I feel it is time for another Update from Yankee Land.  Since the last time we looked in on the Bronx Bombers they have gone 8-5 and now stand 11 games over .500.  They are currently on a 4-game winning streak heading into today’s action but have fallen to one game behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East.  They seem to be righting the ship in a lot of areas as they recover from their late April slump.  Let’s look at where things stand 37 games into the season. 

We shall start with the pitching as it has been the most consistent and reliable part of the team.  Consistent being the key word.  The starters have all continued to impress with every outing.  Rodon had one slip up where he got shelled by Baltimore, giving up 7 runs in 4 innings, Luis Gil had one shaking outing giving up 5 runs in 5 innings against the Brewers, and Strowman had a bad start in a win against Milwaukee as well.  (a lot of runs were scored in that Brewers series).  3 bad starts in the 13 games since my last update is pretty good.  Gil is really becoming a hell of a starter.  He is still having a bit of control issues, throwing a ton of pitches, and the walks are still a bit high, but if you take out the hic up in Wisconsin, he has been excellent of late.  His two starts since the Brewers game he has gone 6.1 and 6 innings respectively and given up 1 run (a solo shot in the first inning last night) while striking out 10 and walking 5 and giving up only 3 hits.  His two starts prior to Milwaukee saw him throw 10.2 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 5 hits while striking out 15 batters.  He did walk 10 men, 7 of them in one game.  If he ever figures out the control issues he will be a top of the rotation guy, if not an ace.      

As I would expect in the Cashman era, the Yankees’ Bullpen has figured things out and has been pretty dominate as of late.  They have the best ERA in the league right now.  The Yankees have the second-best ERA in all of baseball and have given up the second fewest runs.  Can’t really ask for more than that.  Clay Holmes has been perfect in his closing role, having not given up an earned run in his 16 appearances.  He is tied for second in the league with 11 saves.   The one negative you can give the Yankees’ pitching staff is that the starters are still not going deep into games.  This is causing the Bullpen to have a heavy work load.  If it keeps up, this can lead to guys wearing down in the second half of the season.  It’s getting better but the starters getting into the later innings more consistently would be a big help to keeping the staff as effective as it has been. 

On that front, help is on the way.  First the Yankees should be getting a couple of more arms in the pen soon as both Nick Burdi and Tommy Kahnle have begun rehab assignments.  Burdi was pitching very well for the Yanks before he went down to injury.  Kahnle has been very good for them in the past and is looking to make his season debut this time around in the pin stripes.  Even more help is on the way, but not too soon, as innings eater Gerrit Cole has made progress in his rehab.  He has begun throwing off of a mound, which is a big step in coming back.  His last session was only 20 pitches but it’s a start.  Hopefully they take their time ramping him up as to make sure he is 100% before rejoining the team.  The last thing they want is a year ending set back. He really needs to go through an entire spring training before stepping back on a Major League mound.  With the way the starters have been pitching, there is no rush to get him back into the rotation.  Hell, at this point I don’t know who you would take out of the rotation to put him in it.  My guess would be Clarke Schmidt but a lot can happen between now and then. 

The Yankees bats are finally coming around.  Well, most of them, but we will get into that later.  The Bronx Bombers have moved up to 8^th in the Majors in runs scored where as they were 14^th last time we checked in.  They also moved up to 8^th in batting average and 9^th in slugging as they were 21^st in both a few weeks ago.  Now, given, the 36 runs they scored in those 3 games in Milwaukee gave then a big boost but even since then, individuals have seen their seasons turn around at the plate.  The most important one being Aaron Judge.  If I wrote this a week and a half ago, I would have been questioning how injured Judge really is and been calling for him to either take an IL stint or moving down in the lineup.  His lack of hitting was both mystifying and killing the Yankees’ offense.  Thankfully, I do not have to write that now.  Judge seems to have figured things out and his numbers have shown a lot of improvement.  In his last 15 days Aaron is hitting .306 with 4 long balls and 10 RBIs with a .612 slug.  He has hit .316 in the last week.  Maybe it was just him needing to get enough at bats in to get his rhythm and his eye going?  I don’t know but it seems to have turned around and he is back to being the Aaron Judge we all know and love.  If this keeps up for the rest of the season, the Yankee offense will really take off.      

The two guys I pointed out last time, Soto and Verdugo, have both continued to hit.  Soto is just amazing.  It’s going to suck watching him play for the Mets next year.  The Yankees listened to me and moved Verdugo to the 4^th spot in the lineup, right behind Judge.  He has not disappointed.  Batting 4^th this season Verdugo is hitting .391 with 2 homers and 8 RBIs and slugging .652.  It’s only been 23 at bats, which explains the BA but that is also a 167 RBI pace.  With the way Soto and Judge get on base, Verdugo is going to have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs and with his high contact rate, he should continue to do just that. 

Austin Wells and Anthony Rizzo are two more guys who have stepped it up since our last visit to Yankee Land.  Wells is hitting .304 in the last 15 days, which is way up from the .178 he hit in April.  He is reaching base at a .429 pace.  Statistically he hit in the worst luck out of anyone in baseball to start the season.  Apparently, his luck is turning around.  Rizzo, on the other hand, got off to a solid start to the season but has been red hot of late.  The first baseman is hitting .333 with 5 dingers and 12 RBIs over the last fortnight.  When the Yankees put Verdugo 4^th, they moved Rizzo to 6^th, splitting up the lefties with Stanton.  In the 6-hole Rizzo is batting a ridiculous .611.  Clearly that will not keep up.  However, it’s good to see Rizzo excel in his new place in the order rather than sulk at being moved down.

Now for the bad news, not everyone has turned their season around.  Oswaldo Cabrera has seen his early season success go the way of the Dodo bird.  Oswaldo has hit just .191 in the last 15 days and is down to .250 overall.  His run production has fallen off as well.  Oswaldo is an excellent utility guy who can play anywhere on the field, though I feel he is just not an everyday player.  The good news on that part is that Jon Berti is back from his injury.  I said when they acquired Berti that he should be the everyday third baseman, probably even when LeMahieu was healthy.  With DJ not close to coming back, I think Berti needs to assume that role.  Not only should Berti play 3^rd everyday but I think they should try him in the lead off spot.  Last season he hit .290 and has had an OBP over .330 in both of the last two seasons.  He also has speed that can take the extra base off of Soto and Judge’s hits.  And, quite frankly, Volpe isn’t getting it done.  It might just be a coincidence that Volpe’s hitting has fallen off a cliff since moving to the lead off spot but the Yankees need to find out.  Now that Berti is healthy they have a viable option at lead off and should take advantage of it.  I would put Volpe nineth again so he has no pressure on him and when he does get on base, he can use his wheels to steal bases and put his full skill set to use. 

The last big problem in the Yankee lineup is Gleyber Torres.  Gleyber just has not come around yet.  It’s been almost a quarter of the season and Torres is still hitting just .216.  And to make it worse, he has shown very little power with just 1 home run and 4 doubles producing only 7 RBIs.  Stanton may be hitting just .227 but at least he has 7 dingers and 19 RBIs.  I don’t know what’s wrong with Gleyber but I fear it may be his contract situation.  I hate, hate to say it but, it might be time for the Yankees to make a decision on Gleyber.  They need to either sign him to an extension or trade him.  I don’t think the Yankees want to resign him.  They have a lot of guys who can play second base and most of them are young and don’t cost anything.  If this is the case than they might as well move on from him now.  I like Gleyber but if he is going to continue to be a hole in the lineup, he is not helping the team.  If he was under contract long term (or even if they really wanted to sign him long term), you would have to live with the slump and hope he works his way out of it.  But if the plan is for him to leave after the season, why wait?  Those guys they have who can play the position cheaply are all here now.  They could use Berti or Oswaldo there at least until DJ comes back.  Or they could call up Caleb Durbin to replace him.  Or they can wait as Oswald Peraza has just started a rehab assignment.  They have all these options.  If Gleyber isn’t part of the future, it might be best to move on now rather than wait.  Even if trading him at this point is selling low on him as I believe they are planning on letting him walk anyways.  Or sign him to an extension and ease his mind so he can get back to hitting as we expect him to hit. Either way, they have to do something.  

Speaking of guys starting rehab assignments, Aaron Boone stated that the Martian, Jasson Dominguez is about two weeks of starting his own.  Boone said he will probably just DH at first but that’s a big step in his coming back.  Now, I have no idea what the Yankees would do with him once he is ready to play again.  There is no room for him in the outfield and Stanton is occupying the DH spot.  My guess is he goes back to AAA where he can play every day and plays out the season there unless there is an injury on the big club.  But that is still a long ways off and a lot can happen between now and then.  I am just glad we are close to getting to see him back on a baseball diamond again.        

One last thing about the Yankees offense, they have calmed down a little with the double plays.  They still lead the league with 1.11 per game but have only hit into 3 over their last 4 games.  Hopefully this trend keeps moving in the positive direction.  Though a part of me would have liked to see them break the record.  By the way, after I mentioned the double play problem in my “This and That” column, the very next day both the YES network during the game and ESPN.com in their power rankings mentioned the record-breaking pace.  I was not given any credit for pointing it out first.  Just saying.   

Well, I think that just about covers it for now.  Hopefully the Yankees will keep pitching and hitting and they will be able to get ahead of Baltimore and atop the AL East.