Fansided

5 Yankees who will exceed expectations in 2019

By Rucker Haringey

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEP 25: Gary Sanchez (24) of the Yankees hits a home run and is congratulated by Giancarlo Stanton (27) during the MLB regular season game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on September 25, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEP 25: Gary Sanchez (24) of the Yankees hits a home run and is congratulated by Giancarlo Stanton (27) during the MLB regular season game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on September 25, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 19: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees looks on during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 19: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees looks on during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

2. Giancarlo Stanton

There’s a very palpable perception out there that Stanton’s first season as a Yankee was a failure. The numbers don’t back that belief up in the slightest. We’re talking about a guy who hit 38 home runs and drove in 100 runs. There were definitely times when Stanton carried the offense while guys around him were injured.

With that being said, he’s still capable of giving this organization more. Almost all of his offensive numbers were down when you compare them with his final season with the Marlins. Some of that is undoubtedly due to the basic variance between individual seasons. It’s also a good bet that some of his struggles can be chalked up to the difference between playing for the Marlins and Yankees.

It’s entirely logical to assume that Stanton will feel much more settled in his second season with the club. That’s really bad news for the rest of the American League. If Stanton can pick his game up a notch he’s going to put in another MVP caliber season.

We’re not projecting him to make quite that large of a leap, but his improvement will be noticeable. The biggest improvement we’re forecasting is a decrease in his number of strikeouts. He K’d 211 times last season which is almost 50 more strikeouts than he’s posted in any other season. Stanton isn’t going to become Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn at the plate but look for his strikeout total to drop below 170. That will positively impact his batting average and his OPS. Yankees fans should expect to see the real Stanton in 2019.

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