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| mlb.com |
Matt Linder
Going into the Yankees 2017 season, there was tremendous uncertainty and excitement surrounding the ball club. Would the starting rotation hold up over the course of the 162 game baseball marathon? Would the young players show promise as everyday players in the lineup? These questions and many others were answered in the affirmative. As a result, the Yankees 2017 campaign checked all of the boxes of a captivating season.
· Exceeded expectations ☑
· Break out stars ☑
· Surprising playoff success ☑
· Major trade deadline acquisitions ☑
· Obstacles: Injuries and Prolonged losing stretch ☑
· “Win or go home” games ☑
· Fun group of veterans and youngsters ☑
As a way to review the 2017 season, I will break down the team, position by position. Let’s start by recapping the Yankees starting pitching. Coming into the season, the rotation was the biggest question mark of the team. By season’s end, the starters were a strength, finishing fifth in all of baseball with a 3.98 ERA.
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| yanksgoyard.com |
Luis Severino is obviously the main story when talking about the Yankees’ rotation. He went from having an 8.50 ERA in eleven starts in 2016, and needing to earn a rotation spot out of Spring Training, to finishing in the top 3 for the AL Cy Young Award. What a great bounce back season for the 23 year old ace! Luis finished the season ranked ninth in the AL in innings pitched, fourth in strikeouts and third in ERA. Fans and management knew Severino had electric stuff, but his 2017 performance blew away even the most optimistic expectations. Give the Yankees’ front office credit for taking a risk by putting him back into the starting rotation after his struggles in 2016. He had success in the bullpen after being removed from the rotation, but the Yankees understood his potential to be a frontline starting pitcher if and when things clicked. They were right to not to give up on a kid with that type of ceiling.
Grade: A+
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| nydailynews.com |
Coming into the season, Masahiro Tanaka was expected to pick up where he left off in 2016 as the team’s ace. However, things started off extremely rough for Tanaka with a first half ERA of 5.47. The inflated ERA was largely due to his inability to keep the ball in the park. Before the All-Star break, he allowed 23 home runs in 103 innings compared to just 12 in 76 innings pitched post mid-summer classic. His ERA in the second half dropped significantly to 3.77 and his K/9 increased by 1.6 strikeouts. It was certainly a tale of two seasons for Masahiro. He also pitched tremendously well throughout the team’s playoff run with a 0.90 ERA in 20 innings. That is the type of pitcher he is capable of being and fans should be thrilled to have him back for three more years after he decided to opt-in to his contract.
Grade: B-
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| pinstripealley.com |
The Yankees second most consistent pitcher was CC Sabathia. Following up on a strong season in 2016 when he reinvented himself as a pitcher, CC rode that same formula of cutters and sliders (thanks Andy Pettitte) to success last season. He no longer has the prototypical strikeout stuff at this point in his career, but he was still dominant. Since relying more heavily on his cutter, especially as a way to neutralize right-handed batters, CC has been great at avoiding barrels. In 2017, he had the sixth best soft contact percentage (27.2%), his hard contact percentage (24.1%) ranked fifth lowest and an average exit velocity (83.9 mph) was the best in all of baseball. Although he may not be the power pitcher he once was, he is still quite effective. CC was also tremendous in the playoffs -- beating Corey Kluber in Game 5 to win the ALDS in Cleveland was CLUTCH! He is a leader both on the mound and in the clubhouse, so I really hope the Yankees bring him back in 2018. Also,
his Red Sox trash talk was glorious.
Grade: B+
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| nypost.com |
The next spot in the rotation was filled by another crafty lefty. Like Sabathia, Jordan Montgomery does not have a high octane fastball, but both pitchers are able to keep hitters off balance with an array of off-speed stuff. Montgomery was not even one of the leading candidates to make the team out of spring training. The three locks were Tanaka, CC and Michael Pineda (I’ll get to him a bit later). The next two rotation spots were projected to be filled by some combination of Severino, Chad Green, Luis Cessa and Bryan Mitchell. Instead, Montgomery really impressed the coaches and front office so he got the call to be in the starting rotation. Among MLB rookie starting pitchers, he ranked fourth in innings pitched (155.1), third in WAR (2.9) and second in strikeouts (144), all while pitching in the AL East! Montgomery does not have the upside of Severino or maybe some other top pitching prospects in the organization’s farm system, but he profiles as a middle of the rotation starter for years to come. Although three and four starters do not get a lot of attention, having quality pitchers following the top of the rotation is vital to a team’s success over 162 games.
Grade: B
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| nj.com |
The fifth member of the rotation, Sonny Gray, was added through a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline. The Yankees gave up top prospects SS Jorge Mateo, P James Kaprelian and OF Dustin Fowler to acquire the 27 year old right hander from the A’s. Brian Cashman believed the team was one starting pitcher short of making a postseason run and Sonny was one of the best pitchers available. Most importantly, Gray was not a rental and is under team control for the next two seasons. He made 11 regular season starts in pinstripes and pitched to a 3.72 ERA. Sonny pitched Game 1 of the ALDS and it was not his strongest outing. He consistently fell behind hitters, nibbling around the edges of the plate, as he was prone to do during the regular season. Fortunately, he pitched much better in his next start against the Astros in the ALCS. I think his elevated 3.7 BB/9 after the trade was probably caused by trying to be overly fine and exact. He did not want to make a mistake since his new team was pushing for the playoffs. I expect Sonny to feel more comfortable next season and pitch like he did in Oakland. With that said, the organization would probably be happy for him to slot in as the team’s third starter behind Severino and Tanaka. They do not need him to be the ace of the staff.
Grade: B-
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| fanragsports.com |
Sonny Gray was not the only starting pitcher acquired by the Yankees at the trade deadline. The team actually traded for Jaime Garcia from the Twins before getting Gray. At the time, the rotation was looking slightly thin. CC had a knee issue which could have ended his season and Montgomery was seemingly hitting a rookie wall. Cashman decided to acquire Garcia as starting pitching insurance since, at that point, he could not rely on bolstering the staff by trading for a big name like Sonny Gray. Jaime’s tenure with the Yankees was mostly forgettable, but he did pitch 5.2 innings on August 11 in a win against the Red Sox. Beating Boston is always nice. Unlike Gray, he was a rental and is currently a free agent, who will most likely not be back with the Yankees.
Grade: C
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| latintimes.com |
Lastly, one of the guarantees to make the team out of spring training was Michael Pineda. Coming off an atrocious 2016 campaign, fans, coaches and management were hoping he could put together a season in which his potential was finally reached. And to start 2017, it was shaping up as though something with Pineda had finally clicked. Through April and May, in ten starts, he had an ERA of 3.32 and strikeout to walk ratio of 66:12 in 59.2 innings. After May however, typical, inconsistent Michael returned. His ERA in June was 5.35 and after one terrible start in July a torn UCL resulted in season ending Tommy John surgery. Pineda is currently a free agent, but with his inability to pitch in 2018, his value is near nothing. A team will likely give him a one year deal worth around $2MM with a team option for 2019 and use the first year of the deal to rehab him, just like the Rays did with ex-Yankee Nate Eovaldi. I doubt the Yankees see Pineda in their long term plans. Good luck, Michael!
Grade: C-
So, that concludes the starting pitching installment of the 2017 Yankees – Year in Review. Check back in a few days for a look back at the Yankees infield and catching last season.
If you have any questions, comments or criticisms feel free to reach out to me at mattlinder2@gmail.com
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