New York Yankees: Will the pitching success last?
By Phil Akre
The New York Yankees have burst onto the scene as one of baseball’s best teams. New York’s rotation has been the leader of the resurgence.
Baseball can be weird, right? The New York Mets are in last place and the Colorado Rockies are in first place. Even weirder, the New York Yankees have the third best record in the game at 15-8.
How is this happening, you ask? Well, everything seems to be going right. However, if you take a look at the mound and the arms that have taken the ball, you’ll find the backbone of this team’s success.
Take a look at the starting staff, for instance. The combined 3.76 ERA is good enough for ninth best in all of baseball. Luis Severino has been a revelation. With 33 strikeouts, a 3.00 ERA and just four walks in 27 innings of work, the 23-year-old looks like the ace he was destined to be.
CC Sabathia has finally made the transition from power pitcher to finesse pitcher, lowering his strikeout numbers but relying on his stuff. Has Michael Pineda turned the corner? It looks like it could be happening. His 3.14 ERA and 11.6 K/9 suggest that he is on the way to consistency.
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How about Jordan Montgomery? The 24-year-old won the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation and has certainly impressed thus far, sporting a 4.12 ERA with good swing-and-miss stuff.
All of this is fine, but the biggest question remains: Can this success be sustained?
Well, even though ace Masahiro Tanaka hasn’t looked like his usual self so far, the rotation has still excelled. The bright spot, though, is that in Tanaka’s last three starts he has only allowed four runs.
It’s safe to bet on Tanaka bouncing back to his ace status sooner than later.
If that continues, along with Luis Severino’s continued improvement, who’s to say that this rotation can’t enjoy a season’s worth of success?
Michael Pineda’s inconsistencies have long maddened the Yankees and their fans. Pineda’s two main focuses will be to continue flashing his strikeout numbers while limiting the long ball (1.6 HR/9).
As for Montgomery, he hasn’t seemed fazed by the major leagues. After dominating the minor leagues, he’s already making a case for a spot in the rotation next season and beyond.
We’re just one month into the season, so we can’t hail the Yankees as the best pitching staff in the league. Opponents won’t keep hitting .236 against this rotation all season, as more lineups will begin to figure it out.
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The Yankees are surprising in nearly every facet of the game. The rotation is just another part of the unexpected start.
Can they bring this team to October? That’s up for debate, but if they’ve shown us anything so far, it’s that we should expect the unexpected.