Impact on the lineup

Watching Soto in the No. 2 spot flashed memories of Derek Jeter from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Take yesterday as an example. In the top of the fifth inning, Gleyber Torres stood at first while Soto stepped up to the plate. After working a 3-1 count, a J.P. France fastball tailed over the plate, and Soto poked a single to the opposite field, sending Torres to third. Next, Aaron Judge hit a sacrifice fly, stretching the Yankees lead.

Flash back to the late 1990s, and you can find countless examples of Jeter hitting a single and sending Chuck Knoblauch racing into scoring position, waiting to be driven home by Paul O’Neill or Bernie Williams.

Later in the ninth, Torres led off second while Soto worked a full count while laying off a few difficult pitches. This time, it was all-star closer Josh Hader who left a pitch out over the plate. Soto poked the ball the opposite way once again. Again, not trying to do too much. Instead understanding the situation and hitting the ball to an open area of the field.

Every pitch from the Juan Soto 9th inning AB in all its glory. pic.twitter.com/8s9MyS0ymx

— MLB (@MLB) March 31, 2024

Always on base

What makes Soto so appealing to the Yankees is his ability to combine power with getting on base. In 20 plate appearances, Soto reached 12, while frequently working deep into counts. His ability to make pitchers work felt similar to the approaches of Jorge Posada and Williams.

While Judge had a bit of a slow start to the season, once he is clicking, he and Soto should form a lethal duo at the top of the Yankees lineup. If the team can get some consistency at the leadoff position from Torres or DJ LeMahieu the first inning could turn into a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

No situation is too big

Having entered the Majors as a teenager, Soto is in a unique situation where he is both young and a seasoned vet. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that he is younger than Adley Rutschman, Oneill Cruz, and Austin Riley. With a World Series championship already under his belt, Soto has proven that he can succeed in the big moments.

On Opening Day, it was Soto’s defense, a weaker area of his game, that helped seal the Yankees’ win, when he threw out the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth.

Against an Astros bullpen that was seen as one of the best in baseball, Soto showed his flair for the dramatics. In Game 2, Soto gave the Yankees the lead with an RBI with a bases-loaded walk. It was Soto’s solo home run that put the Yankees ahead in Game 3 before his heroics in the series finale.

Looking forward

While it is still very, very early in the season, this Yankees team already feels a bit different. In the past few years, coming back against the Astros in three consecutive games seemed impossible. Now, when Soto stepped up to the plate in the 9th inning yesterday, it felt more likely than not that the Yankees were going to go home with the sweep.

Seeing him celebrating with Judge in shallow center field after Alex Verdugo’s game-sealing catch hopefully officially marked the beginning of a new era for Yankees baseball.

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The guys talk about the weekend sweep of the KC Royals including Rizzo finally hitting, a wild finish on Friday, and much more. Other topics include Trevino’s season ending injury, Judge facing Loaisiga in a sim game, and the upcoming difficult schedule.   

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One could argue if the Yankees should be better or worse but as  football Hall of Fame New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells would say, “You are what your record says you are.” In other words, not ideal.

In this space, I’m grading what I and many of you have witnessed thus far in the first half. I’m a tough grader. With that, let’s take a look.

OWNERSHIP: D

While one can’t say Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t spend on payroll, he’s clearly out of touch with the fanbase. A fanbase that takes out a second mortgage to watch this team. A team that charges fans like they’ve won three World Series titles in a row. There’s been zero accountability from the top, aside from the rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic with swapping Sean Casey for Dillon Lawson at hitting coach.

The complacency is an overcorrection from when his father owned the club and it’s why general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone remain. Steinbrenner also told everyone after signing Carlos Rodon that the club wasn’t done yet. However, a lineup that was stymied in the 2022 ALCS saw virtually no changes and entered the season sans a left fielder. While Anthony Volpe may be the goods eventually, the club passed on two of the best free agent classes for shortstops. The team also passed on Nathan Eovaldi to bolster starting rotation depth.

GENERAL MANAGER: D –

The roster construction is flawed. A lineup shouldn’t fall apart because one guy, Aaron Judge, is injured. This isn’t football where if you lose your quarterback or basketball if your center goes down, where your team drops. Cashman entered the season without a left fielder, leaving the position to a young infielder Oswaldo Cabrera, doubling down on Aaron Hicks and eventually throwing no-arm Isiah Kiner-Falefa (another infielder) in the outfield.

He continued his sunk cost fallacy with Josh Donaldson, burying the “untouchable” Oswald Peraza in the minors. He also banked on the combination of DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Trevino, and Kyle Higashioka either not getting old, being injury prone, or regressing offensively.

The lack of drafting depth development is also on Cashman.

If not for Matt Blake’s wizardry, I shudder to think what the beat-up pitching staff would be doing.

MANAGER: D

Boone can only do so much with the roster he’s given but does he get the most out of his roster like say, Alex Cora or Kevin Cash? He doesn’t seem to have his guys prepared to play and far too many times this team does things that would make Tom Emanski cry. Situationally and fundamentally, there is a lapse. The way he apologizes for some of his players is mind-boggling. Plus, he doesn’t have a feel for some of his players and lacks urgency.

Many players have regressed under Boone. Plus, the “great communicator” can’t seem to manifest the best out of his players. Some of these guys strut around like they’ve won five titles around here and that’s on the manager.

LINEUP: F

Aside from Judge, this lineup has been brutal. Gleyber Torres added some early fool’s gold too. Some of the replacements had had their moments but as mentioned above, the core of expected regulars have gone to rubble. Rule changes such as banning the shift have done nothing to boost even mundane hits. This team gets criticized for being a “three true outcomes” lineup but they don’t even do that well. Their .300 team on-base percentage is tied for fourth-worst in MLB. The team’s .710 OPS is ranked No. 21. They can’t even work a pitcher anymore, as starters have gone seven innings on 21 occasions against this lineup.

PITCHING: B +

The Yankees team ERA is 3.80 or seventh best in the bigs. Gerrit Cole, who is starting the All-Star Game, has pitched like an ace, a Cy Young Award contender, and a solid stopper. It’s a shame how the Yankees are wasting his prime. Rodon has made one start. Luis Severino has been a disaster. Nestor Cortes was inconsistent before getting hurt. Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt have been a roller coaster ride. Much of this grade is a credit to the bullpen, which ranks second in MLB with a 3.11 ERA.

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The Believed Rotation

This past off-season, the Yankees thought Rodon was the finishing touches on what on paper looked like a top-tier program. Rodon would join Rodon at the top of the rotation. Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino were seen as the best third and fourth pitchers in baseball. Frankie Montas appeared like a prime bounce-back candidate.

Montas went down with a shoulder injury ending most of his year. A forearm strain preceded Rodon’s back injury. And Severino has been battling a lat injury. Even Cortes had a brief injury scare when a hamstring caused him to miss the World Baseball Classic.

The New Faces

Going into the year, the Yankees had to have liked their top-depth options to round out the rotation. German and Schmidt have both accumulated MLB experience over the past few years. Ideally, the Yankees figured one could make some spot starts while both were options for long relief. Instead, both have had to be the main options in the rotation.

Furthermore, as a result of trying to compete for a World Series, the Yankees have traded most of their top minor league pitchers. As a result, the young and unproven Brito has made multiple starts to start the season. While Brito was fantastic in his first two outings, he was unable to get out of the first in his last start, as the Twins scored seven runs off the young righty.

While German was just okay during his first two starts, he was so good in his last start that Twins fans have been consistently calling him a cheater since he struck out 11 over 6.2 innings. For German, his track record has seen plenty of ups and downs, but he has had enough success to give the team, and fans, some confidence in his abilities.

The Squeaky Wheel

Unfortunately, not every Yankee starter has seen some success in the early part of the season. In each of his four starts, Schmidt has struggled. While he has only 0-1 on the year, the Yankees are 1-3 in his starts while he has pitched to a dismal 8.79 ERA and a 5.96 FIP. Meanwhile, he has only completed four innings once, causing the Yankees to have to use multiple relievers to finish the games he has started.

For Schmidt, his main issue has been his inability to limit hits. In only 14.1 innings pitched, Schmidt has let up 22 hits, four of which have been home runs.

While the Yankees await for their hurt starting pitchers to return, the team doesn’t have many internal options. Over the past couple of seasons, the team traded most of their top minor league pitchers to help compete for a World Series. As a result, the team’s top prospects are almost completely hitters, with higher potential pitchers in the lower levels of the minor leagues.

Looking Forward

With Severino throwing bullpen sessions, the Yankees will hope to have Severino rejoin the rotation in the near future. As a result, German, Schmidt, or Brito will be bumped from the rotation. With German out of minor-league options, it seems unlikely that he will be the odd one out.

For Brito and Schmidt, they might only get one or two more starts before one is removed from the rotation. At that point, the team will have to decide if either pitcher can help from the bullpen, or if they would be better served to stay “stretched out” in Triple-A. With both pitchers eligible to be sent to the minors, it’s easy to see a scenario where they are directly competing for the final spot.

With Schmidt’s continued struggles, it certainly feels like Brito has the edge.

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