Having officially reached a quarter of the way through the 2016 major league baseball season, it comes time to judge performance and speculate where the New York Yankees will end up.
If you blindly looked at the New York Yankees record through 43 games of the 2016 season and compared it with expectation, you would say they have underperformed.However, if you have been closely attached to the club thus far, you would consider it a fortune that they sit in third place in the AL East at 21-22, five and a half games out of first, and three and a half out of a playoff spot.
The recent hot stretch has brought the Yankees back to respectability and has not gone unnoticed throughout the American League. After starting a dreadful 8-16, they have won 13 out of 19 and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
With that being said, let’s evaluate individual performances that stand out and provide a marker for team’s ultimate outlook.
Disclaimer: Player evaluations only include members of the current 25-man roster.
Prominent Performers & Overachievers
Carlos Beltran (.274, 9 HR, 27 RBI)
Amidst offensive struggle and a recent upturn, the production from the right fielder has remained constant. In his last 15 games, he has slashed .333/.373/.741 with five home runs and 15 runs batted in.
Simply put, he has anchored what has been a much needed hot stretch of baseball.
However, the Yankees need to be careful with how they manage him moving forward. As an aging 39-year-old, he has slashed .333/.346/.813 as a designated hitter with five long balls and 16 RBIs in only 12 games. In more than double the time as a right fielder, he has slashed a mere .245/.278/.392 with four homers and 9 RBIs.
‘Done BMC’ (1.58 ERA, 40 IP, 82 K)
Following the formation of a deadly three-headed monster, the Yankees have not looked back.
Filthy stuff has yielded equally as filthy numbers. Pressure on both the starting rotation and the offense has been relieved. The combination of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman at the back end has been as good as advertised.
They have been utilized sequentially in five games since Chapman’s May 9th return.
Key Busts & Underachievers:
Mark Teixeira (.193, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
The numbers tell the story. Mark Teixeira has been absolutely terrible.
For a guy that is relied upon to be a middle of the lineup presence, his .578 OPS is unacceptable. Often looking fooled and utterly confused at the plate, Tex has yet to find a rhythm as we near the month of June.
If the Yankees want to be a real contender, the production out of first base must improve.
Michael Pineda (2-5, 6.34 ERA)
Despite an encouraging Sunday performance, Pineda has been the opposite of the front end guy the Yankees hoped he could be.
A culmination of poor location, subpar composure, and the home run bug has been Pineda’s downfall. However, with the recent uptrend of the starting staff, a turnaround from Pineda can be vital to the club’s future success.
The Yankees have not seen a margin of the guy who dazzled in the first half of 2015 and they may have to accept the fact that they will not see it.
Steady And Reliable Award:
Masahiro Tanaka (2-0, 3.24 ERA)
Tanaka has turned back into the ace that the Yankees gave a seven-year deal to prior to 2014.
He has shown flashes of the guy that started 11-1 in that 2014 season.Every fifth day, the Yanks can rely on him to be the guy. His 1.05 WHIP and mere 12 walks stand out as well.
The Yankees need him to be that consistent figure moving forward to keep an improving rotation under control.
Outlook:
Following a 5-2 west coast swing that featured five straight wins on the latter end, the Yankees will start an imperative nine game AL East slate.
They have three game sets against Blue Jays at home, the Rays in Tampa, and then the Blue Jays again in Toronto. If they truly want to make further advances in the division, they should shoot for 6-3 in that stretch.
Overall, 45 games separate now and the all-star break for the Yankees. Looking up and down, their schedule is not overly daunting.
The Yankees must aim for a 25-20 (.556) record in those 45 games at the very least. That would leave them at 46-42 (.523) at the break, on pace for 85 wins, and poised for a second half run barring health of course.
Nonetheless, the Yankees saved themselves and their season with a recent scorching stretch that also bumped up their grade for the first term.
First Quarter Grade: C
If you have any personal refutations regarding the evaluations or the overall grade, feel free to leave comments and get your opinions heard.
The division is as underwhelming as "we" are. Like last season, this would have been the perfect season to let our kids sink or swim but our fossilized culture continues to repeat behaviours expecting different results. We overpay for players past their prime and our luxury taxes enable teams with budgets to use our dollars to improve their infrastructure and eat our lunch.That the Steinbrenners enable this defines how trusts and monopolies protect mediocrity and waste the years of those kids who could be our future. The Yankee culture seems to have all the time in the world while our future players and our current fans are getting old awaiting what?