THE ROOKIE REBOOT STARRING GARY SANCHEZ

When casting directors seek out formidable stars to fill roles for the next best blockbuster, it is more of science than an art form.  There is a formula they use, which includes the specs of the role, demographics, budget, visual and verbal performance and of course can they execute, with accuracy and believability, their lines/script.  Based on the performance of Gary Sanchez, who has stepped up with nine home runs in 19 games and 72 at bats, the phenom catcher is poised to be cast as the lead for a reboot of the movie The Rookie.  He is currently batting an even .400 since he came up in early August and he and his crew of youngsters are surprising everyone with their consistency and early successes in the big leagues.

According to the New York Post, "We knew these kids were talented, but you never know how they’ll react in this situation,’’ Girardi said of the new faces in the lineup. “It wasn’t something any of us planned on. We felt some of the young players would help us at a certain point, but I’m not sure any of us thought they’d be thrust into this role at this time," stated Yankee skipper following Wednesday win against Seattle.

I can't stop talking about him because he is the most exciting Bronx Bomber I have seen since Derek Jeter first dressed in a Yankee uniform.  I have been unimpressed with our farm system since the launch and eventual retirement of the Core Four.  But Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Austin Romine continue to keep me afloat and give me hope. As the Daily News reports after Wednesday's game that Sanchez "now has as many homers in his first 72 at-bats as Alex Rodriguez had in 225 at-bats this year — and his eighth in the past 10 games." 

I realize that it is the end of August and we are still far enough away from a Wild Card birth to get too excited about a post season Yankee team, but I like where we are headed.  With our young pitching prospects lead by Justus Sheffield and trio of guys like Sanchez, Judge and Romine already turning heads in the major leagues, we should feel the same sense of optimism as the Chicago Cubs have experienced as they built their young team piece by piece over the last couple of years.  

Whatever the magic formula is for creating a baseball blockbuster, I think we finally have it.  Quite frankly, a reboot of the 1996 World Series team is something I would like to see in the near future. We may just have a hit in the making with our crop of new talent.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof