New York Yankees Fantasy Baseball Team Preview 2019

New York Yankees 2018 Recap

The Yankees 100 wins in 2018 left them a full eight games behind their dreaded AL East rival Boston Red Sox. It isn't so much that they didn't win the division with 100 victories, but who they lost it to. Hitting the century mark and making the playoffs are positives, but the Bronx Bombers have always envisioned themselves reaching the ultimate highest plateau.

Hiccups by the pitching staff produced a couple bumps along the way, and no matter how well they played, the Red Sox seemed to play just a little better. A 17 win May wasn't good enough for any more than second place in the division.

Boston maintained control of the division all season, and New York managed to easily beat Oakland to set up an AL divisional series against the Red Sox. The eventual world champions easily disposed of their pinstriped rivals, and New York fans were sent shaking their heads over what appeared to be such a talented team, but one without another crown.

The New York Yankees 2019 Fantasy Projections – Hitting Bombs with the Bronx Bombers

When a team wins 100 ball games during the long and arduous 162 game Major League Baseball season it is usually deemed a highly successful campaign. While still a feel-good situation in New York, anything short of a world championship for the Yankees is viewed as an underachievement. The legend of the pinstripes sets the bar very high in New York.

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2019 Fantasy Pitchers Projections – The Best Pinstriped Pitchers

New York's pitching struggles seem to be at the forefront of the conversation every season. The Bronx Bomber batting order is as feared a lineup as there is in baseball. However, pitching has seemed to be their Achilles heel. Even so, there are a couple fantasy roster must-owns out of the pinstriped pitchers.

Luis Severino SP – While Severino's ERA climbed about a half-run per game, it still settled well below the four-run per game benchmark of a fantasy ace. He also navigated his way one-win shy of the coveted 20-win mark. A healthy Severino will push the 200-innings mark, and saw off more than a bat per inning to score excellent strikeout numbers. He is undoubtedly worthy of being labeled a fantasy ace.

Masahiro Tanaka SP – Tanaka has been somewhat of a fantasy enigma. He clearly has the talent to be a staff ace, but mechanical issues seemingly undermined his effectiveness at times. However, you're still talking about a pitcher who has ranked in the top-20 across five major fantasy statistical categories. While there may well be better pitchers to use as a fantasy team's ace, Tanaka will at various points during the season produce ace-type results.

2019 Fantasy Hitter Projections – The Best Bronx Bomber Bats

Similar to their rival Red Sox, the Yankees have a lineup where just about every Bronx Bomber bat is worthy of fantasy consideration. One key difference in New York's lineup is the intrigue of their catcher. While nearly every Yankee hitter has some fantasy value, there are three that stand above the rest.

Aaron Judge OF – Fantasy baseball gurus invariably ignore Judge's tendency to miss of two-strike pitches. It's what happens when he connects that counts in fantasy baseball. The Judge missed roughly a third of 2018 with a fractured wrist.That's a tough injury for a baseball hitter, and even when in the lineup, his health was suspect at time. Heading into 2019 he looks to have his health issues behind him. As well, the tendency as a young player to strikeout a lot seems to be improving. Draft projections for Judge are lower than expected, so stealing after the first couple of rounds could be possible. However, if another team owner has the same idea in mind, you may be sorry you let this Bronx Bomber slip through your fingers.

Giancarlo Stanton OF – According to many projections, you won't have to go far down the list to find the next Yankee hitter. Stanton and Judge are actually side-by-side in more than one rating board, flip flopping who is projected as the most coveted Bronx Bomber bat. If strikeouts were viewed as a problem with Judge, they are also a factor for Stanton. However, one glaring statistic that cannot be overlooked is the drop in power since he has shifted to the Big Apple. With only 20 fewer at bats, Stanton's home run production dropped a full 21 long balls between 2017 and 2018. He is still going to push the 40 HR mark and drive in a bunch of runs in the potent Yankee lineup, so he is a must-own fantasy outfielder in any format.

Gary Sanchez C – There are actually three more Yankee hitters ranked above Sanchez on many ranking lists. The reason Sanchez makes this top-3 is how highly he rates as a fantasy catcher. Only the Marlins JT Realmuto ranks higher. Sanchez has fumbled through his own injury issues as well. When healthy, he too brings the potential of 40 home runs and a 100 plus RBIs to the table. Healthy and focused are the two keys to how productive Sanchez can be fantasy wise. Like Judge, don't be surprised if Sanchez defies rankings and gets snatched up early due to the weaknesses inherent at the catcher position. As with all three of these highly coveted Yankee fantasy prospects, health is a key issue.

Fantasy Rank Team

The Bronx Bombers are full of talent again. However, collectively this team has an alluring number of high fantasy prospects heading into the new season. With a pair of potential fantasy ace arms and an impressive lineup of bats, the Yankees easily rank high up the list as a potential farm of fantasy production.

Overall: 91
Pitchers: 85
Hitters: 94

The Bottom Line for the Bronx Bombers

Whether they rival the success of baseball's most historically successful franchise, remains to be seen. After a surprise playoff run in 2017 as a very young squad, 2018 had a slight air of disappointment. Some blame must be attributed to health issues, but if this team doesn't produce statistically this year, they will soon begin to solicit whispers of being underachievers.