The Evil Empire Weekly Wrap Up - Week 3
Will the pitching hold up?
The Bronx Bombers are starting to get going. They have won 5 of their last six games, and Max Fried looks like a great offseason signing. I might have been a little negative in my previous piece on the Yankees, but come on…it is the Yankees and the expectations are always sky high!
Series 1: Kansas City Royals (Home)
Game 1: W 4-1 | Game 2: W 4-2 | Game 3: W 4-3
Series 2: Tampa Bay Rays (Away)
Game 1: W 6-3 | Game 2: W 1-0 | Game 3: L 10-8 | Game 4: W 4-0
The Yankees are chugging along as we head to the conclusion of the first month of baseball in the 2025 season. That being said, the pitching side had itself a very solid week. Max Fried has been a stud! What a shame his no-no was taken away by the official scorer of the game due to not counting Paul Goldschmidt’s clear error as an error. Carlos Rodon looked great in the team's combined effort shutout against the Rays in a 1-0 win on Friday. If Rodon and Fried continue to be effective, the Yankees might be able to hold their grasp on 1st place until Luis Gil can return.
Even with a healthy Luis Gil, the Yankees will have their work cut out for them. Gerrit Cole is gone for the season, and he is not coming back. Yes, we can hope for Warren to turn into something, Carrasco to lock down some innings, and Clark Schmidt to hold his own on the back end of the rotation, but New York will need to add pieces if they are serious about trying to win a World Series.
The Yankees can easily make a trade before the deadline to add depth to the rotation. The problem is they do not have many highly coveted prospects to move come the deadline. I worry they will be outbid by other contenders, so they need to be creative about how they approach. I think they should be somewhat aggressive earlier rather than later. If they can add an arm or two to lock down the rotation. As a fan, I would be very happy. Their time is go for it all is now, with or without Cole.
Arms to Highlight:
Max Fried —> 14.1 IP | 9 K | 1.26 ERA | 2 QS | 2 W
Carlos Rodon —> 6 IP | 9 K | 0.00 ERA | 1.00 WHIP | 1 QS | 1 W
Fernando Cruz —> 5.2 IP | 8 K | 0.00 ERA | 0.88 WHIP | 2 HLD | 2 SV
Notable Team Pitching Statistics Thru 4/21:
+ 3rd in SV (9)
+ T-4th in W (14)
- 1st in BB (95)
+ 5th in SO (209)
Aaron Judge just continues to hit. Imagine this team clicking on all cylinders with Chisholm Jr., Bellinger, Volpe, Dominguez, Goldschmidt, Rice, Wells, Grisham, and Stanton. This is nightmare fuel for opposing pitchers. Judge should have been credited with another home run, but the ball was called foul, even with replay. The umpires/TV replay crew should be reprimanded for this, and Judge should be credited with a home run. This is unacceptable in today’s game with the technology we have available to review these sorts of plays.
Bellinger, Wells, Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe have all been frustrating to watch to start the season, but I am not giving up on them. It is only April, after all. It appears that Volpe is getting better by the day, and I am really excited to see what his stat line reads at the end of this season.
Lots of room for growth with this lineup, as many of New York’s star players have not been their best to start the season. I do not expect the Yankees to add much hitting come the deadline, as they have the pieces, just need them to deliver results.
Bats to Highlight:
Aaron Judge —> 1 HR | .462 BA | 4 R | 4 BB | 1.148 OPS
Trent Grisham —> 3 HR | 4 RBI | .278 BA | 3 R | 2 BB | .917 OPS
Oswaldo Cabrera —> 1 HR | 5 R | .313 BA | 1 RBI | 3 BB | .984 OPS
Notable Team Hitting Statistics Thru 4/21:
+ 1st in HR (38)
+ 7th in H (189)
+ 2nd in R (126)
- T-5th in SO (206)
The Yankees will hit the road to take on the Cleveland Guardians and then return home to battle American League East divisional foe, the Toronto Blue Jays, this week.
