a minor league SP.
Are you kidding Brandon Belt? bring that albatross of a 78 million dollar contract? The Yankees don’t want to bring Machado or Harper in for 78 Million they sure as heck don’t want Belt He didn’t even hit as many home runs as Voit did with Belt had almost 3 times the AB as Voit who did so for 550 K a year. The Yankees are trying to maintain some kind of youth not turn the Yankees into some kind of a veteran mans softball beer league.
I agree Bird is not been any surprise package but your in fantasy land the Yankees will be taking on 78 million dollar contract
Belt’s contract is 16 million and 14.5 million towards salary cap.
In 2017 Belt signed a contract thru 2021, 5 yrs/$72.8M (17-21) hence it’s a 72,8 Million plus contract like I said. It is a complete over pay for what Yankees can get with 100 free agents left on the market at discount prices.
They have a guy named Luke Voit at 550 K hit better then Belt did despite Belt had 3 times the AB then Voit. Belts numbers are regressing not improving the last 2 years. The Yankees would be fools to take on this contract
end of story Cashman doesn’t want to give Machado or Harper 2 years 70 million for their talent Yankees have no desire for Belt
Yankees can put Voit, Wilson or even Spaulding and first base this year and he will hit 20+ HRs playing in Yankees Stadium over a full season!
The AL East should be a blast this season. Yankees & Rays have improved while the Red Sox may have taken a small step backwards, but if the Sox can add one more decent BP arm, they should still be favorites to win the division. It’s going to be fun to watch; that’s for sure!