The Yankees just wrapped up their quick two-game with Toronto, following their doubleheader with Detroit on Monday. They swept the Jays, and split with the Tigers. A lot has happened in these three days - both on and off the field.
In game one of the double header, Severino was brilliant (as per the norm this season) against Detroit, tossing 8.0 innings - giving up 1 earned run and striking out 10. The offense put up a 6-run 4th inning and after a shaky 9th from Jonathan Holder, held on to win 7-4.
In game two, the offense made Mike Fiers look like an ace... somehow. Fiers has really been struggling this season, so it was a little disappointing they couldn't muster up any offense. The only excitement from the Yankees, was when Fiers plunked Giancarlo Stanton in the 3rd inning. Stanton appeared to take exception to being hit by Fiers, who was visibly upset after being hit - jawing at Fiers as he walked to first base. The benches cleared for a brief instant - but nothing happened as Stanton took his place at first base. Fiers was the pitcher that hit Stanton in the face a few years ago in 2014, when Stanton was with Miami and Fiers was with Milwaukee. Stanton got revenged as he smoked his 13th home run of the season in his next at bat against Mr. Fiers. Detroit and Fiers would get the last laugh as they would ultimately win 4-2, as the Yankee hitters struggled with runners in scoring position. German started this game, and pitched alright - however, I think his days as the 5th starter should be numbered.
One way that German will likely see more time as the 5th starter is because on Tuesday it was announced that LHP Jordan Montgomery would need season ending Tommy John Surgery... (nooooo!!!!!!). I for one, was looking forward to getting Monty back as before he was injured, he was pitching quite well before he was injured. His surgery is set to take place today (Thursday) and it will likely be a year to a year-and-a-half before we see him toe the rubber in the Bronx again. Disappointing, to say the least, but I will get more into that in a second.
After the Yankees learned the devastating news about Montgomery, they started their brief two-game series against Toronto. CC started Tuesday's game, and pitched quite well - the Yankees always are able to rely on him following a loss. He pitched 7.0 innings and struck out 6, while only giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. Although CC pitched well, it took a little while for the Yankees bats to get going. They didn't plate their first runs until the 7th inning... when Miguel Andujar sent the ball into the left field seats for his first career Grand Slam! Aaron Hicks followed in the 8th inning with a 3-run home run and the Yankees would defeat Toronto 7-2.
In Wednesday's game, Sonny Gray started for the Yankees and continued to pitch much better of late - going 8.0 innings and gave up no runs on 2 hits, while striking out 8. I am thrilled Gray is pitching much better, they really need him. Since his start on May 11, his ERA has come down almost 2.00 runs (May 11th - 6.39 ERA, after June 7th - 4.81 ERA), it looks like whatever adjustments he and Rothschild made are paying off. Unfortunately for Gray, last night he received absolutely no run support. The game went all the way to the top of the 13th inning before Aaron Judge broke the tie with a 2-run home run. Judge needed a big hit, as he's been slumping lately - during the doubleheader, he struck out 8 times... ouch! Immediately after Judge's bomb, Stanton ripped a laser into the left field seats, making it 3-0. Chapman closed it out for his 15th save, and the Yankees escaped Toronto.
The Yankees just keep winning, which is great! But, the problem is Boston keeps winning too. I had indicated previously that the Yankees needed to play well on this road trip - and they have, despite the two rain outs in Baltimore they still head into this weekend's Subway Series at Citi Field 5-1 on this road trip. They are still 1.0 game behind Boston - because of all the rain outs Boston has played 4 more games than the Yankees. Boston's winning percentage is .694, and only a shade higher than the Yankees' .690... somehow the math works out to trailing the Red Sox by 1.0 game. The Yankees and Boston are the first two teams with 40 wins this season... impressive. It's a shame one of these teams will have to play in the wild card game - too bad someone hasn't proposed an alternative to the current post season format.
Anyways, with the disappointing news about Jordan Montgomery the Yankees will need to double-down on their search to add an arm to the rotation. Like I mentioned before, German will not cut it - he was nice for making the occasional spot starts, but I don't think he is ready to finish the season as the #5 starter... A-Rod caused some drama stating that "If the Giants do fall out of it, I like the idea of Madison Bumgarner going to the Yankees" - Bumgarner just recently made his first start of the season, after spending significant time on the Disabled List to start the year. Like A-Rod said, the Giants aren't out of the race yet - but if they do continue to slide, do they sell off? Remember, they made two big trades in the offseason to land Evan Longoria, and Andrew McCutchen - I doubt they will sell at all. Andrew Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted in response to A-Rod's proposal that "#sfgiants not trading Bumgarner this year, and they're certainly never going to trade of the greatest postseason pitchers in history, perhaps THE greatest, to a team they someday might meet in October." - Yikes... Still it's fun to think about. They may not trade for Bumgarner, but they WILL need to add an arm. Some think Justus Sheffield may be ready for the big leagues - if not that far off, but I don't think he's the answer. They need a proven arm to anchor that rotation, and right now outside of Severino, what starter has been consistent all season? Besides Montgomery? None. It will be interesting to see if they are able to make a trade within the division OR even with crosstown rivals the Met's... think they'd make a move for Syndergaard or deGrom? If they do, it won't be cheap... what do you think it would take for the Yanks to pry deGrom or Syndergaard away from the Mets?
Speaking of the Mets - the Yankees ride into Citi Field this weekend, to face a Mets team that has really fallen flat since their hot start. The Mets have dropped to 4th place in the NL East, and are currently only 6.0 better than the lowly Miami Marlins. They've lost 6 in a row, and 8 of their last 10... things are not looking good. Who knows, maybe a good series against the Yankees can help them start to turn things around, or not...
After today's off-day, the pitching probables for this weekend's series are as follows:
Friday 06/08: NYY (Masahiro Tanaka, 7-2, 4.79 ERA) @ NYM (Jacob deGrom, 4-0, 1.49 ERA)
Saturday 06/09: NYY (Domingo German, 0-4, 5.44 ERA) @ NYM (Steven Matz, 2-4, 3.42 ERA)
Sunday 06/10: NYY (Luis Severino, 9-1, 2.20 ERA) @ NYM (Noah Syndergaard, 4-1, 3.06 ERA)
Clearly, the Yankees will be facing the best pitching the Mets have to offer this weekend - should be interesting to watch!
Lastly, the 2018 MLB Draft has concluded and the Yankees have drafted a lot of pitchers AND catchers. Here is a link to the complete list of Yankees Draft Picks:
I'll talk briefly about their first two picks, as they were both catchers. Actually, the Yankees drafted SEVEN catchers this season, and when you are good at developing catchers, why not? Could become valuable trade chips...
Their first pick, 23rd overall was Anthony Siegler - an ambidextrous catcher, out of Cartersville High School in Georgia. As a switch hitter, he hit .421 with 14 home runs in 107 at-bats his senior year, and from what I hear he capped off his season with a walk-off home run in . Siegler is known to be a good receiver and thrower with quick hands. Siegler was committed to go to University of Florida, but it's believed he will sign with the Yankees. He was ranked around 40th overall and ended up being selected 23rd... from what I understand is catchers tend to be picked higher than projected because good ones are hard to find, and if a team thinks a guy can do it for a long time, they draft them.
Their second round pick, 61st overall was Josh Breaux (pronounced "bro" - the pick was also announced by Nick Swisher, the ultimate bro). Breaux is also a catcher that just finished up his second season at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. He was drafted last season by Houston, but decided to go back to school. Breaux (20 years old) hit .404 with 18 home runs and 82 RBI this season and was commited to play for University of Arkansas next season. Breaux, a very different kind of catcher than Siegler - he's a good defender, a rocket arm (clocked 100mph as a pitcher) and power. I have not seen whether or not he is projected to sign with the Yankees.
I have a number of questions for all of you, that I would love to hear your thoughts on! Please leave your thoughts in the comments!
What do you think about the Yankees top picks? How do you feel about the abundance of catchers? Are there any other picks that stand out to you?
What are your thoughts to Monty needing Tommy John Surgery?
Are there any appealing pitchers out there that the Yankees could make a move for?
What do you look forward to most about this weekend's Subway Series?