Yankees rumors are getting increasingly baseball-hungry with the regular season opener against the Houston Astros less than 72 hours away -- so much so that every bit of insight we can get into the upcoming 2014 MLB season is welcomed with open arms.
FanGraphs.com just released their 2014 Positional Power Rankings, taking into account projected playing time, Wins Above Replacement, and other statistical factors to power rank each MLB team at each position on the diamond -- along with ranking starting pitching and relief pitching separately.
The NY Yankees garnered some interesting results, ranking unsurprisingly low at second base (22nd out of 30), shortstop (26th), and third base (25th) due to a combination of injuries both potential and current, and a lack of depth.
Despite these low rankings, the New York Yankees do have a lot to smile about in regard to the work of the statheads over at FanGraphs.
For one, they rank #4 in all of baseball for starting pitching -- with high expectations being levied at new Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka, along with returning aces CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.
The addition of former Boston Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury bumps the Yankees up to 3rd at this position, along with the NY Yankees ranking 5th in catching due to their extreme depth both on the roster and organizationally behind the plate.
The full list of how the NY Yankees fared at each position can be found here.