Because when I think "home run derby", I think LeMahieu and Verdugo. I do think the Yankees offense will be significantly better than their 2023 iteration because:
1. Verdugo, while he's been a league average-ish hitter the last few years, would still be a noticeable improvement offensively over what they got from Bader/Cabrera/McKinney/Hicks/Pereira. The Yankees outfield outside of Judge in 2023 was hilariously bad.
2. Soto's been one of the very best hitters in MLB since his callup. His last two seasons feel like a minor disappointment (only because he's put up a "mere" 153 OPS+ in 22-23 after hitting for a 185 OPS+ in 20-21). I wouldn't be shocked if he hits for a higher BA than he has the last two years, Petco certainly doesn't do batters any favors. Even if he doesn't, he should provide an elite OBP and good power regardless so there's a very high floor to work with.
3. I think Volpe will improve offensively, and his defense/baserunning already look good
That being said, I think Stanton's days as an elite hitter are over. Stanton's hit .202/.286/.442 (100 OPS+) over the last two years, and is coming off a .191/.275/.420 campaign. He has underperformed his Statcast metrics the last two years, but even those numbers have taken a nosedive from years prior. Seems to me like injuries and age have taken a toll and while he's still got a lot of pop, he isn't hitting the ball quite as hard and that's hurting him more in regards to batting average (which I think his BABIPs reflect). Could there be a dead cat bounce year? Perhaps.
Yankees do project to score 4.96 R/G, which would be the 4th best figure behind ATL/LAD/HOU. Rangers and Red Sox project for slightly less at 4.90. Orioles project at 4.73, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if they end up scoring way more than that given their young talent. I think the Yankees position players will be much better than last season, but I'd still say there's some downside seeing as the Yankees still return most of those position players and some of those guys are on the wrong side of 30 (Rizzo, LeMahieu, Stanton).
Depth Charts - Projected Standings | FanGraphs Baseball
2024 projected standings for major league baseball teams
