.567
The most impressive thing, by far, is the rate the Yankees are winning baseball games at. Their 17-13 record gives them a .567 winning percentage, which tops 2018 playoff teams such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox. They are currently 2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. With seven of their position players hitting the injured list since opening day, the Bombers continue to find ways to grind out W’s.
34
The Yankees are tied for fifth in the majors with the Houston Astros in run differential at +34. Their past 15 games have showcased an 11-4 record in which they have outscored opponents 83-61. In those 15 games, the starting pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball with a 2.98 ERA. The Bombers took advantage of a weak first-month schedule, and look to carry that momentum as players return from their league-high 13-man injured list.
41
September 16, 2018, was the last time Luke Voit played a baseball game without reaching base safely. His 41-game on-base streak in the longest in the majors, and reaching in his first 30 games to start this season is good for sixth all-time in Yankee history. During this streak, Voit has hit .316 with 16 home runs and 41 RBIs. Dealing relief pitchers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos to St. Louis last July for Voit was one of the best moves in the 20-year career of general manager Brian Cashman.
31.2
Domingo German has been the best starting pitcher for the Yankees in 2019. In his 31.2 innings pitched, he has allowed only 27 base runners while racking up 32 strikeouts. His 2.56 ERA leads the Yankees starting staff and his five wins are tied for the most in all of baseball. The injury to Luis Severino in Spring Training left a vacancy in the rotation, opening the door for German to prove if his stuff is good enough to last multiple innings starting games, or if he’d have to settle as a back-end bullpen arm. His six starts have been representative of the two-time all-star Severino, as he has cemented his role for the foreseeable future.
.340
The Yankees rank second in the American League in getting on base. Their 120 walks as a team are also second in the AL and fifth in the majors. They are currently on pace to top last year’s totals of a .329 OBP and 625 walks drawn. New additions such as Gio Urshela and D.J. LeMahieu are just a few reasons for the team’s traffic on the base paths as both are reaching safely in over 35% of their plate appearances.
15.6
A glaring weakness for the Yankees defensively has been their ability to throw out baserunners attempting to steal. They have allowed the most steals in the major leagues with 27 successes in 32 attempts. This chalks up to a 15.6% clip they are throwing runners out, compared to the league average of 28.7%. It can’t be blamed on one backstop either, as runners are 7 for 8 off Gary Sanchez, 10 for 11 off Austin Romine, and 10 for 13 off Kyle Higashioka. However, it is anticipated that Sanchez’s number will improve as the number of runners becomes larger considering his career caught stealing rate coming into 2019 was 36%.
.224
Year in and year out there is always one thing you can count on when it comes to the Yankees, and that is their bullpen. As a group, they rank third in the American League, holding opponents to a .224 batting average. This includes the miserable .395 batting average against Chad Green in his 7.2 innings pitched prior to being sent down to AAA-affiliate Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Tommy Kahnle seems as if he has regained his 2017 form, allowing only four hits in 11.2 IP, with Adam Ottavino, Aroldis Chapman, and Luis Cessa also keeping batters under a .215 average.
13.24
The biggest need for the Yankee roster headed into the 2018-19 offseason was a front-end rotation arm to match the powerhouse duos across the American League. Houston had the first and second-best strikeout pitchers in Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, Cleveland got 37 wins combined from Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, and Boston’s Chris Sale-David Price duo highlighted their 2018 World Series season. Brain Cashman wasted no time making the first splash move of the MLB offseason, just three weeks after the season ended. The Yankees swapped three minor leaguers to acquire James Paxton from the Seattle Mariners. Paired with Luis Severino, New York would now have their own dynamic duo to top the rotation. In six starts this season, Paxton has struck out 51 batters across 34.2 IP, good for 13.24 K/9 which ranks third in the majors.
47
The Yankees belted 267 dingers in 2018, setting the MLB record for most team home runs in one season. They were led by Giancarlo Stanton with 38, followed by 27 homers apiece from Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, and Aaron Judge. Those five players have a combined 94 at-bats throughout the first month of the season. To put this into perspective, the Yankees have a team total of 1014 at-bats this year. Even without their big boppers, the Yankees have still put 47 baseballs into the seats and are on pace for 254 homers as a team. The earlier these guys return from the injured list, the larger the threat of creating history once again.
31
The month of May is shaping up to be littered with Yankee roster additions. Within the next 31 days, the Yankees could see Miguel Andujar, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Troy Tulowitzki, Clint Frazier, and Dellin Betances all make their returns from the injured list. This week, Andujar and Tulowitzki both played in games with High-A Tampa Tarpons. Frazier is expected to be back during the second week of the month after a short rehab assignment and Hicks showed positive signs during his rehab minor league game on Wednesday night.
