Last year, people were aware of some of the young talent that the Yankees had, but most figured that the 2017 season would be a rebuilding year in the Bronx. In fact, it turned out to be the complete opposite as the young group of players came out firing and playing as if they had nothing to lose leading to win after win. With the leadership of long time Yankee manager Joe Girardi and veteran players like C.C. Sabathia and Brett Gardner, who were all part of the Yankees 2009 World Series team, acting as mentors while also contributing to the team's success, it turned out to be a perfect recipe for a winning season.
The young core of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorious, and Luis Severino were all making a name for themselves in the Big Apple. Watching these young budding stars all get a chance to showcase their talent night after night gave me the same feeling as watching the emergence of the original Core Four:
- Derek Jeter
- Jorge Posada
- Andy Pettite
- Mariano Rivera
Not to put extra pressure on the young players considering each member of the Core Four won multiple World Series rings and went on to have Hall of Fame caliber careers, but you could see the potential just by watching these guys. Judge looks more like a football player than a baseball player and hits tape-measure home runs on a regular basis. Severino has lights out stuff and hovers around 100 mph through 7 innings. Sanchez adds another power bat to the lineup and has a rocket arm from behind the plate. And Gregorious has had huge shoes to fill as the short-stop of the Yankees in the post Derek Jeter era and is living up to all of the hype.
The Yankees finished the 2017 season with a record of 91-71 earning themselves a Wildcard game in the postseason. They went on an exciting postseason run and eventually lost in the ALCS to the World Series Champion, Houston Astros. Although the Yankees did not bring home a championship last year, they put the world on notice and everyone knew that Yankees future would be very bright.
With all key players from the 2017 season returning in 2018 and the major additions of NL home run leader and MVP Giancarlo Stanton and new manager Aaron Boone, the Yankees were now expected to be contenders in 2018.
This team has very few weaknesses as they have a legitimate ace of a starting pitcher in Luis Severino accompanied by arguably the best bullpen in the MLB with power arms like Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, and Aroldis Chapman to close out games. On the offensive side of the ball they have an embarrassment of riches that manager Aaron Boone can create his lineups with. The list of power bats in the lineup goes on and on, but in particular Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez really test the limits of what Yankee Stadium can contain. Entering the All-Star break, the Yankees were on pace to break the all-time record for home runs in a season by a team and they may need to do so in order to bypass another Wildcard game and position themselves for a run at the World Series.
General manager Brian Cashman addressed some needs at the July 31st trade deadline by adding more pitching to this already lethal team. Those moves were made with one goal in mind, and that is to win chase down the rival Boston Red Sox, who have been on fire all year long, and win the AL East. Unfortunately, the Yankees have been dealing with some injuries as rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres just returned to the lineup and catcher Gary Sanchez remains on the disabled list with a groin injury. Aaron Judge will also be joining Sanchez on the DL for a couple weeks after being hit with a pitch that caused a small fracture in his hand.
I still believe that with the new additions of J.A. Happ and Zach Britton to this already star studded roster and a few more opportunities to make up ground on the Red Sox in head-to-head matchups the Yankees will finish the 2018 regular season atop the AL East. By doing this the Yankees will have the best record in baseball and they will be the top seed in the American League for the postseason in October. Based on the playoff experience that this team gained last year, this will be the year where the Yankees put all the pieces together and go on to win their MLB best 28th World Series title. This will not be easy considering the gauntlet of teams they will need to go through in order to do this like the Red Sox, Astros, and Indians, but as long as everyone is healthy and the Yankees have home field advantage in the postseason I think they will get the job done.
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