Why Miguel Andujar isn’t surprising Yankees with superb rookie numbers

NEW YORK — The first time that Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar stood out as a future star to manager Aaron Boone was on video. One of the first things that Boone did after being hired as Joe Girardi’s replacement last December was study up on everyone in the organization that had a chance to impact the 2018 ballclub, even youngsters…

NEW YORK — The first time that Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar stood out as a future star to manager Aaron Boone was on video.

One of the first things that Boone did after being hired as Joe Girardi’s replacement last December was study up on everyone in the organization that had a chance to impact the 2018 ballclub, even youngsters like Andujar who seemed destined to spend some or all of the season in the minors.

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“The video that I started to watch on him in the winter, right away you could tell he has a chance to be special in the batter’s box,” Boone said Wednesday before Andujar was 1-for-4 with a ninth-inning single in the Yankees’ 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

When Boone got a first look at Andujar hit in person during spring training, he quickly became more convinced that the Yankees had the makings of a hitter who someday would do a lot of damage to major league pitching.

“I think he has just a really elite swing, one that lends itself to what’s happening now, and in spring training obviously he played really well for us,” Boone said. “He hit some early home runs, so it created a little bit of a buzz around him.”

You probably know the rest of Andujar’s success story.

Due to Andujar’s defense at third base needing polishing and the Yankees two starters at the position from 2017 gone, Chase Headley and Todd Frazier, GM Brian Cashman traded for a starting third baseman early into spring training. With Brandon Drury aboard after putting up solid numbers as a starting second baseman for Arizona in 2017, Andujar, 22, was optioned to Triple-A late into spring training.

At the time, the Yankees were sky high on Drury, and that had Andujar seemingly positioned to getting a lot of time this season in Triple-A to work on his fielding. But before Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s season opener, Andujar was up with the Yankees as a roster replacement for injured center fielder Aaron Hicks as a DH option. A week later, Andujar was the fill-in starter at third when Drury wound up on the DL early with dizzy spells and migraines.

Andujar quickly opened eyes as a doubles machine at the plate and his play at third was acceptable enough that the Yankees had no choice but to stick with him as the starter when Drury finally was healthy five weeks after going on the DL.

And now five months into the 2018 season, Andujar has played his way into being an overwhelming favorite to beat out the likes of teammate Gleyber Torres and LA Angels pitcher-designated bitter sensation Shohei Ohtani to win the AL Rookie of the Year. Through Wednesday, Andujar led all major league rookies in average (.300), doubles (37), homers (22), RBI (72), extra-base hits (61) and multi-hit games (44), he was tied for first in hits (141), ranked second in runs scored (69) and slugging percentage (.528), and was third in OPS (.858).

Of late, Andujar often has been excelling as the Yankees’ cleanup hitter, but regardless of where he’s batting, he’s usually good for a hit or two every night.

“I think what he has is a very versatile swing,” Boone said. “Most guys there’s a particular way to attack them, a weakness you can go after. If you execute you can have success, but if you make a mistake those guys are in a position to handle it.

“With Miguel, I feel like he’s got a lot more versatility. There’s not necessarily one way to pitch him. He is an aggressive hitter. He goes up there typically on the hunt early in the count. He’s had a lot of success on first pitches, so that brings that walk number down, but I also feel like even though he hasn’t walked a ton yet he’s done a pretty good job of controlling the zone, too.

“Even in at-bats where he gets down in the count, he does a really nice job of laying off pitches a pitcher might be trying to get him to chase. I think his bat-to-ball skills are just elite. So when he does unload on a pitch, he’s usually able to put it in play with some authority.”

Andujar’s hitting approach and swing, Boone added, aren’t just elite for a young player.

“I think it’s above and beyond even a more mature player,” he said. “He’s got a really good swing and he’s really got bat speed and strength. I would say he can handle a lot of different pitches in the strike zone.”

Not even the Yankees saw this coming this season after acquiring Drury, who since has been traded because his future with the club ended due to Andujar’s emergence.

But remembering the swing and approach that he saw on video last winter, Boone says all this success from Andujar isn’t stunning him.

“I think right away everyone knew that this guy had a chance to really hit (major league pitching),” Boone said. “Whether it would come right away, those kinds of things with a young player I guess you never really know.

“But honestly I wouldn’t say I’d that I’m overly surprised what he’s been able to do because I think that’s what his skillset and his swing lends itself to.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.