First half thoughts and notes regarding the New York Yankees
All MLB teams are off until Friday, which leaves two full days of nothing
after the All-Star Game. In regards to the Yankees, I have some thoughts following
their first half performance:
The Yankees are contenders, but they could also be sellers
Pretty much every position has
performed differently from expectations
No matter the outcome, 2017 will have been much more fun than 2016
2016 was not a good year for the Yankees. The first half was full of underperforming veterans, injuries, and a whole lot of boring games where nothing too interesting happened. The second half was much better, due to the emergence of Gary Sanchez, but the team still struggled and was not able to make the playoffs. 2017 has been a different story. Even with the teams recent struggles, this season has been full of young, exciting players such as Sanchez, Judge, Severino, Montgomery, Clint Frazier, etc. TEN rookies have made their major league debut, and all have contributed in some way. The long awaited youth movement is in full swing and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
The Yankees are contenders, but they could also be sellers
During the first two months of the season, the Yankees were on fire. On
June 12, they were 38-23 and rolling, coming off of a sweep of the Orioles and
winning the first game of a series against the Angels in Anaheim. The offense
was unstoppable, the starting pitching outside of Masahiro Tanaka was reliable,
and the bullpen was solid. Since then? They’re 6-18. That’s not good. The
offense fell back down to Earth, the starting pitching has been okay but not
great, and the bullpen has been a train wreck. This is legitimate slump that
the Yanks need to get out of if they want to continue to contend. If they can
right the ship, great! Go out and get some relievers, maybe a starter, a first
baseman, and go win the AL East pennant. If they can’t end the slump, however,
then they should consider selling. See what teams are willing to offer on Brett
Gardner, Starlin Castro, CC Sabathia, and Matt Holliday. The first few weeks of
the second half may just be the most important weeks of the 2017 season.
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| Photo via Adam Hunger of USA Today Sports |
At the end of spring training, the expectations of the Yankees were that
the starting pitching would be shaky, the bullpen would be a strength, the
outfield would be okay but not great, and the infield would be solid. However,
just the opposite has taken place. With the exception of Tanaka’s struggles,
the rotation has been solid behind new ace Luis Severino, breakout rookie
Jordan Montgomery, and Sabathia’s continued resurgence. Michael Pineda was
lights out at the beginning of the year, but has fallen back down to earth.
Even then though, the rotation has been much better than expected.
The bullpen has been terrible the last month or so, however. Dellin
Betances and Aroldis Chapman have struggled, and Tyler Clippard looks out of
gas. Rookies such as Domingo German, Ronald Herrera, and Tyler Webb have been
okay but not great, and Adam Warren has been decent but injured. The lone
bright spot has been the emergence of Chad Green, who has been pitching in
relief most of the season and has been lights out.
The outfield, meanwhile, has been by far the strongest position for the Yankees.
Three of their top four players in bWAR are outfielders: Aaron Judge (5.3),
Aaron Hicks (2.8), and Brett Gardner (2.4). Keep in mind that Hicks has
compiled 2.8 bWAR even though he’s missed three weeks with an oblique injury.
The emergence of him and Judge has been a huge addition to the Yankees offense,
and should continue to be in the future.
Finally, the infield has been…interesting. Aside from missing time with
injuries, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro have broken out with fantastic
seasons. Castro is an All-Star, and Didi was on the Final Vote ballot, for what
it’s worth. The corners are a different story, however. Chase Headley began the
year with a blistering April, hitting .301/.402/.494, but then regressed to hit
just .165/.211/.235 in May. June and July have been pretty average for Headley,
but his streakiness leave Yankees fans wondering whether upgrading at the
position would be a worthwhile use of prospects. And finally, first base has
been downright awful. After his scorching hot Spring Training, Greg Bird went
just 6-60 with one homer and 22 strikeouts before going on the DL with an ankle
injury. His replacement, Chris Carter, racked up a whopping 76 strikeouts in
208 at bats, which ultimately led to his DFA (twice). Tyler Austin went on the
DL after just 13 at bats, and current first baseman Ji-Man Choi isn’t much of a
long term solution. Something needs to be done about first base, whether it’s a
healthy Bird or an outside option, if the Yankees want to contend.
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| Photo via Getty Images |
No matter the outcome, 2017 will have been much more fun than 2016
2016 was not a good year for the Yankees. The first half was full of underperforming veterans, injuries, and a whole lot of boring games where nothing too interesting happened. The second half was much better, due to the emergence of Gary Sanchez, but the team still struggled and was not able to make the playoffs. 2017 has been a different story. Even with the teams recent struggles, this season has been full of young, exciting players such as Sanchez, Judge, Severino, Montgomery, Clint Frazier, etc. TEN rookies have made their major league debut, and all have contributed in some way. The long awaited youth movement is in full swing and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
Article by: Alex Weir
Follow @waelierx
Follow @BronxBomberBall
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