The New York Yankees are looking to go for it all in 2017, but in order to do that they need some of their key players to turn things around.
The New York Yankees have their sights set on championship aspirations in 2017 and in hopes to do so, they will be counting on some of their key players to turn things around.162 games is a long season, so it is almost impossible to keep a consistent pace during the whole year. All that matters though is how players take their struggles and turn them back into success.
Some Yankees who have seen their fair share of struggles lately are Matt Holliday, CC Sabathia, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge. All of these men were red-hot at one point this season but have cooled off tremendously.
Let’s take an individual look at each one of the struggling stars:
Matt Holliday
The New York Yankees designated hitter Matt Holliday started off the season being solid for the club, but since returning from his viral infection he has struggled mightily.
Through the first half of the season, Holliday was slashing .262/.366/.511 with 15 home runs. However, since the all-star break, the right-hander is slashing .143/.173/.208 with just one home run.
Before hitting this major slump, Holliday was one of the key pieces to a Yankee lineup that was ultimately mashing the ball at the time.
However, Holliday is a veteran and has gone through slumps like this before. Hopefully, it does not affect him mentally and he can regain his strength sooner rather than later.
CC Sabathia
Veteran left-hander CC Sabathia has been, for the most part, consistent all season for the New York Yankees but an injury halted his solid start to the year.
Through his first 13 starts, the left-hander went 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA and having one of the best starts to a season for him in years.
On June 13 in Anaheim, Sabathia suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and missed almost a month of the season before returning on the fourth of July.
Since returning on July 4, Sabathia is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA while surrendering 20 hits in five starts.
If the Yankees are looking to make a deep run in October, they will need CC to return to his pre-injury form on the mound.
Gary Sanchez
Gary Sanchez, the rookie phenom for the Yankees in 2016 has not been able to replicate his magic from the second half of last season.
Don’t get me wrong, Gary Sanchez is still having a solid season behind the plate, but his month of July left a lot to be desired for Yankees fans.
Through 23 games in July, Sanchez slashed .231/.273/.396 with just three home runs and 12 RBI’s. He also struggled defensively, allowing much more passed balls than usual and not being as accurate with his arm.
It is unrealistic to expect Sanchez to replicate his last two months of the season from last year, but if the Yankees could receive half of that production, they will be pleased.
Aaron Judge
The name we didn’t want to have to mention has arisen, Aaron Judge. We knew he would hit a road block eventually, but we didn’t know he would hit it this hard.
In 19 games since the all-star break, Judge is slashing .164/.313/.343 with just four home runs. He is still drawing the walks, but he is getting fewer hits and striking out even more.
Prior to the all-star break, Judge could do no wrong and was simply cruising towards winning both AL Rookie of the Year as well as MVP, however, after lowering his average by 30 points MVP is looking unlikely.
Yankees fans should not be too worried about their outfield star though, he has made a career out of slumping and then making necessary adjustments to come back stronger than ever.