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Matt Linder The catching crop currently consists of a few proven veterans, a few up-and-coming stars and a few late bloomers.  Overall, the position is slightly thin, but there is a general consensus on the top three guys.  After that, the spots are wide open and up for debate.  Enjoy! Brad Penner - USA TODAY Sports 1. Gary Sanchez The Yankees backstop led all catchers with a 4.1 WAR, despite missing a month of the season.  He hit more home runs (33) and for a higher OPS (.876) than anybody else at his position.  At only 25 years old, there is still plenty of room for improvement, especially defensively.  Sanchez’s glove is much-maligned, but his struggles are largely overblown.  He has one of the strongest arms from behind the plate, throwing out 39% of potential base-stealers, and his pitch framing graded out as above average.  The only missing piece for Sanchez is pitch-blocking, which he will likely improve upon as he...

thecomeback.com Matt Linder After taking a look back at the 2017 Yankees starting rotation, let’s recap how the infielders and catchers performed this season.  There were injuries, trades, position changes and devastatingly long slumps all combined with a career year and signs of promise.  To open up the season, the infield was not at full strength.  Both Didi Gregorius and Greg Bird began the season on the DL and Gary Sanchez got hurt in early April. Although Gregorius was not the Yankees opening day shortstop, by season’s end he was the team’s best infielder, both offensively and defensively.  Gregorius missed the first month of the season because of a shoulder injury he suffered in the World Baseball Classic.  However, once he returned to the lineup, he made an immediate impact.  Didi finished the season with career highs in home runs (25), RBIs (87) and OPS (.796).  Those 25 big flies ranked second for MLB shortstops and his 3.0 WAR ...