By: Jack Azoulay-Haron (@nyydiamond on instagram)
In Major League Baseball, starting pitching plays a huge role in who wins and loses a game. The Yankees are known now a days to have a “lackluster” pitching staff. However, if you dig deeper into the numbers, the Yankees have one of the most underrated pitching staffs in all of Major League Baseball. They have two Ace-worthy pitchers (Luis Severino and James Paxton), two solid mid-rotation starters (Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ), and C.C. Sabathia, who is a veteran whose career is coming to a close at the end of this season. They also have someone that almost everyone has forgotten about: Jordan Montgomery.
Montgomery had burst onto the scene in 2017, but had his season cut short to just 6 games last year because of Tommy John surgery. Montgomery in 2017 went 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA and FIP of 4.07. Something that he needs to improve on is keeping the ball down in the zone. He gave up 21 homeruns in 155.1 innings. However, with his nasty curveball and a mid 90s fastball, Montgomery has the potential to be another 3-4 starter within the yankees organization.
Next is J.A. Happ, who is an underrated starting pitcher. He produces a lot of soft contact which is beneficial for playing in the confines at Yankee Stadium, with the short porch out in right field. In 2018, Happ went 17-6 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.131 whip. Both of these stats hover around league average, however, and you would like to see the ERA down a bit. Happ was named an all star with the Toronto Blue Jays last season. For Happ so far, age has just been a number, as he put up solid numbers at age 35. However, age may play a factor in Happ’s decline as he enters his age 36 season in 2019.
Very recently, the Yankees picked up Gio Gonzalez to a minor league deal. Gonzalez pitched once in spring training, and pitched relatively poorly, leading to many people believing that he may not crack the starting rotation. His contract however, allows him to become a free agent again by April 20th in the event that he is not called up to the majors. Gonzalez can be some nice depth to the Yankees ball club overall in the event that another starter goes down with an injury. One of the perks of having a guy like Gonzalez is him having the ability to eat innings. The Yankees may need some help with that over course the season, and Gio Gonzalez could really flourish in that department.
As for the Yankees rotation compared to the entire league, I think they have at least a top 15 rotation that is currently very underrated. They have pitchers with experience, as well as some depth pitchers like Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga (although I believe all Yankees fan agree we do not want to see German on the bump unless no one else is available). With pitchers like Dallas Keuchel still out in free agency, I would not be surprised to see the Yankees in it for in the final push for him. Anyways, thank you for checking out this analysis on the hidden parts of the Yankees rotation, and how they can improve it.
In order to get to their nasty bullpen, the Yankees starters need to START the games off strong.
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