New York Yankees: Starting Pitching Report Card
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.
As the 2018 season came with high expectations, let’s see how the Yankees starting pitchers have performed thus far this season:
Luis Severino: A+
Luis Severino has been more than the Yankees could have asked for this season. After settling into the “ace” role in 2017, he is off to a 14-2 record with a 2.31 ERA through 20 starts. More importantly, the Yankees have won 18 of those 20 starts.
The Yankees “ace” has pitched into the 7th inning 9 times this season. His best start of the season came on the road against the Houston Astros on May 2nd. In that game, he pitched 9 innings allowing 0 runs while striking out 7 hitters. He also only allowed 5 hits and 1 walk. The Yankees are also 2-1 against the Red Sox when Severino is the starting pitcher.
Through 128.1 innings pitched, Severino has 144 strikeouts. Ron Guidry holds the Yankees franchise record for strikeouts in a single season with 248 in 1978. As Severino will most likely make an additional 12 starts this season, he does have a chance to break that record.
In order to break the record, Severino would need to average 8.8 strikeouts per game. He currently averages 7.2 strikeouts per game, so his strikeouts would have to increase. As Severino does have 6 starts with 9 strikeouts or more, it will be interesting to see if he can break Louisiana Lightning’s long-standing strikeout record.
Luis Severino on the 4 1/2 game deficit at the break: "We're not worried. We're going to be in the playoffs. We're going to be in the playoffs and after that we're going to figure it out."
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) July 16, 2018
Severino is obviously a very important piece of the puzzle to a deep run in October. This season, he holds a 2.73 FIP on the season with a 1.005 WHIP. He is 1st in the MLB in wins, 9th in WHIP, 10th in strikeouts, and 5th in FIP.
As Severino is one of the best starters in all of the MLB, he deserves an “A+” rating.
C.C. Sabathia: B+
C.C. Sabathia has provided stability to a rotation that has its question marks. He is 6-4 on the season with a 3.51 ERA through 18 starts. His record an ERA are probably just what the Yankees were looking for when the re-signed the veteran in the offseason.
The Yankees are 24-7 this season following a loss this season. Sabathia has pitched in 9 of those 31 games. In Sabathia’s 9 games, the Yankees are 6-3. His ability to help the Yankees avoid long losing streaks is one of his best qualities as a starter.
As much as Sabathia has meant to the Yankees, he has had a few rough starts this season. The rough patches mostly come when he faces opponents too many times in one game.
CC Sabathia 18 batters faced thru 5th inning.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) July 15, 2018
This season entering tonight, opponents ...
1st/2nd time thru order: .221/.295/.348
3rd+ time thru order:
.344/.382.617
On May 23rd against the Texas Rangers, the Yankees gave Sabathia a 4-0 lead. Even though he gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th to give up the lead, the Yankees rallied back to score 6 runs in the top of the 5th. He proceeded to give up 2 more runs and was unable to complete 5 innings. The Yankees went on to lose the game 10-12.
I think it’s been a given for 4 months that the Yankees would seek a starting pitching upgrade by the deadline.
— Sweeny Murti (@SweenyMurti) June 30, 2018
But CC Sabathia is a guy I would comfortably give the ball to in any big game.
Despite the 4 games in which CC did not complete at least 5 innings pitched, he has been a solid part of the Yankees rotation. He has 7 quality starts on the season and has pitched into the 7th inning 4 times at age 37.
Therefore, a “B+” rating seems appropriate for the soon to be 38-year-old southpaw.
Sonny Gray: D-
The Yankees traded three highly thought of prospects (Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo, and James Kaprielian) to acquire Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics at last year’s trade deadline. Although he pitched to a modest 3.72 ERA with a 1.255 WHIP in 11 starts last season, he has not pitched well this season.
Through 18 starts in 2018, he is 6-7 with a 5.46 ERA, a 4.34 FIP, and a 1.511 WHIP. It appeared he was turning things around in the month of June with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP, but he has gone right back to his season averages through two starts in July.
The two July starts sum up Gray’s up and down season as he was bad in one start, but good in the other.
Against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6th, he only last 2.0 innings after he allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 earned runs. He rebounded against the Baltimore Orioles on July 11th. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk. He had 8 strikeouts and 0 earned runs. Unsurprisingly, the Yankees were 1-1 as a team in those two games.
In Sonny Gray’s quest to find some consistency, he has streamlined his repetoire. Of his 58 pitches, 53 have been two-seamers and curves. He’s had movement on both and located both well through 4 scoreless innings vs Baltimore.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) July 12, 2018
Even though Aaron Boone was against a personal catcher for Gray, he has primarily pitched to Austin Romine. In the 16 games pitched to Romine, he hold a 4.70 ERA. In the two games pitched to Gary Sanchez, he holds a 15.63 ERA. Maybe his most recent start in Baltimore with a streamlined repertoire will carry over to his performances in the second half.
Gray does not deserve an “F” rating as he does have 7 quality starts on the season. However, if he wants to be on the Yankees playoff roster, he needs to improve – quickly.
Masahiro Tanaka: C
Masahiro Tanaka spent some time on the disabled list after a dual hamstring injury. The injury occurred while he was tagging up from third base in an inter-league game against the New York Mets. Despite the DL stint, he has pitched in 15 games this season. Through those 15 starts, he is 7-2 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.128 WHIP.
Over the offseason, Tanaka had a chance to opt out of his contract. Even though he pitched to a meager 4.74 ERA with a career high 35 home runs allowed in 2017, he was a different pitcher in the postseason. Through 3 postseason starts, he only allowed 2 earned runs in 20.0 innings pitched. Tanaka decided against testing free agency to remain with the Yankees.
Tanaka holds a 4.90 FIP this season which is the highest FIP thus far in his career. Through his 15 starts, he has yet to complete 7.0 innings pitched in a start. Conversely, he has pitched less than 5.0 innings only once on the season. Similar to Sabathia and Gray, he has 7 quality starts on the year.
Masahiro Tanaka before getting hurt: 4.58 ERA, #Yankees 10-2 when he starts https://t.co/N0ESqmeFyq
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzNYC) June 13, 2018
Even though his performance has been up and down in 2018, the Yankees win when he starts, so he keeps the team in the game. Due to this, a “C+” rating is fair for the 29-year-old in his 5th MLB season.
Domingo German: C-
Domingo German is in his rookie campaign for the Yankees as a starting pitcher. He made 7 MLB appearances in 2017, but those appearances were all out of the bullpen. German has appeared in 18 games in 2018, pitching to a 5.49 ERA, a 4.42 FIP, and a 1.297 WHIP.
This season, German has 12 starts in those 18 appearances. As a starter, he is 2-4 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.279 WHIP in 63.1 innings pitched. As a reliever, he is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.370 WHIP in 15.1 innings pitched. His strikeout to walk ratio as a starter is 3.17 compared to his 2.71 SO/W ratio as a reliever.
He has 5 quality starts, but his best start came at home against the Seattle Mariners. German pitched 7.0 innings while only allowing 2 hits and 0 walks. He allowed 1 earned run and had 9 strikeouts.
Although he has had some great starts, he has also had some bad ones. He has allowed 6 earned runs in 4 starts and the Yankees only have a 1-3 record in those games.
This is the first time Domingo German did not allow a run over the game's first two innings since May 12 vs OAK.
— Seth Rothman (@SethDRothman) July 3, 2018
German struggles mightily in the first two innings of his starts. He holds a 7.50 ERA in 1st innings, a 6.92 ERA in 2nd innings, and a 2.77 ERA in 3rd innings.
As he’s a rookie, up and down performances are to be expected. Therefore, a “C-” rating is fair for German.
Jordan Montgomery: INC
Jordan Montgomery had a great rookie campaign in 2017, and he was off to a nice start in 2018. Through 6 starts, he was 2-0 with a 3.62 ERA.
Although his FIP was 4.20 and his WHIP was 1.354 through those starts, the numbers mainly stem from a rough start against the Orioles on April 8th. In that game, he allowed 10 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs in 4.1 innings pitched. He allowed 15 hits, 10 walks, and 7 runs total in his other 5 starts.
Unfortunately for Montgomery, he had to leave a start after he only pitched 1 inning in Houston on May 1st. He ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of this season. Montgomery’s 6 starts are too small of a sample size to assign a rating.
Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa: INC
Similar to Montgomery, these two starters do not have enough appearances to assign a rating. The two right-handed pitchers have combined for 6 starts in 2018.
Prior to his MLB debut, Jonathan Loaisiga had never pitched above the AA level. After skipping AAA, he went 2-0 in his 4 MLB starts while filling in for Masahiro Tanaka‘s injury. In those starts, he compiled a 3.00 ERA, a 2.87 FIP, and a 1.278 WHIP.
Luis Cessa has been back-and-forth on the shuttle from AAA to the MLB between 2016 and 2018. Although he has appeared in 6 games for the Yankees, he has only made 2 starts. In those starts, he has a 1-1 record. He has compiled 9.0 innings pitched as a starter while allowing 8 hits, 5 walks, and 3 runs.