New York Yankees: Starting Pitching Report Card
By Paul Ashley
The New York Yankees had a stellar first half of the season. However, they currently find themselves 4.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Is this deficit due to an underperforming starting rotation? Let’s grade the first half performances of the starting pitchers to find out.
On July 19, 2017, the Yankees were also 4.5 games back in the division with a 51-45 record. This season, they boast a 62-33 record on July 19th. The Yankees were only 6 games over .500 at this point last year, so being 29 games over .500 to this point in 2018 is quite the accomplishment.
In 2017, all of the Yankees starting pitchers combined to finish the season with a 62-47 record. They also held a 3.98 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. This group of starting pitchers finished 9th in wins, 5th in ERA, and 4th in WHIP.
Conversely, the 2018 starting pitchers have combined for a 40-20 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP so far this season. This group of starting pitchers are 4th in wins, 14th in ERA, and 8th in WHIP.
Even though the 2018 Yankees are off to a much better start than the 2017 Yankees, it is not easy to compare the two teams. The 2017 Yankees were supposed to be a rebuilding team, but they ended up performing far above preseason expectations.
This led to the team buying at the trade deadline last year. They even went all the way to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. In the offseason, they added the 2017 NL MVP, Giancarlo Stanton.