This Week in the Bronx - Week 5
Two divisional opponents on the docket this past week!
For those who have been following my weekly Yankees piece, you may notice a difference. I mentioned in the first blog of this series that I didn’t love the name and would change it. That time has come, and I am rolling with “This Week in the Bronx” moving forward. Maybe I’ll change it again at some point, but this is what I am rolling with for now.
Series 1: Baltimore Orioles (Away)
Game 1: L 4-3 | Game 2: W 15-3 | Game 3: L 5-4
Series 2: Tampa Bay Rays (Home)
Game 1: W 3-0 | Game 2: L 3-2 | Game 3: L 7-5
I am going to start with the positive. Max Fried is on fire right now. Since joining the Yankees, Fried is 6-0, with a 1.01 ERA across 44 ⅔ innings. He has also racked up thirty-nine strikeouts while only allowing five earned runs. Currently, he is earning every dollar of that $218,000,000 contract. Kudos to Fried for getting off to a hot start. It is not easy to come to New York and dominate right away.
The team ERA is solid at a cumulative 3.62 across the rotation and bullpen. It is no secret that the Yankees need to add depth to the rotation, especially with Clarke Schmidt’s latest injury scare. According to Manager Aaron Boone, Schmidt was scratched from his start this weekend and will now go on Tuesday, as his MRI came back clean. This is good news for the Yankees, but it is concerning that Cole is out all season, Gil is still out as he is rehabbing a strained right lat, and Marcus Stroman is dealing with a knee injury and has lost almost all trade value due to his struggles this season.
If Schmidt were to go down, the Yankees’ rotation would look like:
1) Max Fried
2) Carlos Rodon
3) Will Warren
4) Carlos Carrasco
5) Ryan Yarbrough.
… that is highly concerning!
Arms to Highlight:
Max Fried —> 7 IP | 6 K | 0.00 ERA | 1 W | 1 QS | 0.43 WHIP
Carlos Rodon —> 6 IP | 7 K | 3.00 ERA | 1 W | 1 QS | 0,50 WHIP
Ian Hamilton —> 3 IP | 6 K | 0.00 ERA | 0.67 WHIP
Notable Team Pitching Statistics Thru 5/4:
+ T-1st in H (225)
- 27th in BB (134)
- T-24th in QS (8)
+ 9 in ERA (3.62)
Losing Jazz Chisholm Jr. with an oblique strain for the foreseeable future is not ideal. Chisholm Jr. already has recorded seven bombs this season, all while batting .181. The Yankees NEED Jazz to have a big year, especially with Juan Soto gone and Cody Bellinger barely hitting his weight. Anthony Volpe is now also dealing with a shoulder issue. Volpe sat out yesterday in the 7-5 loss to Tampa. “X-Rays, MRI - good news,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
That being the case, the Yankees maintain their grip on first place in the American League East, but that lead is only two games up on the Boston Red Sox. Losing back-to-back series against divisional opponents is not great. The Orioles stink, and Tampa is beatable with a sub-500 record. Yet, the Yankees found a way to lose both of these series this week. People will say the lineup isn’t great without Aaron Judge, yet the Yankees’ bats have the best team batting average in baseball right now.
Any lineup that loses Aaron Judge would be hurting badly, as the guy cannot stop hitting. Judge has been incredible, and few words describe his dominance.
Bats to Highlight:
Aaron Judge —> 3 HR | .500 BA | 7 R | 3 BB | 1.598 OPS
Paul Goldschmidt —> 2 HR | 7 RBI | .280 BA | 6 R | 1 BB | .828 OPS
Trent Grisham —> 1 HR | 3 R | .292 BA | 1 RBI | 2 BB | .763 OPS
Notable Team Hitting Statistics Thru 5/4:
+ T-1st in AVG (.262)
+ T-3rd in BB (135)
+ 2nd in R (187)
- 5th in SO (308)
The Yankees are starting their week in the Bronx to face off against a very good San Diego Padres team that should be returning their young star, Jackson Merrill. Then head to Sacramento to play the A’s. As long as Aaron Judge is healthy and in the lineup, I believe these Yankees will make a playoff push. It is getting harder and harder to think about the playoffs with the injuries piling up, but that is what the trade deadline is for!