Series Preview: New York Yankees (33-32) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (33-31)
With the four-game split against the Boston Red Sox out of the way, the Jays won’t face a good team until July 9, when they play the Rays in St. Petersburg. Until that certain horror show, it’s gonna be nice to see the Jays pile on some wins against some mediocre-at-best competition, beginning tomorrow.
:)
For now, the Jays head back to Buffalo to face the Yankees. Before getting into that, humour me as I plead for engagement. If you like what Jayslam is doing, please consider sharing this post with a pal who may be interested! Or an enemy! I’m happy with either, really.
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BEST BIRDS
Hitter: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (7) 18 plate appearances, .600/.667/1.467, 4 home runs, 22 total bases, 10 Weighted Runs Created, 0.71 WPA/LI
It sure says something that any one of Bo Bichette, the now-healthy Cavan Biggio, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., or Teoscar Hernández could’ve been the best hitter in any other series, and yet Vladdy won this so overwhelmingly clearly in this series.
Vladdy’s wRC+ in this series (for whatever good wRC+ is in these minuscule sample sizes) was 446, his second-highest this season after the two-game series in Washington where he got his hat trick. This is also the second time this season in which he’s homered in each game, with the previous time being the three-game series against the Phillies.
Honourable Mentions: Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio
Pitcher: Alek Manoah (2) 6 innings, 22 batters faced, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1.99 FIP, 68 Game Score v2, 0.19 WPA/LI
It was basically a toss-up between Manoah and Steven Matz, who held the Red Sox to one run over five innings and two thirds while striking out eight. Manoah gutted it out at times, but only got stronger as the outing went on, culminating in a sixth inning in which he struck out the side., capping off his best start since his debut against the Yankees. His changeup hasn’t looked as sharp since his debut, but his four-seamer, sinker, and slider have been collectively dynamite.
The other honourable mention goes to Robbie Ray, who walked three, the most since his April 18 outing against the Royals. Otherwise, he was excellent, striking out 10 and getting through six innings.
Honourable Mentions: Steven Matz, Robbie Ray
BEST BIRD STANDINGS
Hitters:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 7
Bo Bichette- 4
Marcus Semien- 3
Joe Panik- 2
Randal Grichuk- 2
Teoscar Hernández- 1
Cavan Biggio- 1
George Springer- 1
Pitchers:
Robbie Ray- 6
Hyun Jin Ryu- 4
Steven Matz- 4
Alek Manoah- 2
Julian Merryweather- 2
Ross Stripling- 1
Anthony Castro- 1
Ryan Borucki- 1
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday, June 15 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Jordan Montgomery vs. Hyun Jin Ryu
Montgomery: Twelve starts, 65 ⅓ innings, 3.99 ERA/3.34 FIP/3.69 xFIP, 24.3 K%, 5.6 BB%, .252 xBA Against, 33.5 HardHit%
Ryu: Twelve starts, 70 innings, 3.34 ERA/3.57 FIP/3.63 xFIP, 22.0 K%, 4.3 BB%, .250 xBA Against, 38.9 HardHit%
Wednesday, June 16 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Gerrit Cole vs. Ross Stripling
Cole: Thirteen starts, 81 ⅔ innings, 2.31 ERA/2.10 FIP/2.37 xFIP, 36.7 K%, 3.6 BB%, .200 xBA Against, 41.5 HardHit%
Stripling: Ten games (nine starts), 47 ⅔ innings, 4.91 ERA/4.56 FIP/4.35 xFIP, 23.9 K%, 6.8 BB%, .260 xBA Against, 44.3 HardHit%
Thursday, June 17 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Michael King vs. TBA
King: Ten games (three starts), 31 innings, 3.77 ERA/4.15 FIP/4.48 xFIP, 20.3 K%, 9.4 BB%, .273 xBA Against, 44.1 HardHit%
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 32-33
Run differential: -7 (252 Runs Scored, 259 Runs Allowed)
Season Series vs. Blue Jays: 3-6
Record since the last series vs. Blue Jays: 4-11
Last 10 games: 3-7
Oh no, the Yankees might be bad, what a shame.
Anyways.
Seriously though, the Yankees have not looked good at all.
Well, aside from their bullpen. Aroldis Chapman remains excellent, and he may not even be their best reliever, with Zack Britton recently returning from the IL. A solid relief corps of Chad Green, Jonathan Loaisiga, Lucas Luetge gives New York a Top 10 bullpen in MLB, more than enough to make up for the deficiencies of Wandy Peralta (bad) and Justin Wilson (hurt and very bad).
When last we checked in on the Yankees, their starting rotation of Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, noted shitheel Domingo Germán, Jameson Taillon, and Jordan Montgomery ranked second-best and best in the American League in terms of FIP and xFIP, respectively. To put it lightly, this is no longer the case.
Cole is still excellent, though his lower spin rates have caught some attention for reasons that have garnered a little bit of attention. Montgomery and Germán remain solid, but Taillon has been a big disappointment. Kluber has, not unsurprisingly, been lost to the IL with a strained rotator cuff. His replacement in the rotation, Michael King, has struggled in three starts.
Speaking of the IL, young pitcher Clarke Schmidt hasn’t pitched at all this year, as he’s recovering from an elbow injury. The long-awaited return of Luis Severino, who had been seen by some as the saviour of the scuffling rotation, may have to wait further, as the 27-year-old right-hander who last pitched 12 innings in 2019 suffered a groin injury during his rehab assignment.
The vaunted Yankees offence has been anaemic at best beyond Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Luke Voit is back on the IL with an oblique injury and Aaron Hicks is out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery. Gary Sánchez, Gio Urshela, and Gleyber Torres have all been roughly league-average, with Torres seemingly being sapped of power. D.J. LeMahieu has hit well but has no results to show for it, while a patchwork of Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor, Kyle Higashioka, Tyler Wade, and Chris Gittens have all been some variety of bad or terrible.
While Yankees fans have never been the best judges of when their team is actually bad, it’s not unreasonable at this point to think that this New York team, a favourite to go to the World Series is a worse squad than the Rays, Blue Jays, and Red Sox, and may be in serious danger of missing the playoffs entirely for the first time since 2016, and would only be the fifth time since 1993.
My heart bleeds for them, truly.
Best Players Thus Far:
Gerrit Cole, Starting Pitcher, 2.31 ERA/2.37 xERA, 36.7 K%, 3.6 BB%
Aroldis Chapman, Relief Pitcher, 1.93 ERA/1.78 xFIP, 46.7 K%, 12.0 BB%
Aaron Judge, Right Field, .389/.388/.532, 154 wRC+
Jonathan Loaisiga, Relief Pitcher, 1.83 ERA/3.58 xFIP, 20.5 K%, 6.1 BB%
Gleyber Torres, Shortstop, .272/.349/.359, 102 wRC+
Key Under-Performers:
Clint Frazier, Left Field/Right Field, .182/.301/.308, 77 wRC+
Jameson Taillon, Starting Pitcher, 5.74 ERA/4.45 xFIP, 25.0 K%, 7.3 BB%
Rougned Odor, Second Base, .198/.273/.389, 84 wRC+