Baby Bombers Right the Ship

After entering the 2018 season with high expectations to win, the Yankees were sitting in the middle of the pack with a measly 9-9 record. Giancarlo Stanton burst onto the scene with a 2 homerun game in his Yankees debut, but instantly cooled off with multiple 5 strikeout games in the opening weeks of the season (after never having 5 K's in a game in his first 8 years in the majors). The bats were off to a slow start, key players like Greg Bird, Brandon Drury and Aaron Hicks were on the DL, and the bullpen could not close out games, which was supposed to be one of the Yankees biggest strengths this year.

Manager Aaron Boone decided to start experimenting with lineup changes and giving playing time to some of the younger players including two rookies, Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres. Andujar was promoted from the minors to help out with third base duties after Drury went on the DL and he did not disappoint. Early on the 23 year old joined Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees under the age of 24 to have extra base hits in 7 straight games.

On April 22, Gleyber Torres, the 21 year old rookie, made his Yankees and MLB debut at second base. Torres has been a highly regarded prospect around the bigs for a while now and after recovering from Tommy John Surgery in the offseason he was healthy and ready to help the team win. Torres earned the respect of his teammates and coaches by the way he plays like a veteran and his timely hitting at the bottom of the order, including a walk-off 3 run homerun vs the Twins on May 6.

These two rookies rejuvenated the Yankees lineup as they went on to win 16 of their next 18 games after the sluggish start to the year. These young ball players continue to prove that they belong day after day.