5 reasons for the Yankees to be happy about 2016

Gary Sanchez is an absolute monster

Sanchez has had a legendarily good first two months of his career. In only 42 games, he already has 17 home runs. August was his first full month in the big leagues, and all he did was hit 11 home runs in 24 games.

Since that explosive month, Sanchez has cooled slightly. In September, he is batting only .254, but does have six more homers in 17 games. Teams are beginning to adjust to the rookie, but he is still hitting for power. The rise in strikeouts and a corresponding decline in walks is only moderately troubling considering that the catcher is only 23 years old.

When he was lighting up the league in August, Sanchez did the majority of his damage against fastballs, sinkers, and cutters — the hard stuff. He hit eight home runs on those pitches. It’s only natural to challenge the rookie catcher with heat until he proves he can beat you. Well, Sanchez did prove he could handle big-league fastballs, and has appropriately been pitched differently in September. He is being thrown changeups, sliders, and curveballs at a significantly greater rate.

Sanchez does not likely project as a .300 hitter in the major leagues, and it’s unfair to expect that of him based on an extremely small sample size. Regardless, he has proven that he can hit major-league pitching with power and throw well from behind the dish. Look for Sanchez to pop close to 30 home runs next year.