Gary Sanchez Hit His Way Into Yankees’ Starting Lineup

Best Player: The Yankees signed Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez as a 16-year-old in 2009 for $3 million. At times during his minor league career he appeared to be on his way to being a bust.

Then he followed up a promising 2015 with a terrible spring training. Back at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, Sanchez dealt with a fractured thumb that sent him to the disabled list early this season, but he managed to hit .282/.339/.468 with 10 homers and 21 doubles in 71 games.

The 23-year-old Sanchez really took off when he received his first extended look in the majors. Through 33 games with the Yankees, he hit .344 with 13 homers and a 1.148 OPS. He hit so well that he displaced veteran Brian McCann behind the plate.

“We gave him first-round money for a reason,” said former Yankees scout Gordon Blakeley, who now is a special assistant to Braves general manager John Coppolella. “Personally, I thought he was going to be an all-star catcher and hit 25 homers.”

Best Pitcher: The Yankees converted 6-foot righthander Chance Adams to a starter this season, and he excelled immediately at high Class A Tampa before a promotion to Double-A Trenton on June 16.

Overall he went 13-1, 2.33 in 25 games (24 starts) with 144 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. The 22-year-old held opponents to a .169 average that led all qualified minor league starters.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2015 out of Dallas Baptist, Adams has emerged as a legitimate prospect. He throws a heavy fastball in the mid-90s and couples it with a sharp slider and a developing changeup.

Keep An Eye On: Rookie-level Pulaski third baseman Dermis Garcia is beginning to show why the Yankees signed him at 16 out of the Dominican Republic for $3 million during their international spree two years ago.

Garcia weathered a rough pro debut season in 2015 with a .445 OPS and 25 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

But the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Garcia, now 18, has blossomed into a patience-and-power prospect this season in the Appalachian League. He ranked second in the league with 13 home runs and fifth with 32 walks—though the high strikeout total remained. He led all league batters with 79 whiffs.