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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The swing looks so easy as it glides through the strike zone. When New York Yankees rookie catcher Gary Sanchez's bat collides with the ball, the ball exits in more of a rush than a business person late for work. In the first inning Saturday against the Angels, Sanchez took Ricky Nolasco deep with a looping shot near the left-field foul pole. It was his fifth homer in the last six games. In his last nine games, Sanchez is 17-for-35 with six homers and two doubles. Overall, he is batting .379 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 58 at-bats. His catching and throwing skills are top-notch, with further evidence coming Saturday, when he blocked a ball then fired to first to pick off Kole Calhoun with Mike Trout at the plate in the sixth. Brian McCann, a seven-time All-Star on a five-year, $85 million contract, is the backup catcher now and a DH. If Sanchez keeps any semblance of this up through the first half of next season, he might next take Salvador Perez's job as the AL's starting catcher in the All-Star Game. Sanchez, 23, has already passed his tryouts. Barring injury, an off-the-field issue or a severe drop in play, he will be the Yankees' starting catcher. Now, it is a question of who will join him on the 2017 Yankees. When you look at what the Yankees are trying to accomplish in these last six weeks of the season, one of their main goals is figuring out the haves and the have nots. Each day is a tryout.  Rookie Luis Cessa, making his first big-league start, threw six scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels, but he must show much more if he is going to enter next spring with any certainty. The same goes for Sunday's starter, Chad Green, who was impressive against Toronto his last time out with six scoreless innings and 11 strikeouts.
They both were acquired this past winter in a deal for lefty reliever Justin Wilson, and even manager Joe Girardi said he was surprised they are both in the rotation at this point. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, because it shows their potential and the disappointment of the Yankees' original starters. Sanchez is in for next year, while the likes of Green, Cessa, Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge still need to show they belong. While Girardi is acting as if the Yankees have a shot to gain a wild card -- which is more mathematical than realistic at four games out with four teams ahead of them and 40 games remaining -- he has made it clear that the young players will continue to receive an extended look. "The one thing you don't want is for them to look over their shoulders if they have a bad day," Girardi said. "I think it is important to instill confidence." Girardi doesn't sound as if he is in the players' ears too much. He said he communicates that he believes in them by marking their name down in the lineup card every day. "You keep running them out there, that's what you do," Girardi said. The young players forced their way to the big leagues, but their opportunity opened up because of trades, injuries and lack of production. Judge is in right because Carlos Beltran was traded. Austin is at first because the retiring Mark Teixeira was unproductive. Cessa and Green are in the rotation because of the ineffectiveness of Luis Severino, the trade of Ivan Nova and the injury to Nathan Eovaldi. Sanchez has basically tossed McCann out from behind the plate. "We brought them up here to be productive because they were producing at Triple-A," Girardi said. "We think they can help us. You are not going to make too much of 20 at-bats or 40 at-bats. You just are not going to. They are going to play." On top of that, though, the Yankees are attempting to learn what they have for 2017. It is easy to imagine the No. 3-4-5 hitters being Sanchez, the currently injured Greg Bird and Judge. "I think it is important to know what you have going into the offseason," Girardi said. The Yankees know who their new starting catcher will be for 2017. As for the rest of the spots, tryouts continue Sunday at 3:35 ET at Angel Stadium.
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