Luke Voit, Yankees' first baseman, expressed concern about Anthony Rizzo's presence a few days ago.
I'm not going to give up. I want to play. Rizzo will make it difficult, but I want to play as much as him. Last year, I was the league's leader in home runs. It feels great to be back.
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Both players are clearly very talented and can bring immense power to any lineup they're part of. Voits quote might lead you to believe Rizzo is the better player of the two. That might be a perception that some people may have. Rizzo, a four-time Gold Glove Winner, is only five years away from being a top-five National League MVP. Voit, a below-average fielder who wasn't even in the league five year ago, had his best season during the COVID-shortened 2020. Luke Voit, however, deserves far more respect and, yes, he should get as much playing time as Anthony Rizzo.
It would be easy to just list how each player has performed in pinstripes ever since Rizzo was added by the Yankees. Voit is slashing 0.304/.360/.609 and Rizzo is slashing 0.176/.231/.265, but that is just a small sample. Both players have been out of action for various reasons, including COVID and Voit's knee injury. This just reinforces the notion that the Yankees could be missing a few games in August because these streaks don't properly reflect who should be in their lineup each day. Voit, however, has been Rizzo's superior player for three years and has earned the right to hack for the Bronx every evening.
Voit, when healthy, is one of the best power hitters in baseball. Anthony Rizzo was once a potential contender for a similar title. However, Voit is not an extreme power threat at plate. Rizzo has five more home runs since 2019, while Voit has 281 less at-bats. Voit's HR/AB numbers would indicate that Voit has approximately 68 home runs. Voit would be tied for 19th in MLB. This would put him ahead of Rhys Hoskins and Matt Chapman.
Voit can make contact but Voit is more likely to reach base when he makes contact. This makes Rizzo's plate discipline nearly null. Voit has struck out 12 times less than Rizzo in 208 at-bats. However, they have very similar on-base percentages (Rizzo.347; Voit.337). Voit has a higher hard hit percentage than Rizzo (33.8 percent to 32.2 percent), and barrels pitches up consistently more than Rizzo (15.5% to 9.2%)
Rizzo has a better defense resume than Voit, but he's been a poor defender at first base. FanGraphs WAR shows Rizzo with a -8.8 defensive defense at first base in 2021. Voit has a -1.4% WAR. Voit's -1.4 WAR would be the same if Voit had played as many innings at first base as Rizzo, but Voit would still have an -5.6WAR. Voit has a superior Ultimate Zone Rating of 1.3 to -1.3. Voit is the better fielder, even though Voit makes one more error than Rizzo, in approximately one-quarter of the chances.
There are a few reasons why Rizzo should be given more playing time than Voit. One, the Yankees already have their top power players in the middle. Judge, Stanton and Gallo make an incredible trio for driving in baserunners. They are the ideal team to have in the middle of the lineup. This allows them to be contact hitters, which will allow them to move the leadoff men over and give power hitters RBI opportunities. Rizzo, with Voit's difficulties making contact, would be more sensible at the two- or three spot than Voit at the 6-hole.
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Second, the Yankees were a predominantly right-handed team before recent deals. Only Tyler Wade, Rougned Odor, and Brett Gardner were known threats from the left side (and I'm not sure that we can call Gardner a threat). The Yankees knew that they needed better left-handed batters and so they bought both Gallo (and Rizzo). The Yankees have more balance at the plate by adding Rizzo to their lineup.
If used properly, Rizzo/Voit could make a great first base tandem in Bronx. Rizzo, despite being left-handed, has dominated southpaws more than he has righties in 2021. The Yankees may plan to use Rizzo and Voit as righties in order to get rid of lefties. As backward as it might sound. If the playoffs are made, the Yankees will be in the winner-takes-all Wild Card match. Voit will be in the lineup 100% of the time. Rizzo is a great player. Voit just got a little better.
