As we turn the page from 2016 to 2017, members of the Yankees will be putting together resolutions so that the latter year is enhanced.
2017 has finally arrived which means champagne, that New Year’s kiss and resolutions — a time in which people vow to change in order to start the new year off right.Yes, even the New York Yankees have resolutions, and rightfully so.
Last season, the Bombers missed the postseason for the third time in four years with tons of struggles from top to bottom.
Some have to turn around those struggles, while some have to build on what was a strong campaign a year ago. ESNY breaks down what every member of the Yankees’ resolutions should be striving for during the new year.
- Player: Aaron Judge
- Resolution: Figure out major league pitching
An Aaron Judge at his greatest potential could help the Yankees’ lineup become a well-oiled machine. The catch is, Judge still has some proving to do.
Along with striking out in exactly half of his at-bats, the monstrous slugger set the Yankees’ record for the most strikeouts (42) within a player’s first 27 games. But my goodness gracious when he made contact …
Judge’s average exit velocity on batted balls, according to Statcast, was 96.82 miles an hour. MLB’s average for 2016 was 89.57. The average distance his batted balls traveled was 249.67 feet while the average in baseball was 218.08.
His average generated velocity was 8.00 m.p.h. The league average was 1.45.
Basically, when Judge makes contact, the ball flies. When pitchers hook him with a curveball, he looks foolish. In this new year, the mammoth of an outfielder is out to prove that he has the ability to channel his “Hulk power.”
- Player: Michael Pineda
- Resolution: Translates flashes of dominance into routine
Michael Pineda is an unbelievable riddle that not only makes everyone scratch their head but it also something that has never been seen in baseball.
Big Mike is the only starting pitcher in major league history to give up 25+ homers while maintaining an ERA over 4.80, a K/9 rate of 10+ and striking out 200 or more batters.
For the New Year, Pineda should make attacking batters early and getting ahead his primary goal.
When he’s ahead in the account, batters are hitting .184 with just four homers and an OPS of .487 but when he falls behind, those numbers jump to .344 with 10 homers and a 1.140 OPS.
Yes, that’s a general trend across baseball, but batters are also swinging at Pineda’s first pitch 43% of the time and are slashing .291/.300/.550 compared to .254/.331/.421 when they took the first pitch.
Again, that’s fixed by trust in your stuff and being able to pitch to your strengths. His wipeout slider is easily the greatest pitch in his arsenal while his fastball gets hit out of the park on almost a nightly basis.
Pineda’s resolution is a tough one, but we could undoubtedly have a CY Young dark horse candidate on their hands for the 2017 season if he can accomplish his resolution.
- Player: Jacoby Ellsbury
- Resolution: Become consistent
When New York’s $153 million man goes off, so does their overall output. Going off longer and more frequently, however, is Jacoby Ellsbury’s resolution.
From Opening Day to May 3, the centerfielder slashed a mere .247/.293/.366 with five stolen bases and an OPS of .659.
As Ellsbury stumbled out of the gate, the Yankees did as well, kicking their campaign off with an 8-16 record, good enough for last place in the AL East with already a narrow 12 percent chance to reach the postseason.
On May 4, Ellsbury commenced a surge in which he slashed .337/.407/.526 with an OPS of .934, 17 runs scored, and a .380 BAbip (batting average on balls in play) leading up to play on June 8 (28 games).
Thanks to the improvement of output, New York was able to go on a 17-11 run and overcame the .500 two games later to pull out of the gutter in the division.
For those who might not know how good 17-11 is, that’s a 98-win proportion.
Following this concise hot streak, the 33-year old collapsed into a 43 game dejection in which he went 38-for-164 (.232) while maintaining an OPS of .574. With that, New York was never truly able to fling themselves over the .500 plateau and sold at the trade deadline with a record of 52-52.
From Aug. 1 to Sept. 10, Ellsbury slashed .288/.351/.447 with nine doubles, four home runs, and 20 RBI in 34 games. With some help from rookie phenom, Gary Sanchez, the rebuilding Yankees went on a 23-11 stretch to pull within one game of a postseason spot.
Unfortunately, the wheels fell off yet again (Ellsbury would bat .209 in the 19 remaining games) and New York would go 7-12 to conclude the year on the outside of the playoff bracket for the third time in four years.
- Player: Luis Severino
- Resolution: Pan out as a starter
Back in 2015, we saw how much of an influence Luis Severino had on a Yankees’ team clinging onto a playoff spot for dear life.
After he made his major league debut on Aug. 5 against the Boston Red Sox, the then 21-year old went 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA to compliment an 8.1 K/9 rate, .229 BAA, and a 1.203 WHIP.
In his sophomore season, however, his title of “future ace” didn’t fit the production, as Sevy went 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA while serving up 11 home runs and 70 hits in 47.2 innings of work across the same amount of starts (11).
Additionally, his K/9 ratio also declined from 8.1 to 7.7 while his opponent’s batting average spiked from .229 to .337.
Then, after a couple demotions, manager Joe Girardi decided to throw the youngster into the bullpen — where he may have commenced his legacy as a dominant reliever.
In 23.1 innings of relief starting on July 27 against the Houston Astros, he has held opponents to a .105/.209/.158 slash line while maintaining a 0.39 ERA and striking out 25.
While some people, like myself, consider his future is in the bullpen, if Severino could accomplish his New Year’s resolution and produce the same success he had when he had his first cup of coffee in the Bronx, Masahiro Tanaka would have the perfect No. 2.
And that will do wonders in a rotation cluttered with nothing but question marks and skepticism.
- Player: Dellin Betances
- Resolution: Prove his late-season struggles were a fluke
Dellin Betances stretch to end his 2016 All-Star campaign was an absolute disaster.
In 11 games pitched in September and October, the 6’8″ right-hander surrendered 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings of work (9.64 ERA) while his opponents slash line (.279/.392/.372) was the highest line against him all year.
Additionally, his 13 surrendered runs in the month were the second-most among major league relievers behind Jeanmar Gomez of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Among starters and relievers, he ranked seventh which is downright terrifying when you consider he pitched in 17.1 innings less than the starter ranked in front of him in runs.
If Betances can fulfill his resolution and achieve what he did in the first half of last season, lead MLB in K/9, he, Aroldis Chapman and Tyler Clippard could create yet another dominant tandem at the back-end of the bullpen.
- Player: Greg Bird
- Resolution: Comeback strong from injury
With the absence of Mark Teixeira’s production last season, the Yankees sure missed Greg Bird’s 38 homer/109 RBI pace from his call up in 2015.
In that stint, Bird crushed 11 home runs in 46 games and slashed .261/.343/.529 with an OPS of .871 but we never got to see him in his sophomore season due to a torn right labrum sustained in the offseason.
This past fall, Bird completed his time down in the Arizona Fall League and although his numbers wouldn’t support “midseason form,” getting at-bats while remaining healthy was more meaningful than any number could display.
In 17 games, the rusty Bird slashed .215/.346/.364 with only one home run and four doubles.
However, his on-base percentage (.346) and walks (12) reassured his organization that although his power and swing may be dull due to a recent recovery from surgery, his plate discipline had not disappeared.
If Bird carries his massive production from two years ago into the lineup, he’ll provide flawless insurance in the cleanup spot behind Gary Sanchez.
Furthermore, if Judge’s power becomes an factor of consistency, the 3-4-5 sequential force the Bombers can pack is downright horrifying.
- Player: Gary Sanchez
- Resolution: Continue to be “The Kraken”
There’s simply no overlooking it: Gary Sanchez made history in his first season in the Bronx.
In the month of August, the 23-year old slashed .389/.458/.832 with an OPS of 1.290 and 11 home runs en route to winning the American League Player Of The Month award.
Then, on September 21, Sanchez became the fastest player in baseball history (45 games) to reach the 18 home run mark and later tied Wally Berger as the fastest to reach 20.
Despite going just 23-for-102 (.225) in the final month of the year, expectations are sky-high for this kid as he enters his second season as people know: when he’s hot, he’s shown he can carry an offense and even a team.
Take Sept. 10- Aug. 10 for example.
In 27 games played Sanchez batted .373 and smashed 13 of his 20 home runs. During that span, the Yankees went 18-9 and jolted themselves back into relevancy.
It’s completely unfair to think that those numbers will carry through to 2017, but to see such a professional hitter with that kind of potential is ensuring that you have a superstar, to say the least.
Sanchez’s resolution is quite simple. Keep eating and don’t become a Kevin Maas 2.0.