Who Can Power Their Way To The ALCS?
It is no secret, both the Yankees and Red Sox have two of the best lineups in all of baseball. Boston led the league in runs this season with 876, but the Yankees were right behind them at 851. This series has offense written all over it.
- Mookie Betts
- Andrew Benintendi
- J.D. Martinez
- Xander Bogaerts
- Steve Pearce
- Rafael Devers
- Eduardo Nunez
- Ian Kinsler
- Christian Vasquez
For Boston, it all starts with their big three: Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez. The three players combined to hit 98 home runs, drive in 313 runs, and score 312 times. But, what makes them so dangerous is they are not stacked up back-to-back. If you get through Mookie Betts leading off, you won’t face Martinez until the number three hole, and if you get through Martinez, you have Bogaerts right after him.
Having three players of that level is great, but as Yankee fans know, it does not stop there. Andrew Benintendi drove in 87 runs this year while going deep 16 times. Rafael Devers has been a pain in the Yankees side, and despite his struggles defensively, hit 21 home runs in 2018.
The only weak spot in this Red Sox lineup comes at the catcher position, a platoon between Sandy Leon, Christian Vasquez, and the occasional start from Blake Swihart. Those three combined to hit just 11 home runs, and are primarily in there for their defense.
Boston does not rely on the home run as the main source of their offense. Despite finishing ninth in all of baseball with 208 home runs, they are able to put the ball in play leading the league with a .268 team batting average, and a .289 average with runners in scoring position.
Projected Yankees Game 1 Lineup
- Andrew McCutchen
- Aaron Judge
- Aaron Hicks
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Luke Voit
- Didi Gregorius
- Miguel Andujar
- Gary Sanchez
- Gleyber Torres
For the Yankees, everyone knows that their lineup is reliant on the home run ball. They finished 2018 with an MLB record 267 long balls and hit two more during the 2018 AL Wild Card Game. New York has six players that finished the season over the 20 home run mark, while 12 players finished the year with 10 or more home runs.
The difference between the Yankees and Red Sox lineup is that the Yankees do not really have a break in their order. Every player is capable of hitting the ball out and hitting the ball far. The only concern Yankee fans should have is that power usually does not play well during the postseason.
If the Bronx Bombers do not hit a ball out of the park they either strikeout 22.7 percent of the time (fifth in the AL) or walk at a 10 percent clip (best in the AL). The problem is, once New York gets baserunners on they need to hit the home run, or else the will not score. New York has a .253 batting average with runners in scoring position, 21 points behind the team in front of them (Atlanta).
How the Yankees handle the likes of Chris Sale will also go a long way into whether or not they advance. Yankee hitters have just a .204 batting average against Sale this year in 54 at-bats. They’ve scored just one run.
Advantage: Red Sox
