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·2 min read

Derek Dietrich needs to stay in Pinstripes

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While Spring Training doesn’t really matter for your win-loss record, it does for evaluating players competing for spots on the team. Jay Bruce has looked great so far, and while he’s probably the favorite to claim the last spot on the bench, the New York Yankees should still keep Derek Dietrich. Letting him go would be a massive mistake on the Yankees part, one that I strongly recommend they don’t make. He’s more than just a random name in Spring Training and could be a serious weapon this year. They brought him in for Spring Training, so let’s bring him with us to the Bronx.

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A Bat Built For the Bronx

He’s been a solid offensive player, nothing elite, but when you look at how he hits the ball, that’s when things get interesting. He has a 42.7% pull percentage with a 39.7% flyball percentage, which is higher than the MLB average of a 40.3% pull percentage and 35.4% FB% in 2020. The Yankees are hoping he’s able to replicate the batted ball data of his 2019, where he had put up very enticing batted ball data for Yankee Stadium:

(Minimum 300 Plate Appearances)
48.3% FB% (6th out of 273)
48.3% Pull% (33rd out of 273)

For a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium, this is a match made in heaven. I hopefully don’t need to go into much detail about his batted ball data is great for the short porch in right, so to simplify this entire segment the best way possible:

Derek Dietrich is going to hit dingers in the Bronx.

Derek Dietrich Is Good Ol’ Reliable

While he isn’t going to be starting if everyone is healthy, if he has to start due to injury, he’s a very competent bat. Since 2014, Derek Dietrich has never posted a wOBA below .322 and hasn’t posted a wRC+ below 101. This means in every year of his career outside of his first year, he’s been an above-average hitter, and that’s reliability at its finest. He also produces well vs RHP, with a career 113 wRC+ vs RHP making him a very solid bat off the bench against a tough right-handed starter. He’s not an elite hitter nor is he someone who’s going to be a middle-of-the-order bat on a championship team, but he is a very nice bat to have and one that has been steady and reliable for the last seven seasons.

I’ve been throwing numbers and stats to explain my point about Dietrich, but this next point is pretty hard to quantify, and it’s just how fun he is.

One Of Baseball’s Best Personalities

I’m extremely analytical and believe most people overrate off-the-field contributions to a team. In this case though? I LOVE his personality, and that’s a huge reason why I love Dietrich so much. The dude’s pimping home runs, wearing gold chains, and showing off the big guns. He’s an absolute joy to watch, and that’s something I think can excite the fanbase when a big name has a day off. Who wouldn’t get excited if Dietrich pimped a 400-foot shot over the right-field off of a Red Sox pitcher late in the game to put the Yankees ahead? He’s fun and he has a ton of energy, so if he’s showing some serious pop in Spring Training (which he has so far), then bring on this sparkplug.

This is the first time in recent memory where a non-roster invite was so beloved by Yankee fans only four games in, so let’s give them what they want and bring the swagger-filled slugger to the Bronx to chase for 28.