It’s time for our first Update from Yankee Land of the season!!  This one is going to be a little different than usual.  Not having the opportunity to write for a while I missed a bunch of news from around the Yankees and MLB as a whole.  Before I get into how the Yankees are doing to start the season, let’s talk about some of the big topics around the League and the team. 

Major League Baseball experimented with the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system (ABS) this spring.  I have to say I am a fan of it for many reasons.  Here are my thoughts on the ABS…

1. I thought it was implemented very efficiently and it does not bog down the game.  The challenge has to come quickly and the review, as it is shown on the score board, doesn’t take up nearly the time a review does as the umpire doesn’t have to go to the head set and get the call from someone off site.  It’s fast and easy. 
2. It corrects the very many terrible calls the umpires make.  The Yankees played a game the other day where both teams could have challenged at least 20 calls the umpire was so bad.  I am watching the Sox opener as I write this and the Sox just scored a 6^th run because what should have been a strike out to end the inning was negated by a ball call that the two Red Sox announcers were shocked wasn’t called a strike.  Two pitches later the batter got an RBI single.  With a challenge system, that never happens. 
3. It will force the umpires to get better.  If they are going to be embarrassed every time they make a bad call, they are going to want to make fewer bad calls.  Some of this isn’t their fault.  I have been complaining for years about the way umpires are graded.  As I understand it, when being graded, they are given the width of a baseball either way when judging a strike or ball call.  With the review system, there will be no leeway.  The pitch is either in the strike zone or it isn’t.  Umpires are going to have to adjust to this or they are going to have some very long nights behind the plate.   
4. There will be more walks once it goes into effect.  This will be due to the usual automatic 3-0 strike call most umpires give.  For a lot of umps, as long as the catcher catches the pitch on a 3-0 count, they will call it a strike.  Once hitters start challenging these calls, there will be a lot more 4 pitch walks, assuming pitchers don’t adjust. 
5. Pitchers should never challenge calls.  I am not against them being allowed to challenge, I just think teams should tell them not to.  After throwing a pitch they are in no shape to judge whether or not it was a strike.  They also tend to be rather bias.   In the spring, pitchers had a 41% success rate with their challenges where as hitter was 50% and the catchers’ rate was 56%.  The Minor League stats are very similar. 
6. The one problem I have with the system is that it is based on a player’s height, not his batting stance.  I don’t understand why they could not measure each guy’s batting stance instead of just their height.  With this system, Rickey Henderson would have pitches at his eyes called a strike due to his exaggerated crouch in the batter’s box.  You don’t really get that in baseball anymore but there still has to be a difference between guys standing straight up like a Cody Bellinger and a guy with any type of crouch.  They are challenging whether a ball hit or missed the strike zone by less than an inch.  Every little bit matters. 
7. I have to say I am worried about the old slippery slope.  I really like the ABS as a challenge system but I do not want total Robo-Umps.  I am all for real people calling balls and strikes.  I just want them to get better at it and I want there to be a system where when they do mess up, it can be fixed.  As I said, I think the new system will force a lot of guys to get better at calling the strike zone so the ABS will be needed less and less as we move forward.  It has to stop at being a challenge system and not a replacement for Umpires. 
8. Lastly, I love how teams are not penalized for getting a challenge right.  You get two challenges to start the game but only lose one if your challenge is unsuccessful.  That’s how it should be in all sports.  Teams should not be penalized because the officials keep screwing up.  I hope they keep it that way in MLB. 

Another change that was widely talked about this spring was the Yankees making a change to their facial hair policy.  Back in the 1970’s the late, great George Steinbrenner implemented a team policy that said all players had to be clean shaven for every game.  If you have ever seen pictures of people from the ‘70s, you know why.  This policy had stood for almost 50 years before being amended this season.  The Yankees had been thinking about changing the rule for a few years after some players said they would not sign with them because of the policy.  Finally, after they traded for closer Devin Williams and he mentioned that he would have a hard time resigning with them because of the policy, they decided it was time to make a change.  The Yankees now allow for “neatly kept beards”.  To go along with the mustaches that were always allowed. 

I am OK with this.  In the long run it really doesn’t matter if guys have beards or not.  It would really suck to lose out on a free agent because they prefer to have facial hair.  The reason it sucks that the policy changed is because it was a thing.  It was something that made the Yankees special (you know besides the 27 World Series wins).  It was a topic of discussion whenever they acquired a player, especially one with a beard.  It was just a thing and it no longer is a thing.  And losing that kind of sucks, but I understand it. 

Also, I wonder if anyone will test the “neatly groomed” part of the new rule.  Hal Steinbrenner said when the policy was changed that “Duck Dynasty” is definitely not allowed.  It’s going to be interesting to see how far they let guys go and how far guys try to go.  I keep getting the image of Don Mattingly on the Simpsons with his sideburns battle with Mr. Burns.  Speaking of Mattingly, the Yankees have not changed their hair policy, players are still not allowed to have hair the passes their collars.

Of course, the biggest story of the new season has been the Torpedo Bats.  First off, I think bowling pin is a more apt description than torpedo but that’s neither here nor there.  The Yankees picked on some awful Brewers pitching and belted 9 home runs in one game and the bats became an issue.  Like with the ABS, I have a few thoughts…

1. The first thing I need to point out for anyone who doesn’t know is that Aaron Judge does not use a torpedo bat.  He still uses his traditional bat.  As he said, there really is no reason for him to change. 
2. These bats have been around for a couple of seasons now.  They are not new.  Some Yankee players used them last season as did others around the league.  The only reason anyone noticed was that Micheal Kay pointed it out.  He did so while Jazz Chisholm was at the plate with a grey bat that was obviously shaped differently.  When it’s a black bat, like the ones Giancarlo Stanton used last season, it’s hard to tell as it is with the natural-colored bats unless you are looking for it.  Jazz’s bat was obvious.  Add in the 9 round trippers and it became a thing. 
3. I thought it was funny that people were calling them cheaters.  Like they would use obvious illegal bats like they were the Patriots of baseball or something.  My immediate response was that they were innovators. 
4. My first thought was that I was not a fan, I tend to be a bit of a traditionalist, but if they are legal, and they are going to help them hit, go for it.  I have since come around and are OK with the bats in principle.  Unless guys start hitting .400 or start hitting 60 or 70 or 80 home runs with them.  Then I will start having a problem. 
5. Something everyone has to understand, and this includes guys in the league who don’t play for the Yankees, is that each bat is custom made for the individual hitter.  You cannot just go out and buy a torpedo bat and have it work for you.  Guys on the Yankees can’t use each other’s bats.  The Yankees analytic department looked at every guys swing and where they hit the ball over the last few years and figured out where there most wood should be on the bat for them.  Until other teams start doing that, the bats will not be affective for them at all.
6. How effective can they be?  Well, guys still have to hit the ball.  It doesn’t matter what kind of bat you use, torpedo, traditional, or even aluminum, if you don’t hit the ball.  What they can do is make you hit the ball more solidly when you do make contact.  Here’s a ridiculous stat… Last year Anthony Volpe’s barrel rate was 3.9%, which was terrible.  This season it is 17.6% which is very good.  And that’s after a terrible series in Detroit.  That’s what happens when you move the barrel.  His average exit velo went from 87.7 to 91.2.  If you hit the ball with the fat part of the bat, it goes faster.  Now, obviously this year is a small, tiny actually, sample size.  It is definitely something to keep an eye on all season. 
7. I just love how everyone gets all pissed off about the Yankees.  That’s how I know the Yankees are really good again, every other team’s fans are just trying to pick them apart and tear them down.  I love it.  I mean for how many years have people complained about the lack of hitting in baseball?  The Yankees come up with a way to create more offense and everyone is mad. 

9 seasons ago, when Aaron Judge was a rookie, the Yankees and Red Sox both had guys who were expected to compete for the rookie of the year award.  Judge for the Yankees and Andrew Benintendi for the Sox.  The Mariners had a guy as well, I think it was Hanigan.  Anywho,..Benintendi had a very good rookie season.  However, Judge hit a MLB rookie record 51 home runs and ran away with the award.  This season The Yankees and Sox again have guys who are expected to be in the ROY race again so I figured I would follow the race this year as well, hoping for very similar results.  For the Yankees it’s the Martian, Jasson Dominguez.  For the Sox it’s second baseman Kristian Campbell.  There are also two other guys in the race right now.  Seatle has a left fielder who is a 27-year-old rookie named Kameron Misner and the A’s have a 23-year-old short stop named Jacob Wilson.  These seem to be the top four rookies right now and will be the guys I am following.  Some of them may drop out or others may enter the race but we will start with these gentlemen.  Right now, the Martian is trailing the other 4 guys but hopefully better weather and worst opposing pitching will help Dominguez get back into the race.  Here is where we stand about a dozen games into the season…

Dominguez is hitting .205 with 1 homer, 3 RBIs, 3 doubles, 7 runs, 1 stolen base, 4 walks, 12 Ks, and a .295 OBP.

Campbell is hitting .318 with 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 4 doubles, 10 runs, 1 stolen base, 1 caught stealing, 9 walks, 12 Ks, and a 426 OBP. 

Misner is hitting .357 with 1 homer, 6 RBIs, 3 doubles, 4 runs, 0 steals, 2 walks, 6 Ks, and a .406 OBP.

Wilson is at .396 with 2 homers, 7 RBIs, 3 doubles, 8 runs, 0 steals, 0 walks, 2 Ks, and a .396 OBP. 

Clearly the Martian has some catching up to do. 

As far as my prospect watch goes, it will start next month.  The minor leagues don’t start a soon as the MLB does so I have to give the guys time to play some games. 

With all of that out of the way, let’s talk about where the Yankees are at 2 weeks into the season.  Heading into today’s action the Yankees are in first place in the AL East with a 7-5 record.  They have had a favorable schedule in that the rest of the division has been playing against each other while they have played 3 National League teams and the Tigers.  They have two more series, one against another National League team, before they final see a divisional opponent. 

In the games they have played it’s been hit or miss.  Literally.  When they have hit, they have won, when they don’t hit, they lose.  I said in my preview that in the early part of the season, with two of their starters out, they were going to have to hit their way to victory and so far, I’ve been right.  In the 7 games they have won they scored 68 runs.  Almost 10 per game.  In their 5 losses, 14 runs.  Almost 3 a game.  Hopefully the weather will get warmer and warmer and they bats will as well. 

So far the offense has been one of the best in the league.  Their 82 runs are second in Baseball to only the Cubs who have played 3 more games than the Bombers.  They are second in home runs to only the Trolly Dodgers (still bitter) who played 2 more games than them.  And they are 3^rd in batting average hitting .265 as a team.  And this is after a terrible offensive series in Detroit. 

Unlike last season when he started in a slump, Aaron Judge is leading the offensive attack so far.  He is hitting .354 with 6 round trippers and 20 RBIs.  I love that for the most part the Yankees have been batting him 3^rd allowing him to knock in runs.  They need to keep him there and stop moving in into the two hole.  Batting 3^rd he has 5 homers and 14 RBIs in 36 ABs.  Batting 2^nd he has just 1 homer and 6 RBIs in 16 ABs.  Obviously the more at bats help but he is also hitting .375 batting 3^rd and .313 2^nd.  He is just going to be more productive hitting in the 3 spot.  They just need to keep him there. 

The reason he can be so productive batting 3^rd is because Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice are off to hot starts.  Goldschmidt is hitting .383 with a 431 OBP and Rice, who is really seeing the ten pounds of muscle he put on in the offseason pay off, is at .306 with a .419 OBP.  With that much production in front of him, Judge is getting lots of opportunities to produce runs.  Which is exactly what you want, you best hitter batting with men on base so he can knock them in.  If they keep Goldschmidt and Rice ahead of him, he will continue to get these opportunities. 

The one thing I do not like about the line up is having Jazz Chisholm bat 4^th.  I like Jazz but he has too much swing and miss in his game to bat behind Judge.  They need someone who can take advantage of Judge getting on base at a .446 clip.  If they keep Goldschmidt and Rice at the top of the line up than they can put Bellinger behind Judge.  I think he will do more consistent job taking advantage of batting with men on base.  The outs he makes are more likely to be productive ones rather then strike outs.

I think the problem is that Boone may feel more comfortable batting the young guys in the bottom of the order than the vets.  I mean if Bellinger is batting 4^th and they want to keep the righty/lefty thing going that means Volpe, who is off to a hot start again (lets hope he’s not as streaky as he was last season), bats 5^th, Jazz is down to 6^th.  The Martian hits 7^th, Wells 8^th, and the 3^rd baseman 9^th.  That is a crazy deep lineup.  And Stanton could be back soon (I’ll get into those issues when it happens).  It seems weird to bat Jazz 6^th but this is their best line up.  Hopefully Boone will see it and have the wherewithal to put it on the score card game in and game out.       

The line up is going to continue to produce.  The question is can the pitching improve.  So far it hasn’t been good.  Well, except for their Ace Max Fried who after Wednesday’s 7 inning 11 strikeout no runs performance to stop their losing streak is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA and 21 Ks in 17.1 innings.  As a team they are 23^rd in ERA, 20^th in runs against, and 16^th in homers against.  They are 7^th in the league in BA against but they are 20^th in walks allowed, which honestly is better than I would have thought, and 16^th in home runs against.  If they can improve on those two areas, they will be a much better staff.  They are 5^th in the league in striking people out so the swing and miss is there for the most part.    

The biggest problem is that outside of Fried, the Yankee starters have been terrible.  Rodon has a 5.19 ERA, Strowman is at 7.27, Will Warren is at 6.00 and Carrasco is at 7.71.  That is just not good enough.  It also means they are not lasting long in games and the bullpen has to pitch a ton of innings.  Now, next week they should get Clarke Schmidt back.  That will solve one spot (most likely Will Warren) and eventually Gil will come back to solve a second problem.  Until then these guys have to step up.  The biggest guy is obviously Rodon.  He needs to pitch like a number two.  He has given up the 3^rd most walks in Baseball and has only had 1 good outing.  He needs to straighten things out, and soon, if the Yankees are going to succeed this year. 

Quick note on Will Warren.  He has yet to surrender a run the first time through the line up.  After that it gets ugly.  Maybe once Schmidt comes back, they can transition him to the bullpen.  That might be where he can excel and help the team. 

Speaking of the Bullpen, it has been pretty solid but not great yet.  It’s tough because this early in the season bullpen guys have so few innings that their ERAs can be blown up by one bad outing.  I think the biggest thing to come out of the pen so far is that Devin Williams may be a bit of a Zantac Kid.  I have always been against bringing your closer in in non-save situations and from what we have seen so far, that really applies to Williams.  He hasn’t gotten much work as the Yankees have either lost or won big in most of their games.  He seems rusty and hasn’t had great control.  Hopefully he will start to get some regular usage and can get into a rhythm. 

The rest of the Pen has been as you would expect so far.  The big development has been how good Yoendrys Gomez has been.  He has yet to surrender a run in 6.1 innings (hopefully I didn’t just jinx him). Him being a reliable piece to the pen all season would be great.   

All in all, the Bronx Bombers are off to a pretty good start.  The offense is a good as we thought it could be but the pitching really needs to improve.  Hopefully the warmer weather they have to eventually see will help the starters turn things around a bit.