I don’t understand why Andres Chaparro isn’t a New York Yankee already.
You know the deal. The Yankees need hitting. Willie Calhoun is hitting .245/.305/.377. Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and the catchers are all hitting much worse. Giancarlo Stanton is still out for a lot longer. The Yankees need hitters yesterday before they dig themselves a hole that they can’t get out of.
Andres Chaparro is the answer. You might remember him from Spring Training, or from big exit velocity readings from various Yankee Twitter accounts. Over the last three years, he’s done nothing but mash:
2021, High-A: .264/.387/.527, 22%/16% K/BB
2022, Double-A: .289/.369/.594, 20%/9% K/BB
2023, Spring Training: .324/.405/.730, 21%/13% K/BB
2023, Triple-A: .250/.326/.534, 24%/10% K/BB
Since April 11th, .329/.400/.682, 19%/11% K/BB
Just watch some of these home runs:
Chaparro isn’t considered a top prospect by pretty much anyone because he’s an awful defender. He was available in the Rule V draft, but no one selected him. The Yankees have tried him at 3rd and 1st, but his future is pretty much exclusively as a designated hitter. Think Daniel Vogelbach, but a little more athletic. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a great prospect.
On a team with Giancarlo Stanton as the primary DH, there isn’t a lot of room for someone like Chaparro. On a team playing five players hitting below .200 some nights, there darn sure is. This team needs bodies.
What are the arguments against calling up Chaparro? Here is the best that I’ve got, with my responses:
He’s not good enough. Maybe with a full lineup, but right now?
40-Man roster crowding. The Yankees are going to have to DFA some guys in the near future, but Hicks, IKF, Francy Cordero, Bauers, Calhoun, etc aren’t adding much at the moment.
If he’s bad, he might have to be DFAed. Remember when no one took him in the Rule V draft? If he doesn’t hit, he won’t have trouble passing through waivers.
He needs development time. He’s done nothing but hit. He’s not going to turn into a solid defensive infielder with a few more minor league games.
The worst case scenario for Chaparro is that he gets called up, doesn’t hit and gets DFAed. The best case scenario is that he hits like a monster and the Yankees have a hard decision to make when Stanton returns. What’s the downside? Call the man up.