Gary Sanchez

Sanchez endured a miserable 2020 campaign, notching nearly three times as many strikeouts (64) as hits (23) and finishing with a putrid .193 xBA. His offensive and defensive failures were so pronounced that he was relegated to a backup role in the postseason, starting only two of the Yankees' seven playoff games. Sanchez's lone saving grace was his undeniable power; his 50.0% hard-hit rate, 17.4% barrel rate and 91.8 mph average exit velocity each ranked in the 89th percentile or higher among MLB hitters, and he placed third among big-league catchers with 10 regular-season home runs. There aren't many backstops who can match Sanchez's power, but given his 2020 struggles, the Yankees may reconsider his role with the club moving forward. The potential homer total will be tempting, but fantasy managers must realize the extent to which Sanchez can drain a squad's batting average.

Sanchez had a strong bounce-back season in 2019, recovering the power production that appeared lost for a lot of 2018 while finding some middle ground with his batting average after two radical swings the prior two seasons. He will earn his walks when willing to accept them from pitchers that do not want to challenge him. He will also pile up his strikeouts as the next time he shortens up on a swing will be the first time. His career average exit velocity is an impressive 91 mph and 43% of his batted balls are classified as Hard Hit, and he attempts to generate that outcome with every swing. Sanchez had a .474 expected weighted on base average on contact with the baseball in 2019, which was the highest figure in all of MLB. The risk with Sanchez isn't the production, it is the expectation of production. Unlike some Yankee fans, you can accept him for what he is rather than what he is not.

Raise your hand if you were surprised Sanchez has had a balky left shoulder since 2017. He finally underwent a debridement procedure in November to clean up the tissue causing irritation. There's no telling how this affected Sanchez last season, but his .186/.291/.406 line was shocking in light of what he did the previous two campaigns. Sanchez's defense also suffered with a league-leading 18 passed balls, despite only 76 games behind the dish. He had two DL stints after straining then aggravating his groin. Aside from the likely impact of the assorted injuries, Sanchez hit into some seriously bad luck. His Statcast data, specifically exit velocity and barrels, were nearly identical to 2017, with decidedly poorer results. His .304 wOBA was nearly 40 points below his expected .343 mark. There's some added injury risk, but Sanchez is arguably the same guy he was this time last year when he was the consensus top backstop, a top-40 overall player.

Coming off one of the most spectacular debuts, especially for a catcher, projecting Sanchez's power for 2017 was a challenge. As it turned out, using his MLEs (major league equivalencies) did the trick nicely. Sanchez's 40 percent HR/FB mark from 2016 fell to a still outstanding, but more sustainable 25 percent. If there was a downside to Sanchez's 2017 season, it was tying Yasmani Grandal for the league lead with 18 passed balls. However, blocking pitches is down on a receiver's list of skills and Sanchez fared much better with the more important framing and throwing metrics. Still, with a new skipper in the Bronx, Sanchez's high passed ball total, along with his well-publicized woes with throws to the plate in the playoffs, could result in him seeing more time at designated hitter. Fortunately, for fantasy owners, that's a good thing, assuming he still catches 20 games, which he should. Sanchez is the clear top fantasy backstop and a top-30 overall player. Drafting him in the early rounds is more a question of strategy than valuation.

Well that's one way to make an entrance. Despite playing just one game in the majors before Aug. 3, Sanchez played his way into Rookie of the Year contention with one of the best 50-game stretches to begin a career of all time. The catcher hit 11 home runs in a 15-game span and ended with 20 homers and 42 RBI -- absurd numbers considering he played in just 53 contests. Though he seemed to run out of steam a bit at the end, hitting just .222 in September while striking out in more than one-third of his at-bats, the rookie still finished with a 1.032 OPS. It's highly unlikely his 60-homer pace will be sustainable over the course of a full season, but Sanchez will immediately jump toward the top of the list among the best -- if not the best -- offensive catchers next season, when he'll be just 24 years old.

Sanchez has long been looked at as a top prospect, yet he'll be turning just 23 over the offseason and could finally be inching closer to getting his first real test in the majors. The catcher made his first appearance at the Triple-A level after a midseason promotion and posted impressive numbers in 35 games, bouncing back after a disappointing 2014 campaign. His prospect rating fell a bit after a steady decline in the power department, but Sanchez tied a career high with 18 long balls across both Double-A and Triple-A. With the offseason trade of John Ryan Murphy, there is now an opening for the major league backup job, a position for which Sanchez will likely compete with Austin Romine in spring training.

Sanchez feels like he has been on the prospect landscape forever. Yet, he will only be 22 years old when he presumably gets his first taste of Triple-A at some point in the 2015 season. That said, 2014 can only be described as a disappointment for the former top prospect in the Yankees’ system. He hit 13 home runs with a .270/.338/.406 slash line in 110 games at Double-A Trenton. To put that in perspective, former pseudo catching prospect for the Yankees and current bust with the Mariners, Jesus Montero, hit .317/.370/.539 with nine home runs in 44 games at Double-A Trenton as a 19-year-old in 2009. For a player who probably won’t be able to stick at catcher, Sanchez isn’t hitting enough to be an average first baseman or designated hitter. He still has enough raw power to keep him on the map, but he is now a fringe top-5 prospect in the system.

Sanchez is likely the Yankees' No. 1 prospect again thanks in part to a disappointing 2013 season from Mason Williams. He's shown good power throughout his minor league career and held his own in a 23-game stint with Double-A Trenton late in 2013. It seems unlikely that Sanchez will stick behind the plate, and he still needs to develop more discipline as a hitter, but there's a ton of upside in his bat, even if he ends up as a first baseman. The Yankees will have more time to sort out their plan with Sanchez after signing Brian McCann to a long-term deal during the offseason.

Sanchez seemed to put the attitude issues that plagued him in 2011 behind him, and put together a very solid season in 2012, hitting .290 with 18 homers across two levels. Sanchez has huge raw power that is starting to show in games, and while he needs to make a few mechanical adjustments to make his swing more efficient, the hit tool definitely appears to be there. Behind the plate, Sanchez has a good arm, but he's not terribly agile and it's still an open question as to whether he'll stick at catcher for the long term. Sanchez is still young for the level he's playing at, and regardless of whether he stays at catcher or not, he should be an impact bat in the majors with an ETA of 2015.

Sanchez came into the season at Low-A Charleston with very high expectations, and when he got off to a slow start, Sanchez was sent back to Tampa in early June to get his mind right. He was a different player after returning to Charleston, putting up seven homers in a nine-game stretch in late July through early August, and twice winning South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors. Sanchez shows fantastic power, but continues to struggle with his defense, though he has an excellent arm behind the plate. Sanchez remains a top-50 prospect on most lists, and 2012 will be a key year in his development as he faces more advanced pitching at High-A and demonstrates whether he'll be able to remain behind the plate. He's got the hitting tools to be worth picking up in your minor league draft regardless of where he ends up playing, though.

Despite not turning 18 until after the season, Sanchez hit .329/.393/.543 between the rookie league Yankees and short-season Staten Island. He obviously still needs a lot of development, but he has the physical tools to be a good backstop, and scouts believe he has above-average power to all fields. Add his name to the impressive array of minor league catching talent the Yankees have assembled.