{"id":43066,"date":"2021-01-18T21:05:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T02:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=43066"},"modified":"2021-01-18T21:05:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T02:05:08","slug":"gio-urshela-is-a-top-10-third-baseman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2021\/01\/18\/gio-urshela-is-a-top-10-third-baseman\/","title":{"rendered":"Gio Urshela is a Top-10 Third Baseman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment=\"{&quot;blocks&quot;:[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;9a7ts&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;As a light-hitting third baseman for the Indians and Blue Jays, Gio Urshela was a player whose glove is the only reason why he would even be in the league. He was traded to the Yankees in August of 2018 for some couch change ($25,000 to be exact). Always known as a great defender, Urshela was traded for depth. A warm body in Triple-A that could maybe, possibly, prove to be useful in case of injury. Well, an opportunity arose in early 2019 that led to Urshela being called up to the Yankees. A season-threatening shoulder injury to Miguel Andujar had paved the way for Urshela to take advantage of this opportunity, which he certainly did.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;611q&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;7ut89&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Prior to 2019, Urshela hit a paltry .225\/.274\/.315 (57 OPS+) across three separate seasons, bouncing around between the majors and minors. His stint in Triple-A with the Yankees down the stretch in 2018 was pretty successful as he hit .307\/.340\/.475, perhaps signaling this is when things started to turn around for him. The Yankees have been earning a pretty good reputation for finding hidden gems and turning them into very good and productive baseball players. Urshela is seen as one of those players. He, along with players such as Voit, Tauchman, Ford, and others became part of the \\&quot;Next Man Up\\&quot; motto that came to define their 2019 season as its injury woes reached a historic level.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;ejpap&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;brus2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Urshela played 132 games in 2019, just barely missing the cutoff in plate appearances to qualify for the batting title (476 PA). He did not immediately become the full-time third baseman, but he never slowed down or stopped hitting at a high level, which many thought he would do as the season progressed. He posted a 3.9 bWAR as a result of his solid defense along with a .314\/.355\/.534 (.889 OPS and 132 OPS+) batting line. He hit 21 home runs while driving in 74 runs and struck out less than 100 times, proving he was a contact hitter who could hit the ball to all fields. The only real thing to pick on was his plate discipline as he posted a below-average 5.3% walk rate. Even digging into his statcast numbers show that his 2019 was not a fluke as his average exit velocity (90.6 mph), xBA (.289), xSLG (.504), xwOBA (.353), and K% (18.3), all placed him in the 70th percentile or better in the league. This performance in 2019 solidified the notion that he had taken the third base job from Miguel Andujar, who was the 2018 runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;bdo4r&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;6vm7g&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Despite the short season, Urshela's 2020 season further reinforced his transformation into an upper-tier third baseman. The statcast numbers were even better as his xBA (.315), K% (14.4), whiff% (20.3), xwOBA (.364), xSLG (.494), and exit velocity (91.4), were all in the 80th percentile or better in the league. Gio was also excellent defensively as he posted 6 DRS, 5.4 UZR, and was named a Gold Glove finalist at third base. All this led to a 1.9 bWAR that would have been better than his total in 2019 if it were a full season. His batting line was .298\/.368\/.490 (.858 OPS and 136 OPS+) as he also hit 6 homers and drove in 30 runs. Mind you, he only played 43 games in 2020 as he spent some time on the injured list, but his numbers still show he was one of the best and most consistent players for the Yankees. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;51tht&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;dk58l&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;It's hard to only look at his counting stats over the past two seasons to determine where he fits among the top third baseman because he has not played as many games as others. Despite this, the quality of his performance definitely merits consideration for Urshela being a top-10 third baseman. His 162-game averages over the past two seasons are 42 2B, 26 HR, 97 RBI, 310 total bases, a .310\/.358\/.523 (.881 OPS and 133 OPS+) batting line, to go along with a 5.8 bWAR. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;4fcol&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;af3n&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Among all third baseman in the league (and min. 650 PA) over the past two seasons, Urshela is tied with Josh Donaldson for 5th in wRC+ (132), and is 8th in wOBA (.368), 3rd in BA (.310), 7th in SLG (.523), 8th in OPS (.881), 3rd in WPA (3.80), and 6th in DRS (7). There are countless numbers and statistics to prove that Urshela is one of the better, and perhaps, top-10 third basemen in the league. Whereas some other third basemen may excel particularly on the offensive or defensive ends, Urshela is one of the few who excels at both, further boosting his value to his team.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}}],&quot;entityMap&quot;:{}}\">\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\">As a light-hitting third baseman for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/category\/indians\/\" target=\"_self\">Cleveland Indians<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/category\/bluejays\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>, Gio Urshela was a player whose glove is the only reason he was in the league. With the reputation of being a great defender as a prospect, Urshela garnered interest from other teams. He was traded to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/mlb-teams\/new-york-yankees\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Yankees<\/a> in August 2018 for $25,000. <\/span><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"dqoan-0-0\">After being acquired by the Yankees, he served as a warm body in Triple-A that could possibly prove to be useful depth. An opportunity arose in early 2019 that led to Urshela&#8217;s callup to the Yankees big league team. A shoulder injury to Miguel Andujar paved the way for Urshela to take advantage of this opportunity. He certainly did just that.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 data-offset-key=\"1mbbn-0-0\">2019 Breakout Season<\/h2>\n<div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment=\"{&quot;blocks&quot;:[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;9a7ts&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;As a light-hitting third baseman for the Indians and Blue Jays, Gio Urshela was a player whose glove is the only reason why he would even be in the league. He was traded to the Yankees in August of 2018 for some couch change ($25,000 to be exact). Always known as a great defender, Urshela was traded for depth. A warm body in Triple-A that could maybe, possibly, prove to be useful in case of injury. Well, an opportunity arose in early 2019 that led to Urshela being called up to the Yankees. A season-threatening shoulder injury to Miguel Andujar had paved the way for Urshela to take advantage of this opportunity, which he certainly did.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;611q&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;7ut89&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Prior to 2019, Urshela hit a paltry .225\/.274\/.315 (57 OPS+) across three separate seasons, bouncing around between the majors and minors. His stint in Triple-A with the Yankees down the stretch in 2018 was pretty successful as he hit .307\/.340\/.475, perhaps signaling this is when things started to turn around for him. The Yankees have been earning a pretty good reputation for finding hidden gems and turning them into very good and productive baseball players. Urshela is seen as one of those players. He, along with players such as Voit, Tauchman, Ford, and others became part of the \\&quot;Next Man Up\\&quot; motto that came to define their 2019 season as its injury woes reached a historic level.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;ejpap&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;brus2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Urshela played 132 games in 2019, just barely missing the cutoff in plate appearances to qualify for the batting title (476 PA). He did not immediately become the full-time third baseman, but he never slowed down or stopped hitting at a high level, which many thought he would do as the season progressed. He posted a 3.9 bWAR as a result of his solid defense along with a .314\/.355\/.534 (.889 OPS and 132 OPS+) batting line. He hit 21 home runs while driving in 74 runs and struck out less than 100 times, proving he was a contact hitter who could hit the ball to all fields. The only real thing to pick on was his plate discipline as he posted a below-average 5.3% walk rate. Even digging into his statcast numbers show that his 2019 was not a fluke as his average exit velocity (90.6 mph), xBA (.289), xSLG (.504), xwOBA (.353), and K% (18.3), all placed him in the 70th percentile or better in the league. This performance in 2019 solidified the notion that he had taken the third base job from Miguel Andujar, who was the 2018 runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;bdo4r&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;6vm7g&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Despite the short season, Urshela's 2020 season further reinforced his transformation into an upper-tier third baseman. The statcast numbers were even better as his xBA (.315), K% (14.4), whiff% (20.3), xwOBA (.364), xSLG (.494), and exit velocity (91.4), were all in the 80th percentile or better in the league. Gio was also excellent defensively as he posted 6 DRS, 5.4 UZR, and was named a Gold Glove finalist at third base. All this led to a 1.9 bWAR that would have been better than his total in 2019 if it were a full season. His batting line was .298\/.368\/.490 (.858 OPS and 136 OPS+) as he also hit 6 homers and drove in 30 runs. Mind you, he only played 43 games in 2020 as he spent some time on the injured list, but his numbers still show he was one of the best and most consistent players for the Yankees. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;51tht&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;dk58l&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;It's hard to only look at his counting stats over the past two seasons to determine where he fits among the top third baseman because he has not played as many games as others. Despite this, the quality of his performance definitely merits consideration for Urshela being a top-10 third baseman. His 162-game averages over the past two seasons are 42 2B, 26 HR, 97 RBI, 310 total bases, a .310\/.358\/.523 (.881 OPS and 133 OPS+) batting line, to go along with a 5.8 bWAR. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;4fcol&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;af3n&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Among all third baseman in the league (and min. 650 PA) over the past two seasons, Urshela is tied with Josh Donaldson for 5th in wRC+ (132), and is 8th in wOBA (.368), 3rd in BA (.310), 7th in SLG (.523), 8th in OPS (.881), 3rd in WPA (3.80), and 6th in DRS (7). There are countless numbers and statistics to prove that Urshela is one of the better, and perhaps, top-10 third basemen in the league. Whereas some other third basemen may excel particularly on the offensive or defensive ends, Urshela is one of the few who excels at both, further boosting his value to his team.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}}],&quot;entityMap&quot;:{}}\">\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"7m7dc-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"7m7dc-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"7m7dc-0-0\">Gio Urshela hit a paltry .225\/.274\/.315 (57 OPS+) from 2016 through 2018 while bouncing around between the majors and minors. His 2018 stint in Triple-A with the Yankees was successful as he hit .307\/.340\/.475. Perhaps that signaled a significant turnaround for him. The Yankees have earned a pretty good reputation for finding hidden gems and turning them into very productive baseball players. Urshela is one of those players. He, along with players such as Luke Voit, Mike Tauchman, and Mike Ford became part of the &#8220;Next Man Up&#8221; motto that came to define their 2019 season as its injury woes reached a historic level.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"38bro-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"38bro-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"38bro-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\">Urshela played 132 games in 2019 and just barely missed the cutoff in plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. After a hot start, he never stopped hitting at a high level which many expected would happen. Urshela posted a 3.9 bWAR as a result of his solid defense along with a .314\/.355\/.534 (.889 OPS and 132 OPS+) batting line. He hit 21 home runs, drove in 74 runs, and struck out fewer than 100 times. <\/span><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\">The only real aspect of his game to pick on was his plate discipline as he posted a 5.3% walk rate. Digging into the statcast numbers show that his 2019 was not a fluke. His average exit velocity (90.6 mph), xBA (.289), xSLG (.504), xwOBA (.353), and K% (18.3) were all career-bests. All those figures placed him in the 70th percentile or better in the league. Due to his outstanding showing, Urshela was the Yankees full-time third baseman in 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 data-offset-key=\"64ee9-0-0\">Gio Urshela Continued to Shine in 2020<\/h2>\n<div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment=\"{&quot;blocks&quot;:[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;9a7ts&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;As a light-hitting third baseman for the Indians and Blue Jays, Gio Urshela was a player whose glove is the only reason why he would even be in the league. He was traded to the Yankees in August of 2018 for some couch change ($25,000 to be exact). Always known as a great defender, Urshela was traded for depth. A warm body in Triple-A that could maybe, possibly, prove to be useful in case of injury. Well, an opportunity arose in early 2019 that led to Urshela being called up to the Yankees. A season-threatening shoulder injury to Miguel Andujar had paved the way for Urshela to take advantage of this opportunity, which he certainly did.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;611q&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;7ut89&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Prior to 2019, Urshela hit a paltry .225\/.274\/.315 (57 OPS+) across three separate seasons, bouncing around between the majors and minors. His stint in Triple-A with the Yankees down the stretch in 2018 was pretty successful as he hit .307\/.340\/.475, perhaps signaling this is when things started to turn around for him. The Yankees have been earning a pretty good reputation for finding hidden gems and turning them into very good and productive baseball players. Urshela is seen as one of those players. He, along with players such as Voit, Tauchman, Ford, and others became part of the \\&quot;Next Man Up\\&quot; motto that came to define their 2019 season as its injury woes reached a historic level.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;ejpap&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;brus2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Urshela played 132 games in 2019, just barely missing the cutoff in plate appearances to qualify for the batting title (476 PA). He did not immediately become the full-time third baseman, but he never slowed down or stopped hitting at a high level, which many thought he would do as the season progressed. He posted a 3.9 bWAR as a result of his solid defense along with a .314\/.355\/.534 (.889 OPS and 132 OPS+) batting line. He hit 21 home runs while driving in 74 runs and struck out less than 100 times, proving he was a contact hitter who could hit the ball to all fields. The only real thing to pick on was his plate discipline as he posted a below-average 5.3% walk rate. Even digging into his statcast numbers show that his 2019 was not a fluke as his average exit velocity (90.6 mph), xBA (.289), xSLG (.504), xwOBA (.353), and K% (18.3), all placed him in the 70th percentile or better in the league. This performance in 2019 solidified the notion that he had taken the third base job from Miguel Andujar, who was the 2018 runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;bdo4r&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;6vm7g&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Despite the short season, Urshela's 2020 season further reinforced his transformation into an upper-tier third baseman. The statcast numbers were even better as his xBA (.315), K% (14.4), whiff% (20.3), xwOBA (.364), xSLG (.494), and exit velocity (91.4), were all in the 80th percentile or better in the league. Gio was also excellent defensively as he posted 6 DRS, 5.4 UZR, and was named a Gold Glove finalist at third base. All this led to a 1.9 bWAR that would have been better than his total in 2019 if it were a full season. His batting line was .298\/.368\/.490 (.858 OPS and 136 OPS+) as he also hit 6 homers and drove in 30 runs. Mind you, he only played 43 games in 2020 as he spent some time on the injured list, but his numbers still show he was one of the best and most consistent players for the Yankees. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;51tht&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;dk58l&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;It's hard to only look at his counting stats over the past two seasons to determine where he fits among the top third baseman because he has not played as many games as others. Despite this, the quality of his performance definitely merits consideration for Urshela being a top-10 third baseman. His 162-game averages over the past two seasons are 42 2B, 26 HR, 97 RBI, 310 total bases, a .310\/.358\/.523 (.881 OPS and 133 OPS+) batting line, to go along with a 5.8 bWAR. &quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;4fcol&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;af3n&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Among all third baseman in the league (and min. 650 PA) over the past two seasons, Urshela is tied with Josh Donaldson for 5th in wRC+ (132), and is 8th in wOBA (.368), 3rd in BA (.310), 7th in SLG (.523), 8th in OPS (.881), 3rd in WPA (3.80), and 6th in DRS (7). There are countless numbers and statistics to prove that Urshela is one of the better, and perhaps, top-10 third basemen in the league. Whereas some other third basemen may excel particularly on the offensive or defensive ends, Urshela is one of the few who excels at both, further boosting his value to his team.&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;unstyled&quot;,&quot;depth&quot;:0,&quot;inlineStyleRanges&quot;:[],&quot;entityRanges&quot;:[],&quot;data&quot;:{}}],&quot;entityMap&quot;:{}}\">\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\">Despite the short season, Urshela&#8217;s 2020 season reinforced his transformation into an upper-tier third baseman. The statcast numbers were even better as his xBA (.315), K% (14.4), whiff% (20.3), xwOBA (.364), xSLG (.494), and exit velocity (91.4), were all in the 80th percentile or better in the league. He was also excellent defensively as he posted 6 DRS, 5.4 UZR. This led to him being named a Gold Glove finalist at third base. Urshela&#8217;s 1.9 bWAR was on pace to surpass his 2019 total had it been a full season. <\/span><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"8f9d6-0-0\">His batting line of .298\/.368\/.490 (.858 OPS and 136 OPS+) was great as he posted six HR and 30 RBI. Mind you, he only played 43 games in 2020 as he spent some time on the injured list. However, his numbers still show he was one of the most consistent players for the Yankees in 2020.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"8ijdj-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"8ijdj-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"8ijdj-0-0\">It&#8217;s important to not only look at his counting stats over the past two seasons. This is because he has played fewer games than most other full-time third basemen. Despite this, the quality of his performance definitely merits consideration for Urshela being in the top-10. His 162-game averages over the past two seasons are 26 HR, 97 RBI, a .310\/.358\/.523 (.881 OPS and 133 OPS+) batting line, and a 5.8 bWAR.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 data-offset-key=\"8ijdj-0-0\">Standing Out Among Other Third Basemen<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jwLWP _2hXa7 _30PMG blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"editor\" data-offset-key=\"emrrb-0-0\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"emrrb-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"emrrb-0-0\">Among all third basemen in the league (min. 650 PA) over the past two seasons, Gio Urshela is tied with Josh Donaldson for 5th in wRC+ (132), ranks 8th in wOBA (.368), 3rd in BA (.310), 7th in SLG (.523), 8th in OPS (.881), 3rd in WPA (3.80), and 6th in DRS (7). There are countless numbers and statistics to prove that Urshela is perhaps a top-10 third baseman in the league. Urshela is one of the few who brings great value on both sides of the ball. It may take one more fantastic season for Gio Urshela to consolidate his place as a top-10 player at third base, but he is certainly in the mix.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Main Image:<br \/>\n<a id=\"Yx-6tMH0QbNp5uBRB47Icw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1277435763\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Yx-6tMH0QbNp5uBRB47Icw',sig:'nf0rtv9RdYYyE0BNXSfrIaxyKULzCABWx1ifF6HUG58=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1277435763',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"emrrb-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"emrrb-0-0\">Players Mentioned:\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/u\/urshegi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gio Urshela<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/andujmi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miguel Andujar<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/voitlu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Voit<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tauchmi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Tauchman<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/fordmi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Ford<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/donaljo02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Donaldson\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a light-hitting third baseman for the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, Gio Urshela was a player whose glove is the only reason he was in the league. With the reputation of being a great defender as a prospect, Urshela garnered interest from other teams. He was traded to the New York Yankees in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3753,"featured_media":43083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1071],"tags":[352,2792,69,41,36],"class_list":["post-43066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yankees","category-mlb","tag-cleveland-indians","tag-gio-urshela","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"modified_by":"Chris Larson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}