STANTON HEALTHY, RIGHT WHERE YANKEES NEED HIM

Giancarlo Stanton is picking up where he ended the postseason last year.

Healthy and hard hitting.

The New York Yankees slugger homered in each of his first five playoff games in 2020, a stretch that brought flashbacks of his spectacular 2017 NL MVP season and hopes that several injuryimpacted years were behind him.

Stanton finished with six homers and 13 RBIS in seven postseason games, including a tough five-game Division Series loss to the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays.

Stanton is 7-for-21 during spring training with two doubles and a homer that had an exit velocity of 115 mph. He also hit a 120 mph liner that was caught for an out.

“Ready to rock,” Stanton said. “The time of spring where it is, can we get things going here. You refine any last bits of swing and timing and all that to be ready to go.”

The Yankees open the regular season Thursday at home against the Toronto Blue Jays. Stanton, 31, hasn’t played a full season since 2018 when he had 38 homers and 100 RBIS for the Yankees.

That came one season after he led the NL with 59 homers and 132 RBIS in his final year with the Miami Marlins before being traded to the Bronx.

“I think one of the reasons we think we have a chance to be a really good team is because of some of our great players, some of our star players that obviously we’re counting on heavily,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Our success is tied to some of our big boys really thriving.”

Stanton said “eye training” is a key element to his production.

“You sometimes forget that the eyes are a muscle as well,” he said. “They can get better and they can be lazy at times depending on your rest or travel and what not. You’re going to see the ball differently night to night, different ballparks, different twilight, whatever. Having my eyes well prepared and warmed up is very important as well.”

Stanton, the starting designated hitter, is set to get limited time in the outfield this year. He is not expected to play in the outfield during the final days of spring training but will continue doing pregame defensive drills.

“As the discussions went on, I’ll be needed later in the first month or two,” Stanton said.

After appearing in just 18 games in 2019, Stanton strained his right calf during an outfield drill at spring training last year that would have delayed the start of his 2020 season.

Stanton missed several weeks with strained left hamstring after the abbreviated 2020 season started in the summer.

Notable

The top prospect of the Rangers, Josh Jung, is set for surgery on a stress fracture in his left foot, and the third baseman is likely to miss about two months.

Jung was the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Texas Tech and was expected to start the season in the minor leagues.

Kris Bryant hit his first home run of the spring for Chicago, which beat the Rockies 4-2. Trevor Williams went five innings in his fourth start, allowing a run on three hits. Ian Happ led off the first with a ground-rule double, scoring on Bryant’s groundout. Jason Heyward doubled in the fourth, scoring on Jake Marisnick’s second spring home run.

Cal Quantrill struggled in his third start for Cleveland, surrendering six runs on six hits and two walks in 22⁄3 innings, striking out three in his fifth appearance. Cesar Hernandez had three singles in the 6-2 loss to the White Sox.

Bryse Wilson made his third start in his fourth appearance for Atlanta, pitching 42⁄3 innings and allowing one run on five hits and three walks. Rancho

Bernardo High product Alex Jackson, competing for the backup catcher job, hit a three-run homer.

Miguel Cabrera, batting .185 this spring for Detroit, hit his first home run in a 3-1 win over the Pirates. Renato Nunez had an RBI double and a run-scoring single. Matthew Boyd made his fourth start, allowing one run on four hits and a walk in four innings, striking out five.

Top draft prospect Jack Leiter pitched a nine-inning no-hitter with 16 strikeouts for Vanderbilt on Saturday, retiring his final 27 batters. Leiter, the son of 19-year big league pitcher Al Leiter, walked Braylen Wimmer to lead off the game but was perfect the rest of the way in a 5-0 victory over South Carolina. He struck out Wimmer swinging at a 96 mph fastball to end the game, his 124th pitch.

Giancarlo Stanton