The Pinstriped Baseball Lane

Despite the injuries that guys are enduring, Yankee baseball will look to go all in on a championship run upon the return of baseball action.

It looks like the delay of the 2020 baseball season may work out in the New York Yankees‘ favor. Due to the ongoing corona-virus, many of the injured Yankee athletes are looking to make major progress on the road to recovery.

The Bronx Bombers had their club and their fanbase worried about the readiness of the team had the season started on May 26,2020. If baseball had followed the blueprint to open the season as planned, the Yankees would have suffered having their entire outfield sitting on the IL (injured list) and they also would have taken a huge hit in the pitching department.

Lets take a look at how each of the injured superstars are making out with this extra time to recover.

Luis Severino Looks To Get Back To His Ace-Like Form

Unfortunately RHP Luis Severino is out for the year with Tommy John surgery. According to Bryan Hoch, “Luis Severino is progressing well in his recovery…” Back on May 31st, Severino told him the following:

“I’ve been down in Tampa since the day after I had my surgery, I do arm bikes, dumbbell exercises, and I just follow the routine that [trainers] Timmy [Lentych] and Alfonso [Malaguti] plan out for me. I spend an hour and half with them in the trainer’s room before I move into the gym, every day, five days a week. Things have been progressing well. I’ve been making steady progress — lifting, doing exercises. Since three months ago — I think when I first had my surgery — I feel way better. I’m doing everything I need to do right now so that I can start throwing this summer.’’

As Sevy had his surgery in late February,  he figures to miss the whole 2020 season and perhaps the first few weeks of 2021. I know I can speak on behalf of the Yankee fanbase when I say, “It is great to hear that Sevy is making progress and I hope he can get back to his to his All-Star self when he can be apart of a postseason run.”

James Paxton, a.k.a “The Big Maple”

In late February, it was reported that Paxton needed back surgery (microscopic lumbar discectomy) that would sideline him for three or four months. As a result, the Yankees began preparing for life without the southpaw for at least the first two months of the 2020 season. However, COVID-19 sidelined the start of the schedule. so the Yankees will have “The Big Maple” as a lefty option in the starting rotation whenever the season starts.

In the latest report given by Meredith Marakovits in May, it was reported that, “…the pitcher was working on increasing the spin rate of his pitches. He’s back to normal health-wise, having thrown between 12 and 14 bullpen sessions…”

Paxton is working out in Wisconsin and seems to experimenting with a ball that tracks spin rate. Using a delivery with less contact with his thumb, he has been able to increase spin and back spin. So, as he is looking to put more deception on his pitches, it looks like Boone will have the option to pencil in the big lefty as a starter. I definitely can’t wait to see him produce some swing-and-misses when he takes the major league mound.

Aaron Judge– His Faith Is Yet To Be Seen

A few weeks ago, it looked like Judge would be a go for the start of the post-COVID season. Now, we don’t know if he will be ready. In late-May, Marcus Thames, the Yankees’ hitting coach, told Marakovits that the powerful outfielder wasn’t yet swinging a bat.

The Yankees are being extra cautious with their pinstriped judge. When the doctors turn him loose, “he’ll be ready” Thames said back then. “He’s champing at the bit to get out there.”

Earlier in May, general manager Brian Cashman said that his expectation for Judge was for him to be ready to play around summertime. That still appears to be the case but there haven’t been recent updates. I sure hope that Judge will be apart of the blueprint plans when baseball returns.

Aaron Hicks

The talented center fielder now appears to be closer than Judge, as he is already taking batting practice, sprinting on a treadmill, and throwing around a large medicine ball. It is great news to hear that our switch-hitting center-fielder it finally able to get some work in.

Considering that he underwent the procedure in October, Hicks figures to be ready in the next few weeks and could be an option for the start of the season. In a regular schedule, he would have missed the entire first half. So, the quarantined lifestyle is definitely working in his favor. I am excited to see him in action upon the return of the sport.

Giancarlo Stanton– At Least We Have The Return Of One Big Slugger

Back in late February, Stanton suffered a Grade 1 right calf strain that put his Opening Day status in jeopardy. It wasn’t a long-term injury by any means, and right now, he is fully recovered, ready to play if needed.

Stanton started running and taking batting practice more than two months ago, so his name will surely be penciled into the lineup card for the season’s first game, whenever that may come.

Since Stanton has been in New York, he has been getting mixed reactions from the fanbase, but this YouTube video should remind everyone that Stanton is an asset to what the Yankees are trying to accomplish.

Other Big Assets

Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar suffered back issues and a calf strain, respectively, back in February and March, but since there haven’t been reports on those for a long time, we take it as a sign that they are at or near full strength at this point.

  The Yankee bullpen has earned a reputation for coming into games and shutting down bats.  The organization has had many valuable arms among its bullpen staff over the years.  I spoke about a few of them that we have now that have been dominant for a few seasons now.  Guys like Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman are definite assets to the back end of the pitching staff, and with being said, the Yankees bullpen has proven to be a vital component to all the wins that they managed to compile each season.

Of course baseball is a sport and athletes are human being, so that would mean that players aren’t always going to have seasons pan out in their favor.  The Yankees are seen as a championship driven ball-club, but that doesn’t mean that their player don’t struggle like every other ball-club.  I would like to point out that baseball and especially New York sports fan-bases take their sports very seriously. New Yorkers will be harsh critics of their own team. I have seen it and been apart of it as a Yankee fan.

Recently Jonathan Holder had to take heat from the Yankee fan base because of what majority of fans might describe as a infuriating 2019 season.  I mean it was just irritating to watch games that you got more than enough contribution from the offense and a well pitched game by any given starter, then when Holder comes in, he just blew leads and potentially what could of been a W  recorded in the books.  I mean the guy practically came into games and poured gasoline on fire.  He gave up grand slams to the Orioles, got lit up by anyone who he faced, and most New York Yankee fans disliked him.  Now, I am not saying I hate the guy, I’m just irritated with him.  I am not saying that I am one of those fans that pinpointed Holder as “the reason” for losing games, even though I will admit I did that when Michael Pineda was in pinstripes and just kept giving us inconsistent starts.

 At first, I gave Pineda the benefit of the doubt when he came to the New York Yankees, even through his inconsistent starts.  As his struggles dragged on, I began losing hope, whereas majority of other fans had already given up hope on him way earlier. Then came the pine tar scandal, honestly, that was when I lost stopped respecting him as a person and a player.  Frankly, I feel that way about Alex Rodriguez too.

Holder is different from those two guys though, he is among the players that stays away from illegal substances and prefers to work at getting better at his  his craft.  Like his teammate, Chad Green, Holder seems like he could eventually become a vital asset to the the club’s pitching staff too.

According to empiresportsmedia.com:

  “Jonathan Holder’s ERA shouldn’t be the only stat you look at, according to Fangraphs Jonathan Holder has a FIP of 4.45, xFIP of 4.43, and SIERA of 3.74. According to Baseball Savant, he had a 3.78 xERA, which shows that his 6.00+ ERA is misleading as he got very unlucky in 2019.  He had a K/9 of 10.02, BB/9 of 2.40, but what did him it was a 1.7 HR/9 with a 1.31 WHIP meant he would give up a lot of long balls with runners on.  If the peripherals show anything, it’s that he was a lot better than the ERA shows in 2019.”

Don’t Discredit His Track Record

 In 2018 Jonathan Holder was dominant, posting a, 3.18 ERA and 3.04 FIP, though his xFIP and SIERA were higher than his 2019 metrics. This is most likely due to fewer strikeouts in 2018 because he had an xERA of 3.52 and teams only had a .255 wOBA against Holder.  He was flat out great over 66.1 innings and he’s only 26 years old, so I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t bounce back to being the dominating opponent that batters will hate to face in the upcoming season.

The New York Yankees saw RHP Tommy Kahnle get clobbered in 2018,while Holder flourished, but in 2019 Kahnle was a reliable reliever who was amazing in his campaign.  There is hope for the Yankees righty to follow suit and bounce back after a rough 2019.  He showed some promise post-all star break wherein 5.2 innings he had a 3.18 ERA and 0.53 WHIP.  There is hope for him, and Yankee fans can’t say a reliever can’t bounce back after a horrific season.  With two relievers having time to restore their craft, due to the corona-virus, I definitely believe the Yankees’ bullpen will have the necessary tools to contribute to wins against other clubs.

The Pitching And The Rebound Hype

Will Holder flop again?  I would like to believe that he won’t.  As he and his baseball colleagues adjust to a shortened season and a possible Arizona venue, I could see him putting together a more than decent season campaign for another run at a World Series title.  With the virus putting everything at a halt, I can see the lock-down giving pitcher time to perfect their craft and hopefully that works out in Jonathan Holder’s favor.  Personally, as a Yankee and baseball fan, I am excited to see the pitching staff get back to work against the opposing offense.

With a guy like Holder on the Yankees that had a phenomenal 2018, I can’t wait to see what a bounce back year looks like for him.  A rebounding season for Holder and his teammates that are injured makes for a strong push toward another power hungry push to a world series title.

A Stellar Duo of Cole-Severino to Head the Yankees’ Starting Rotation

According to the great George Herman Ruth (a.k.a “The Great Bambino “), he once said, “Baseball was, is and always will be to me the best game in the world…”

Hal Steinbrenner took ownership of the team in 2010 and up until the signing of Gerrit Cole, he has been running the Yankees’ ball-club differently from his father.  For a few seasons now, under the Hal Steinbrenner’s administration, the Yankee organization steered away from signing big free agent contracts.  Under the new ownership, the Yankees are stock piling on prospect and building the team from within.  Yankee fans have been waiting a while to see a big splash, especially one that can help the starting rotation.  It would seem that the saying, “father-like-son” applies to Hal Steinbrenner’s recent acquisition.  He took a page out of his father’s book, to tip the world series’ odds in the Yankees favor for the 2020 season.  He did so, as his father once did with so many big names in the baseball world, by signing them to big money contracts for multiple seasons.

As all Yankee fans know by now, the Yankees have locked up Gerrit Cole to a nine year, $324 million contract.

  That signing makes me personally believe that we just got the missing piece to an already championship built team.  What do I think this means for the team?

  I believe if the team stays healthy, we can do some serious damage.  Why?

In a perfect, non-injury world, new pitching coach 34 year Matt Blake, would be coaching a pitching staff headed by two aces.  In anticipation of the arrival of the baseball season, the team is hoping to have all its players set for whenever Opening Day arrived.

  One player that everyone’s eyes will focus on is Luis Severino, as he has been the Yankee ace for a while.  Fans, like me, will be wanting to keep tabs on his healing process, as he will be recovering during the 2020 season from shoulder surgery and a significant lat strain.

  But like I said earlier, in a perfect non-injury world, the Yankees would have two aces at the head of the starting rotation.

  Pairing Gerrit Cole with Luis Severino, who posted ace-like numbers in the first half of 2018, could prove to be one of the elite tandems in baseball. Factor in a healthy Paxton and their top three options represent absolute dominance.

  According to the Yankees skipper, Aaron Boone spoke about both pitchers :

“In Gerrit, we’re seeing a guy in the prime of his career, arguably the best pitcher in the sport right now.”

“Sevy’s now been through a lot in this game. He’s been a Cy Young candidate, he’s gotten to the big leagues fast, he’s gone through some tough times, he’s gone through some failures, he’s gone through massive successes, he’s gone through an injury-plagued season now, but his talent and determination, coupled with those experiences that he’s had already as a young man, I think will only benefit him going forward…”

  I expect both Cole and Severino to be dominant whenever the season gets underway, especially because quarantine provides both guys with time to work on perfecting their pitches and maintain their health.  I am hoping that both righties will perform in beast mode when the team needs them to the most.  Also with both guys on the team now, it will be interesting to see how the internal competition will bring out the best in each player.

WE NEED DJ BACK IN PINSTRIPES!!!! There is so many reasons why the New York Yankees should do everything they can to re-sign him.

A little over a year ago, more than a handful of Yankee fans wanted a deal down with Manny Machado to make a big splash in the free agency.  Now let me be clear, I was not one of those fans, due to the fact that I felt that Machado would mess up the chemistry of a veteran-youth ball-club.  Yes, of course, Machado’s skills would of been an asset to the team, but he just wouldn’t be the right match for a “pass-the-baton” kind of team.

With an uncertain chemistry match, the Yankees didn’t stay in the talk of the Machado sweepstakes, however, they did make a signing that has been proven to be a huge impact this past season.  Taking themselves out of the Machado free agency market, the team signed a two year, $24 million guarantee with DJ LeMahieu instead.

Unfortunately, there is some uncertainty to that guarantee because LeMahieu’s future in pinstripes is on hold due to the corona-virus. If the season had started as scheduled, the infielder would of gotten a shot at being an everyday second baseman and that would of given him a golden opportunity to prove his worth. Yes that’s right, he has to prove his worth because if the season was underway, he would be playing for a contract renewal. Hopefully, that will be the case, especially when the front office takes LeMahieu’s 2019 performance under consideration.

As a Yankee fan, I enjoyed watching his stellar glove work across the infield positions, as he had to take reps at each of the positions because of so many injuries last season.  The infielder didn’t just show off his elite glove work, he matched his defense with dominant at-bats in the batter’s box.  He slashed a batting line of .327/ .375/.518 and clobbered a total of 26 home runs (138 wRC+: weighted runs created plus).

  With those type of numbers, he is an MVP caliber athlete, unfortunately, he finished fourth in the American League MVP voting.  Personally, I see him as the 2019 Yankees’ MVP.

  LeMahieu, 31, won over the fans and his teammates with his quiet, laser-focused approach at the plate.  Remember when the team only seemed to put the ball in the stands and rarely capitalized on Runners-In-Scoring-Position (RISP), well LeMahieu is very good at that part of his craft.  In fact, catcher Gary Sanchez gave him the nickname, “The Machine” and Aaron Boone said, “LeMahieu would rip his heart out”. 

According to pinstripealley.com,”The infielder was the only player to earn an A+ rating in our PSA Yankees Report Cards.”

LeMahieu’s contract end at the end of this season.  According to an agreement between the owners and MLBPA, a canceled season would mean that the 2020-2021 free agent class would hit the open market.  The Yankees’ only managed to get one year of production from the stellar infielder, but with the team looking to go all the way in the chase for 28, it would make complete sense to resign “The Machine“.

 The Yankee fan-base has come to know the notorious home-run calls of John Sterling, but due to the corona-virus, it will be a while before Yankee fans hear enthusiastic voice of the radio anchor again.     

  Before the world was devastatingly struck by the disease, Yankee fans were getting ready to see the newest pitching stud that was added to their team and welcome Brett Gardner back for another season.    

  Due to the corona-virus, it will be a while before Yankee fans will hear John Sterling’s home run calls over the radio voice  Gardner is not known for excessive long balls leaving the ball park, but he has made clutch hits and stellar defense apart of his game.  

  As a tenured Yankee and veteran ball player, the left fielder doesn’t need to depend on the long ball to help his team, but when he does connect to drive the ball out of the ballpark, the fans listening on the radio will hear John Sterling’s exclusive home run call for Brett Gardner:  

  “SWUNG ON and….. IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR….IT IS GONE. GARDY GOES YARDY!!!!”  

  Brett Gardner has made himself a household name in the Yankees fan-base, even though he may not grab the attention of millennial fans of the game today.  The game of baseball is meant to be played with passion. To me, this is a guy who steps onto the field everyday wearing his heart on his sleeve.  The veteran Yankee outfielder is just an old-school athlete in an updated game.  

  Like I said before, Brett Gardner may not be a player that grabs your attention, but he is an interesting player because he is what some fans might call, “an under the radar guy”.  This is a player that solidified his entire Yankee career by being himself.  For a player who has dedicated his craft to being a life-long Yankee, he is seen as an underrated player in the current game.   

  With major league baseball glorifying the power displays of various players and the gigantic size of these upcoming players, guys like Gardner just don’t fit in. The 36-year-old isn’t performing poorly; he just a veteran among this new wave of baseball players.  That is okay though, because he performs at the level of the up and coming studs of the game. 

  It may be surprising to some, but a baseball game isn’t just won by home runs and throwing no-hitters. Yes, at one time that type of game play was the blueprint teams followed, but there is so much more that goes into get the “W” in the score-book. 

  Brett Gardner is a representation of that way of playing.  Even though he is a 10 year veteran of the game, he  exemplifies the old, gritty baseball player that played well before his time. We see it even today with his dives into first base and his consistent use of small ball to get on base.

Reflecting on his career, Brett Gardner told New York Post’s columnist, Steve Serby the following statement:

“At this point, I’m just kind of taking things one year at a time. I’ve really always looked not too far into the future, obviously. The contract that I signed, the Yankees have a team option on me for next year. In a perfect world for me, I stay healthy and have a good season and they pick that option up and I come back and do it all over again. For me, I’m just focused on this current season and literally taking things one day at a time, trying to get prepared for a season. I know it sounds cliche, but I kind of learned that from some guys that I’ve played with along the way, that when you’ve been around this long, there’s no sense in looking too far into the future, really. You don’t know how much longer it’ll last, so really just enjoy every minute of it.”

In my opinion, even though Brett Gardner is seen as an under rated player, he is by far my favorite player in today’ s baseball game.  Yes the game of baseball is constantly changing, but the Yankees’ left fielder is a key figure to look at when analyzing the gradual evolution of baseball. Gardner once was everything the game needed, everything has shifted so that Gardner is now a reminder of what the game used to be.

When baseball returns, the Yankees will be on the hunt for their 28th championship and will look for Gardner to be an asset to their effort.

  In my eyes, the Yankees have depth because everyone understands the idea of “passing the baton”. One guy who I believe doesn’t get enough credit for his work is Chad Green.  I mean, do you know how hard it is to be handed a lead or a close game that your starting pitcher worked to get, then the pressure is on you to limit additional runs?  That is a tough task, but I have seen it done before. Reliever, Chad Green, has been an assets to the New York Yankees.

  As a Yankee fan, anytime Green comes into the game from the bullpen, I say the following:

  “The ‘Green Light’ Just Got Switched On In The Yankees’ Bullpen.”

  As Yankee and baseball followers, we should all know by now that each team has/have asset(s).  All Yankee fans know by now that the bullpen is an essential asset to the ball-club.  To me, the main reason why the Yankees can utilize the bullpen so effectively is because of their “set-up man” role.  On any give night you have a different starter, who may or may not be impactful.  So what happens if manager Aaron Boone  can’t depend on his starter to go 4-5 innings.  Well, he has turn to that “set-up man” position for help. In other words, the pitcher that he can call upon to link that gap.  For Boone, he has the choice of switching on that Green Light that I talked about.

  It has been a rough couple of seasons for the Yankees, since their last championship in 2009.  They have made attempts to reach for the gold again, but due to so many barriers, the door has been slammed in their faces on multiple occasions.  That’s in part to dealing with injuries and a recent Houston Astros cheating scandal that cost the Yankees a possible trip to the World Series.  In all that commotion, I would like to make the case that Chad Green had a big hand in carrying his team through some rough patches.

  Chad Green, who turned 29 on May 24, 2020 has been essential to the Yankee wins that he has pitched in. Green is so valuable because he has proven his worth, he can pitch as an effective bullpen weapon and be counted on as an occasionally opener.  Manager Aaron Boone had to flick on that Green Light switch a couple of times last season in tight spots.

  Chad Green saw himself in a new designated role to relieve his teammates on the injury front.  Boone called on his reliever to open 15 regular season games and once more in game six of the American League Championship Series against the Astros, which because of Houston’s illegal-electronic sign stealing was the Yankees last appearance on the baseball diamond.

  Whenever the baseball season gets underway, Chad Green will relish the moment when he returns to being a reliever.  That looks to be the plan now that the team got a much needed addition in Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will be returning from Tommy John surgery.

  Speaking with Yankees beat reporter, Brian Hoch in early February, the right handed reliever said, “Opening was a little bit out of necessity last year, but we’ve got some guys that are going to step up and pitch some big innings….”  Continuing he said, “…With Monty being back and guys getting some experience under their belt, I think we should be good.” 

  During last season’s championship run, Green posted a 4.17 ERA and collected 98 Ks/strikeouts over a span of 54 appearances.  That also includes a posting of a 3.72 ERA and an accumulation of 32 strikeout deliveries to Gary Sanchez’s glove in his opening assignments.  The reliever was effective in those regular season starts, posting a record of 11-4.

  It is also worth noting that Chad Green and his pitching colleagues will be under new pitching instructions.  The Yankee hurlers will be working with new pitching coach Matt Blake, who was hired on November 14th to replace Larry Rothschild.  34-year-old Blake will be bringing a high-tech, analytics-inclined drive to the Yankees dugout.

  I know it will be a while before we see Blake take the walk out to the mound to get a pitcher back on track, but the Yankees’ pitching staff already have some good things to say about him.  Chad Green talked to Hoch about his new pitching coach, saying that,”He seems like he really knows the numbers and what works for you.  That’s good to know….”  Continuing to talk about his new coach, he said, “…He is willing to work with us and tries to get to know us.  Its kind of a back-and-forth conversation.  Its god so far.”

  As far as I am concerned, fan wise, Green is a competitor in my eyes.  So when something like illegal-electronic sign stealing occurs and is the reason for a missed world series shot, you better believe the Yankees’ reliever will speak up about it.

 “At the end of the day, you’ve just got to move forward and put it in the past.  It’s going to be tough, knowing what could have been in ’17. That’s a tough game to play — what could have been, what should have happened. I thought we were on a good run. I thought we were playing really well. It’s unfortunate that all that happened.” -Chad Green 

  With the Yankees likely to restore Chad Green to his original role, I can’t wait to see the the bullpen hurler and the entire team back on the field. 

In the Yankee-fan universe, the upcoming season is already fixed to be a glorious year.  Although the season has been on hold, the fans and the team are ready for another powerhouse, championship hungry route into the postseason.  After all, the Yankees are built on championships and when a team goes a decade, since 1910, without the grasp of one, it will sting them as a club.

  The stinging will last a little while because everyone among the Yankees know that there were multiple cheating allegations that prevented them from once again being able to stand atop the World Series stage.  Although those were the unfortunate realities endured by the Yankees, they will look to 2020 as a gateway to putting together a historic, momentous season that they hope will leave them standing as the 28th-Time Glorious World Series Champions of Baseball.  

  After three straight disappointing postseason exits, the New York Yankees have locked and loaded all their weapons and are ready to return to their former glory of being World Series Champions.  As a reminder, Boston stole signs against the Yankees with apple watches and recently the Astros were penalized with sign stealing as well.

  The Yankees will be looking to take this quarantine time that the corona-virus has provided them with to figure out how to tighten up their loose ends and eventually take their revenge against their cheating rivals .

  Whenever sports are started up again and baseball activity resumes, the New York Yankees will enter the season as the favorites to dominate and win the World Series.

Gerrit Cole- Strikeouts and ERA

  The Yankees will have a chance to see Gerrit Cole in action, as a member of their ball-club, against opposing bats, instead of having to worry about facing him in the postseason.  You and I, plus everyone in baseball knows about the strikeout artist that he is.  So, what do you think his numbers will accumulate to when the season gets underway?  Well, I know one thing is for sure, he will have a very low ERA.  Also, I know he will use deception on the baseball to carve out a ton of strikeouts per nine innings.

  If his upcoming season is anything like his 2019 season, I can’t wait to see him carve up the interior leather of Gary Sanchez’s glove.  Last season his pitches were practically untouchable, posting a dominating record of 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA.  Cole accumulated 326 Ks in 212.1 IP (33 starts), so I think it is fair to say he will excel in Yankee Stadium and dominate every time he toes the pitching rubber.  I could see him putting together another career year and I will jump to conclusions and say that he will win a Cy Young award in his first year as a Yankee.  Hmmm, I could see his performance giving him a shot at 20-0 record and I think he can at least collect 350 Ks.  I firmly suggest those numbers, due to my Yankee bias, I believe he will be back up by a dominating offense every time he takes the mound.   As far as ERA, in my opinion, I would say he will maintain one under 2.00.  I can’t wait to see him destroy opposing bats for us, especially the now vulnerable Boston Red Sox and the cheating Houston Astros.

AL MVP-Could The Yankees Cash In?    

    A team with an ace like Cole ought to be backed by a murder’s row batting order.  So, that would mean, there should be an offense with high caliber  athletes to back him.  In other words, there should be an MVP lineup to back up an MVP-like pitcher.

  Luckily, the Yankee have exactly that when it comes to talking about their offense.  So, I think it is surely fair to argue that there are multiple Yankee athletes that could contend for the AL MVP.  I actually have two in mind and I think both Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu would tie for the decision.  For me it is too close to call.

  The 23-year-old phenom Gleyber Torres is emerging from second big league season in 2019, Torres emerged as a true superstar and the crazy thing about him is the best is yet to come. 

Now that Didi Gregorius is unfortunately gone, Torres is the Yankees shortstop of the future and is more than ready to take on that role.  He’ll also likely enter 2020 as the Yanks’ number three-hitter, after proving he could certainly handle hitting that high in the order last October.  A season ago, Torres hit .278 with a team-leading 38 HR and drove in 90.  Somehow, he finished as low as 17th in the MVP voting, but I think he will take the top position in the standing when baseball returns from the current pandemic.

Another athletic superstar that could contend for the award is DJ LeMahieu (a.k.a “The Machine”), but his future in pinstripes is a little murky due to contractual reasons. On the offensive front, there wasn’t a better off-season acquisition in 2019 than LeMahieu and there’s no question he was the Yankees team MVP. If the Yankees do decide to give “The Machine” a contract renewal, it would be great to see a friendly competition for the MVP title. Assuming Torres and LeMahieu remain teammates, it would bring out the best in both of them and hopefully it drive the entire team.

Either way, if LeMahieu is wearing pinstripes or ends up in another uniform, the two sluggers have a great shot at that title.

So, I said before that Torres had finished 17th in the MVP race, but what about DJ LeMahieu?

After falling three hits shy a season ago, LeMahieu will get to 200 in addition to leading all of baseball in the category.  He’ll also join Torres and Cole on the All-Star team and hit over .300 for the season once again.  It would be amazing to see those guys representing the Yankees on a bright stage like the All-Star game.  LeMahieu reminds me of another great “DJ” in Yankee history.  In 2020 he’ll be the first Bomber to have 200 hits since the Captain did it back in 2012.

The Reality For Clint Frazier

  Honestly, even though I am a Clint Frazier fan, I don’t see a spot for him in the bigs.  Taking into consideration that after this quarantine, many of our players will most likely be healed, Frazier won’t have a secured spot on the major league roster.  So, the only option for the Yankees is to use Frazier as a trade chip to get pitching.  YES, YES!, I know you might be saying “why would we need another pitcher, consider the staff we have now?”  Well, as we seen time and time again, no team can have enough pitching.

Yankees Need To Defend Their Single Season Home Run Record, Again!

  In 2018, the Yankees set the single-season record for home runs in a season with 267 and in 2019 they beat their own record with 306.  However, that wasn’t enough for them to set another new high mark after the Twins edged them out with 307.

  In the 2020 season, or whenever the season gets underway, I could see a healthy Yankee club surpassing their own record and go way beyond the Twins’ 307 mark.

Since baseball won’t be played for a while due to the corona-virus plague, I will take part in the intriguing possibility that many fans and baseball experts are tossing around.  Now that the New York Yankees have restored their “Evil Empire” status with the $324 million signing of Gerrit Cole, the only thing baseball fans  and experts can talk about, while in quarantine, is their World Series predictions.

One popular World Series prediction/possibility consist of the AL (American League) New York Yankees and NL (National League) Los Angeles.

New York has the advantage in overall head-to-head match-ups, posting a World Series record of 8-3.  The two clubs haven’t met in the Fall Classic since 1981 – since then, New York has won five titles and L.A. has captured just one.

  In fact, the world series match-up between the two teams is the most frequent in history.

The Yankees cashed in on the Cole sweepstakes and the Los Angeles Dodgers locked in Mookie Betts free agency. With both teams making a splash in the free agency market this off-season, I can’t wait see how the return of the baseball season will pan out for these two teams. I am hopeing that both teams will avoid the injury bug, so that there could be a possibly highly intense and historic World Series clash between the two teams.

According to the early projected MLB 2020 Top 20 Power Rankings, based off of the free agent moves; the Yankees and Dodgers are sitting on top of the listing.  The MLB Power Rankings put the Yankees in the number one spot and placed the Dodgers in the number two hole.  Here is a video detailing the power rankings:

I know this is bias, but I am a Yankee fan above all else.  As a baseball fan, I back the Yankees 100% and I am looking forward to seeing them dominant the opposition when America’s Pastime returns.