The Yankees’ biggest problem during their latest summer swoon has undoubtedly been their lineup. They just set a franchise record for most strikeouts in two games, and they’ve put together some of the worst overall numbers in the league over the last few weeks. It’s no secret why: three of their best hitters were on the IL for some of that stretch (Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Trent Grisham), while their other three most productive hitters (Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt) all went into big slumps as the same time.
There’s no team in baseball that could survive their six most valuable hitters getting hurt or regressing hard at the same time. However, the Yankees’ much-ballyhooed rotation was supposed to be strong enough that the team could at least maintain semblance of respectability during tough stretches for their offense. Instead, their pitching staff has been shaky as well (albeit not nearly as bad as the offense), as the team has collapsed out of first place in the AL East.
Of the pitchers who have fallen off after great starts, who do you find most concerning?
There’s the matter of Will Warren, who after another stinker against the Rays this week has seen his ERA inflate from a low of 2.39 in early May up to 4.15. He’s given up five or more runs four times in that stretch, often posting solid strikeout-to-walk numbers but getting hit hard at the same time. After such a promising start to the season, his overall numbers on the season look about league average.
There’s also Ryan Weathers, who’s followed a similar arc from early-season breakout to midseason question mark. Weathers has also been too prone to blow-ups, mixing glimpses of brilliance (eight strikeouts, one run, three hits in 6.1 innings against the White Sox on June 18th), with disasters that leave his team with little chance to win (five runs in 1.2 innings against the Tigers two starts later). Once again, we have a pitcher who looked great to start but has settled around average halfway through the season.
Warren and Weathers are the prime candidates here, but there are questions to be asked about the entire rotation. Gerrit Cole has had a bit of a case of gopher-itis in his return from elbow surgery, and while Carlos Rodón was mostly effective when on the field this year, he was walking the lot before hitting the IL with an arm injury of his own. Max Fried is coming along in his recovery from an elbow injury and is an ace when healthy, though any sort of arm trouble is worth some level of concern.
The likes of Cole, Fried, and Rodón don’t cause much concern on the basis of performance when healthy, but the fact that they’re all working back from injury is worrying from a rotation-level perspective. Combined with the struggles of Warren and Weathers, a once-dynamite rotation now looks shakier. Who has you the most worried?
Today on the site, Jonathan continues our MLB Draft leadup with an interesting look-back at the Yankees’ 2021 draft, while Sam gets you caught up on Wednesday’s action with the Rivalry Roundup. Later, Peter delivers his Sequence of the Week, and Jeff profiles pitcher Tex Clevenger, born on this day 96 years ago.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Time: 1:10 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, Rays.TV
Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
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