Yankees first-base front runner out to prove he’s no Kevin Maas

Luke Voit knows there are still plenty of skeptics who believe he’s the Yankees’ next version of Kevin Maas or Shane Spencer, and expect him to crash to Earth after his stunning emergence in the latter part of last season.

That’s when Voit — who had played in just 70 games in the majors before the Yankees acquired him, and international signing pool money, from St. Louis in exchange for lefty Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos in July — became one of the most productive hitters in an already strong lineup.

After a less-than-stellar start with the Yankees, when Voit went just 3-for-16 with five strikeouts in five games before being sent back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the first baseman was called up again Aug. 21 and never looked back.

In the ensuing 34 games, he hit .353 with five doubles, 14 homers, 31 RBIs and an OPS of 1.186 in 131 plate appearances.

“Everyone compared me to Shane Spencer,’’ Voit said by phone Friday night as he made the 14-hour drive from his home in Missouri to Tampa, where he will report to spring training this week. “I want to make my own legacy. I’m going to work my butt off to win the starting job.”

His main competition figures to come from Greg Bird, who just a few years ago arrived in The Bronx and looked like he was set to be the Yankees’ first baseman for the foreseeable future.

Bird, though, has never duplicated the production he showed when he was a late-season call-up in 2015 and slugged 11 homers in 46 games.

Bird then missed 2016 after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and was limited to 48 games the following season because of a fractured right ankle suffered at the end of a sizzling spring training. He had a bone spur removed from the ankle last year, which the Yankees hope is the reason he suffered through a brutal season, one that saw him finish with an OPS of .672 and open up a spot for Voit.

General manager Brian Cashman has said throughout the offseason that Voit will enter the spring as the front-runner for the starting job, “unless Bird beats him out.”

“I know Greg is eager to win the job, too,’’ Voit said. “That’s gonna make both of us better, that competition. We have a good relationship and competition is part of baseball, part of life.”

Whoever doesn’t get the nod will likely wind up in SWB, because the Yankees probably can’t afford to use two roster spots on players who can play only first base.

Voit, who got married in the offseason, turns 28 this month. He dropped about 15 pounds and worked with infield coach Carlos Mendoza in Tampa in an effort to improve defensively.

At the plate, he wants to continue what he did when he was called up for good.

“I’ve got to stay within myself and be the Luke Voit I was, especially since that’s what it seemed like New York wanted,’’ Voit said. “I was able to get everyone energized and I want to do that over a full season. I can hit, man, and now I’ve got my foot in the door and want to prove it again and help us win [World Series No.] 28.’’

Voit, though, struggled in the playoffs, with just one extra-base hit in 21 plate appearances.

He’s confident he’ll bounce back.

“I’ve always hit the ball to all fields and hit everywhere I’ve been,’’ Voit said. “I think they trust me. They let me know how much they thought of me because of advance scouting when they got me. … They said, ‘We knew you could do this.’ ”

The Yankees — and Voit — will learn soon enough whether he was a flash in the pan or something more lasting.

“I want to keep doing what I was doing once I got my second chance,’’ Voit said. “Last spring, my goal was to make the team. It’s nice to go into it with a shot to play everyday, Cashman and [manager Aaron] Boone believed in me and I want to keep the ball rolling.’’

That starts with heading south more than two weeks before position players are due to report.

“It’s too cold in Missouri,’’ Voit said. “I want to get outside and get my cleats on and get to work.”

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