It took a decade, but the New York Yankees have finally swept their hated rival Houston Astros. All they needed was, well, to let the kids play!
Anthony Volpe, it turns out, was just the tip of the iceberg. Austin Wells and his epic ‘stache parked themselves behind the plate. Oswald Peraza finally seems to be turning a hitting corner and Everson Pereira doesn’t look far behind.
And then there’s Jasson Dominguez, but more about him later.
All that matters is the Yankees finally trusted their youth and immediately reaped the benefits. The 2023 year is already setting up the redemption arc for 2024, with the new Baby Bombers leading the way.
Some takeaways:
Mars Attacks! Dominguez’s reported otherworldly talent had scouts referring to him as “The Martian.”
Nailing his first MLB swing for a two-run shot off of Justin Verlander seems to confirm such.
The 20-year-old did it yet again on Sunday when he took budding Yankees nemesis Cristian Javier long for the go-ahead home run. Just imagine the ovation he’ll get in his first Yankee Stadium roll call on Tuesday!
He’s clearly still learning center field but make no mistake. The Martian has landed.
Wells’ Mustache Power. Seeing Wells make his debut after starting the year rehabbing in Tampa and then going to Double-A Somerset was indeed exciting. His hitting ceiling isn’t as high as Dominguez’s, but still pretty respectable. Wells, more of a traditional pull hitter, hit .200 in the series but still made regular good contact. On Sunday, his booming ninth-inning double scored Anthony Volpe and added another insurance run in a 6-1 win.
Better yet, Wells caught Mauricio Dubon stealing second base, and it wasn’t close.
Austin Wells is 1-for-1 in throwing out base stealers pic.twitter.com/Y4eMoHiCLm
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 4, 2023
Wells also started all three games of the series behind the dish and clearly did his homework on the pitching staff. The Astros were held to seven runs in three games despite ranking fifth in scoring. The Yankees, by comparison, rank 23rd and scored 17. A big part of this was thanks to Wells’ poise and in-game adjustments.
Prepare for Peraza? Don’t look now, but Oswald Peraza’s bat seems to be waking up. The 23-year-old infielder hit .333 in the series, including three hits and an RBI on Saturday. He added another hit on Monday with a ninth-inning RBI double to cap New York’s scoring at six runs.
That said, there’s still work to be done. Peraza’s strong series only raised his batting average from .135 to .161. The gap between him and the red-hot Gleyber Torres is still very, very wide. Needless to say, his Yankees future is far from clear.
Even so, Peraza finally seems to have found his confidence in Houston. Be it from adding a leg kick to his swing or playing alongside his longtime minor league teammates, it’s encouraging stuff.
