Former Yankees' Star Rookie Listed as 'Biggest One-Year Wonder'

This rookie had a fantastic first season with the Yankees before his career was derailed by injuries.

Aug 17, 2020; Bronx, New York, USA; A general view of rain falling on the New York Yankees logo on the first base dugout roof during a rain delay in the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In 2018, the No. 4 prospect in the New York Yankees' organization was an infielder named Miguel Andujar.

At this point, the 23-year-old Andujar was one of New York's most hyped prospects; especially after he broke the Yankees' record for most RBIs (4) in a player's debut one season prior.

He then got promoted to MLB for good on April 1 of that 2018 season and went on to produce one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory for the Yankees. In fact, he would have won the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year award if not for some player named Shohei Ohtani.

Unfortunately, it all unraveled from there. This is why Andujar was listed as the Yankees' "Biggest One-Year-Wonder Hitter" since 2010 in a September 18 article from Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer.

"If nothing else, Miguel Andujar will always have a legacy as the guy who kept Shohei Ohtani from unanimously winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 2018," Rymer wrote.

"That year was a proper coming-out party for Andujar, and it wasn't a wholly unexpected one. He went into the 2018 season as a top-100 prospect, with high marks for both his power at the plate and his arm strength in the field.

"The former was often on display throughout that year, which concluded with him tying four other Yankees for second on the team in home runs after Giancarlo Stanton's 38," Rymer said, "He also drove in 15 more runs than any other rookie.

"Things promptly fell apart for Andujar in 2019 season, and hard. He opened the year with zero homers through 12 games, and that was all he wrote after having season-ending surgery on his right shoulder," Rymer continued.

Andujar remained injury-plagued through the 2022 season, when he was eventually designated for assignment by New York. He then spent about a year with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization before getting DFA'ed by them and then was picked up by the Oakland Athletics in November 2023.

Andujar was producing a decent season with the A's in 2024, producing a .285 average with a .697 OPS, 4 home runs, and 30 RBIs in 302 at-bats until suffering a core injury in late August that would require surgery and keep him sidelined for the rest of this season.

While Andujar didn't pan out for New York like many had predicted, at least he had one electric season that the Yankees community can remember him fondly by.