Fansided

5 Yankees who haven’t lived up to the hype in 2020

By Rucker Haringey

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 01: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 01, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 01: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 01, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
BUFFALO, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 08: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees drops a flyball hit by Cavan Biggio #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning at Sahlen Field on September 08, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /

1. Gary Sanchez

Sanchez has been the target of mountains of criticism from baseball media members and Yankees fans all season long. He deserves every ounce of that criticism. His performance during the 2020 season has been entirely unacceptable.

Evaluators around MLB gush about the talent Sanchez has as a hitter. At 27 years of age he should be in his prime. That makes the reality that he only managed to scrape out 21 hits in his 148 at-bats this season inexplicable. That grades out to an ugly batting average of just .142.

Sanchez has looked completely lost at the plate for long stretches of time. He struggles more than ever when trying to fight off offspeed pitches. In particular, he cannot cover the outer edge of the plate when the count is against him. That’s resulted in a ton of strikeouts and weak contact for Sanchez on the year.

Remember, if Sanchez isn’t hitting, he doesn’t stand a chance to help the Yankees win. He’s improved his ability to frame pitches this year and he has a strong throwing arm, but his inability to adequately block pitches at the plate is a limiting factor for the team’s pitching staff.

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Add it all up and Sanchez has endured the worst season on the team by a wide margin. A playoff turnaround isn’t impossible, but it would be shocking given how badly he’s been all season long.

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