Coming off a three-game sweep of the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, the New York Yankees, who were pegged by many to be a .500 team at best coming into the year in what was looked at as a rebuilding season, currently sit at 21-9, the best record in all of Major League Baseball. Since a 1-4 start, the Yankees have gone 20-5, including sweeps of the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Currently, they are the only team left in baseball with single digits in the loss column, and while it is unrealistic for them to keep up their .700 winning percentage all season (which would give them 113 wins) here are a few reasons why the Yankees start is for real, and why they can remain in the playoff hunt all season.
- Aaron Judge Aaron Judge gives the Yankees another young superstar.
: The current frontrunner for the AL Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP candidate, Judge’s counting numbers jump off the page, with 13 HR, 28 RBI, 317/.410/.773 and an AL-leading 2.5 WAR. In 117 plate appearances, Judge has an average exit velocity of 95.11 miles per hour on balls put in play, and against the Orioles set a Statcast record for the hardest hit home run in the software’s history at 119.38 MPH. Additionally, Judge set a record for the most home runs through 25 games of a rookie season in MLB history. Where Judge has improved the most is his patience at the plate; in 2016, his strikeout to walk ratio was 42:9, giving him a strikeout percentage of 44%, with a walk percentage of only 9.4% in 95 plate appearances. This season, Judge has 31 strikeouts to 15 walks, increasing his ratio to about 2:1, and increasing his walk rate to 13%, while drastically dropping his strikeout rate to 26.4%, a manageable rate for a slugger of his caliber. His newfound plate discipline, coupled with his ability to use the entire field and forcing teams to not deploy the shift against him, have given us reason to believe that new Aaron Judge is here to stay, giving the Yankees an incredible presence in the middle of the lineup.
- Michael Pineda and Luis Severino Learning to Work in the Zone: Last season, Michael Pineda led the American League with 10.6 K/9, striking out 207 batters on the season against only 53 walks, a 3.91 K: BB ratio. However, he also gave up 27 home runs, and in the process watched his ERA balloon to 4.82, and his WHIP to 1.349. For Severino, who the Yankees had huge hopes for after a strong rookie season in 2015, the damage was even worse, as a sophomore slump caused him to go 3-8 with a 5.38 ERA, 1.451 WHIP, and at one point, a demotion to the minor leagues. This year, although both have still been hurt by the long ball, giving up seven home runs each, they have learned to effectively harness their incredible velocity and limit their mistakes in the zone; Pineda is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA, 0.981 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts against only 5 walks, giving him a league-leading 1.3 BB/9 and 8.60 K: BB ratio. Severino hasn’t been too far behind, having gone 2-2 with a 3.40 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, and a 45:7 K: BB ratio. If both pitchers can continue to consistently throw strikes and limit their walks totals, they should be able to find the consistent success that has eluded them thus far in their Yankee careers.
- Gary and Didi Are Back: If you asked Yankee fans who their best two hitters were in 2016, the majority would respond with Didi Gregorious and Gary Sanchez. In his second year as Derek Jeter’s replacement, Gregorious broke out at the plate, setting career highs with 20 HR, 70 RBI, 32 2B, a .276 AVG, and a .751 OPS. While Sanchez’s historic rookie season needs no re-introduction, we’ll give one anyway; in 53 games, Sanchez hit .299/.376/.657, with 20 HR, 42 RBI, and 60 hits. In 2017, Gregorious and Sanchez have both missed time with a shoulder and bicep injury respectively, combining to make 86 plate appearances in 18 games. While Austin Romine and Ronald Torreyes have done more than a good job filling in, getting two of their top of the lineup bats back on an everyday basis should make the Yankees lineup even better than it’s been thus far.
- The Bullpen is Lights Out: Never was this more evident than when the Yankees bullpen pitched 9.1 scoreless innings in an 18 inning win against the Cubs, but this deep relief core has been incredible, going 7-3 with a 2.60 ERA and .200 Batting Average Against, good for fourth and fifth in the MLB respectively. While closer Aroldis Chapman hasn’t been as dominant as in the past, he still a respectable 3.00 ERA, 7 SV, and an absurd 15.0 K/9 while throwing darts in finishing eleven games for the Yankees. Dellin Betances has been every bit of his usual All-Star self, with a 3-1 record, 0.84 ERA, and an even more absurd 16.0 K/9 in 10.2 innings. Tyler Clippard has continued his strong run in his return for the team that has drafted him, with a 1.26 ERA, 18 K, and a 0.767 WHIP in 14.1 innings pitched. The same can be said about Adam Warren, who has remained Joe Girardi’s go-to long reliever and has thrived, with a 0.51 ERA and 0.623 WHIP in 17.2 innings pitched. Youngster Jonathan Holder has emerged as a weapon for the Yankees, appearing in thirteen games, and pitching to a 2.08 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched. Back in the big leagues after starting the year in AAA, left-hander Chasen Shreve has yet to give up a run for the Yankees in seven innings pitched and has re-emerged as the team’s lefty specialist. With a bullpen that truly is five to six men deep at any time, the Yankees have a luxury filled that has time and time again been an area of need for postseason teams to make deep runs into October.
- The Best Has Yet to Come Out of the Rotation: A year ago, Masahiro Tanaka finished the season 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.077 WHIP, and a 7.4 K/9 in 199.2 IP. This season, although he is 5-1, his numbers are down across the board, with a 4.36 ERA, 1.315 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, and a 2.3 BB/9, the first time he has walked more than two batters per nine innings in his career. Assuming Tanaka’s numbers stabilize to his career norms, he should continue to get even better, which is incredible given he is 5-1 with nowhere near his best stuff, a shutout against the Red Sox at Fenway Park notwithstanding. And while rookie left-hander Jordan Montgomery has been very solid as the Yankees five starter, going 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and keeping the Yankees in every start, he too has room to improve. If Montgomery can reduce his 4.4 BB/9 ratio into the two to three walk range, it will allow him to go even deeper into games, and give the Yankees yet another reliable option in the rotation.
- The Deepest Lineup in Years: It is not an over-exaggeration to say that the Yankees have had every single position player contribute offensively one way or another, which is why the team is second in the MLB with 177 runs, a .357 OBP, and .820 OPS, and third with 50 HR and 495 total bases. At catcher, Austin Romine filled in for Gary Sanchez with a .277 AVG and 2 HR in 21 games, which was all the Yankees could ask for out of a defensive minded, backup catcher. Sanchez himself has been no slouch, hitting .281 with a .410 OBP, and going six for twelve in his return from the DL. Second Baseman Starlin Castro is leading the AL with a .358 AVG, while adding in 6 HR, 21 RBI, and a .942 OPS. Utility infielder Ronald Torreyes was a revelation filling in at shortstop for the Yankees, hitting .316 in 26 games, while filling in all over the diamond. At third base, Chase Headley has a .362 OBP, and prior to an 0 for 12 skid against the Cubs was hitting well over .300 all season. Headley also has twelve extra base hits, which is especially significant given that he was still searching for his first XBH in early May last season. Aside from Judge, the Yankees other three outfielders, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner, and Jacoby Ellsbury have delivered early on. A former top prospect with the Twins, Hicks has hit his stride with the Yankees early on, hitting .342/.462/.644 with 6 HR, 16 RBI, and five stolen bases in 24 games; for reference, last season he had 8 HR and three stolen bases in 123 games for the Yankees. Sharing the rest of the outfield with Hicks and Judge are the left-handed hitting Gardner and Ellsbury; Gardner has gone a recent power surge, with 6 HR and a .839 OPS, while Ellsbury has added 4 HR, 11 RBI, a .290 AVG, and a .818 OPS of his own this season. As a duo, the two have combined for twelve steals. And last but not least, DH Matt Holliday, signed this offseason as a veteran right-handed bat, has adjusted to his new role and AL pitching nicely, hitting .287/.400/.552 with 6 HR and 19 RBI. With an offense that is firing on all cylinders, the Yankees will be a difficult team to face no matter who is on the mound for the opposition.
