By Brad Berreman
Here are my top five undervalued Yankees for 2009.
1. 2B Robinson Cano
Cano hit .271 with 14 HR and 72 RBI in 2008. His season was derailed early as he hit just .151 in April, but he did hit .307 after the All-Star break. In 2007, Cano had his best major league season as he hit .306 with 19 HR and 97 RBI.
There are reasons to think Cano can enjoy a rebound season in 2009. One, he is just 26 and is entering what should be his best offensive seasons. Two, his contact rate (89% in 2008) remaind high despite last season's struggles. Three, the Yankees will have a good lineup around him even without Alex Rodriguez at the start of the season.
Cano should be able to at least rebound back toward his production of 2008 this season. I'm projecting him to hit around .300 with 15-20 HR and 80-90 RBI, which is nice production for a second baseman and he does have some upside potential. He doesn't offer much help in stolen bases, but Cano could still be a top-10 fantasy 2B this season.
2. SP Chien-Ming Wang
Wang went 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 starts before suffering a foot injury while running the bases in Houston and missing the rest of the season.
He is a good buy low candidate this season, as he had 19 wins and made 30 starts or more in both 2006 and 2007. His peripheral numbers are not outstanding (5.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 last season) and have been in slow decline all the way around, but his nice groundball rate (55% last season, and a high of 63% in 2006) saves him. He is also a good bet for a decent win total pitching for the Yankees.
I'm projecting Wang to get 15 wins with an ERA around 4.00 with peripherals that probably won't help or hurt you all that much. If you draft him your drafting him predominantly for his win total, which can itself be hard to predict, but he does make for a nice potential value on draft day.
3. LF/DH Johnny Damon
Damon hit .303 with 17 HR, 71 RBI, 29 SB and 95 runs scored last season. He did get thrown out trying to steal eight times, but that's nitpicking really as he improved from 2007 in almost all statistical categories.
At age 35, Damon's production may fall significantly one of these years. But his peripheral skillls have been very consistent, and he has played 140 or more games in 13 consecutive seasons. He should have at least a couple more years of solid production left as the Yankees' leadoff man.
For 2009 I project Damon to hit around .290 with 15-20 HR and 65-70 RBI. Add in 90-95 runs scored and 25 stolen bases and you've got solid all-around production from one of your outfield spots. He should be able to provide nice return on your draft day investment.
4. RF Xavier Nady
Nady hit .305 with 25 HR and 97 RBI last season, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Yankees. Helping matters was the fact he reached 500 at-bats for the first time in his career. He should be the Yankees' starting RF this season, and he should hit one spot higher in the lineup early in the season with Alex Rodriguez out.
Nady is also in a contract year, so he has plenty of motivation to produce and maximize his next contract.
As part of a good Yankee lineup, I'm projecting Nady to hit .280-.290 with 25 HR and 90-95 RBI as long as he gets full time at-bats. That's nice potential production for what will probably be a bargain rate.
5. CF Brett Gardner
Thus far this spring, Gardner is the front-runner to be the Yankees' starting CF over Melky Cabrera. In 127 at-bats with the Yankees in 2008, he hit .228 with no home runs, 16 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts. He was overmatched by big league pitching, as he struck out 30 times while only taking eight walks.
Gardner offers speed potential, and will need to improve his ability to get on base to maximize that potential. Youth is on his side, since he is just 25, so his plate approach should improve. Another positive is his .290 career batting average in the minors, which shows he has the potential to hit for a nice average.
If you draft Gardner, you're drafting him for steals. His value is higher in AL-only leagues as a source of cheap speed, and he is probably not worth drafting in mixed leagues at this point. His other numbers probably won't help you this year, but he could be worth consideration in keeper leagues.
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