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Each new baseball season provides new storylines for every team. The Yankees are no exception, especially this season with the crop of new players now on the team. They're replacing a legend. They've acquired some young, intriguing players. And it's baseball, so there's always the chance someone we're not even thinking about breaks out. I thought I'd ask the PSA staff who they were most looking forward to watching in 2015.
Q: Who is the one player you are most looking forward to watching in the 2015 season?
Greg P.
If we're talking Yankees, I'd have to go with Didi Gregorius. I believe (possibly blindly) that he'll play well and surprise a lot of fans in New York and around the league. If we're considering every team, I'd probably go with Christian Yelich. He's an incredible young player that is often and unfortunately an afterthought due to Giancarlo Stanton. The Marlins are going to sneak up on people this year and he's a big reason for that.
Caitlin
Michael Pineda. He was great last year when he was healthy/not suspended and he was great throughout spring training. I'll be holding my breath that he stays healthy this season, but I'm excited by his potential.
Josh
To answer your question, I've got to go with Nathan Eovaldi. He looked pretty strong in spring training, and he can have some pretty nasty stuff. If he, along with Pineda, can perform well, and Masahiro Tanaka can stay healthy, the Yankees could have a potentially dangerous rotation.
Arun
Michael Pineda. If he stays healthy all year, I think he'll be the breakout star of 2015.
Jim
Didi Gregorius because he's the player most likely to polarize the fan base. How he performs during the season's first few weeks will go a long way in determining which pole they gravitate towards.
Martin
I am 100% most looking forward to watching Nathan Eovaldi pitch. I've been a big fan of his for a few seasons now (as evidenced by my post from last week about how good I think he can be), and I was beyond pumped when we traded for him. Gotta love a guy who can gas it up there near 100 mph as a starter. I think Larry Rothschild will help him with that third pitch and make him into a stud. Pineda was a close second here, but that's more of a "want to see him healthy for a full season" thing. Eovaldi is hands down the guy I want to see most.
As a bonus, if we're going least looking forward to seeing, I'd have to say probably CC Sabathia at this point. My enthusiasm for his 2015 potential has definitely waned.
Nikhil
Pineda. I truly think he is the most naturally gifted pitcher in New York behind Matt Harvey if he can just put it all together.
John
I've always said that I don't care much about the players, that I really root for the laundry. I certainly didn't feel personally hurt or disconnected from the team when Robinson Cano and David Robertson signed with other teams.
This is an especially odd season for me. I have so much dread about the pending injuries, especially after the Humbler was so cruel to us the last several years. I'm just too frightened to invest very much emotion into rooting for any one player. I'm rooting for Tanaka, Pineda, Mark Texeira and Carlos Beltran. I have high hopes for Chase Headley and Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury.
But I'm rooting for the Yankees more than any of them, because if the Yankees can fight their way into a playoff spot, I sort of don't care who we lose along the way. Maybe I'm so resigned to the idea that injuries are inevitable that I'm once again entirely focused on the team.
Maybe that means that the guy I'm most interested in watching is Brian Cashman, because he's going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat at some point this season to make it all work!
Harlan
Michael Pineda. There's so much talent there and it would be pretty exciting to finally see it in action for an entire season. This team has its flaws and I don't have great expectations overall, but I don't remember a time when the Yankees had a pair of pitchers in their mid-20's with ace potential as they do now.
Andrew
I would absolutely love to see a full season of Michael Pineda. His stuff is just so filthy. Moar plz.
Scott
The player I'm most excited to see on the Yankees this season is Jacoby Ellsbury. He's probably my favorite current Yankee, and while he had a good year last year, I'd love to see if he can take his game to the next level and be the star this team needs. While he's not going to replicate that career year in 2011, I think he can do better than he did last year. If he can hit around .300 and steal 50 bases, while continuing to play that killer center field defense we've come to love, I'll be happy. And having a guy like him having a big year at the top of the lineup bodes well for a Yankee team that's going to need all the help it can get to score runs.
Matt F.
For me, it's Didi Gregorius. I was already really excited by his defense and I've managed to talk myself into his potential at the plate. We've had the shortstop position locked up for a long time by some Jeter guy and it's kind of intriguing to have someone new there. I think as long as people remember that he's replacing 2014 Derek Jeter and not 2000 Derek Jeter, then it'll be really enjoyable to watch him develop this season and hopefully for a long time to come.
Now that you've seen our answers, it's your turn. Who are you most excited to watch in the 2015 season?