There Is Room To Improve

Yankees Team Stats Show there’s Room for Improvement 

     …Early April Thoughts by Cary Greene 

 April 8, 2024

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With the season now underway and the Yankees playing well out of the gate, the mood for the home opener in the Bronx was gleeful as Juan Soto received what Michael Kay called a “heroes welcome” this past Friday as he took his position for the very first time, wearing his crisp white pinstripes  in right field at Yankee Stadium! 

Driving the quick start to the season has been the Yankees strong overall pitching, which Baseball Reference ranks as being currently the 12th best pitching staff in baseball. Given that the Yankees have a team ERA+ of 123 presently, without their ace starter Gerrit Cole being available, an argument could be made that the Yankees are one of the most surprising teams in baseball here in the early going. Overall, Yankees pitchers have a 3.18 ERA (8th best in MLB) which by today’s standards is pretty darn good. Considering Gerrit Cole is out, it’s kind of amazing to think that Yankees pitching has been as good as it's been.  

With Jonathan Loaisiga done for the season with a torn UCL, the Yankees will probably be on the hunt for some bullpen help from now until the Trade Deadline and depending how rookies like Luis Gil and company weather the innings toll as the season grinds along, Cashman may also be looking for that one additional starter who has thus far remained elusive quarry that’s either been too pricey for Hal Steinbrenner’s purse strings or too costly in terms of prospects for Brian Cashman’s delicate, prospect hugging palate.  

For the record, I’m not against hanging onto top prospects like Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones by the way, especially if the Yankees are truly committed to giving some of their promising rookies an actual chance to both shine and learn on the job. According to MLB.com, the Yankees actually have baseball’s tenth best farm system and there still remain some quality arms in the system. Why not use them? It’s really fun for fans to see existing Yankees prospects in action, instead of watching yet another barely league average veteran block their development. My philosophy is simple on this matter. Either give me a difference making star - ala the kind of players George Steinbrenner signed as he resurrected a dying franchise, or give me a team dotted with home grown talent that we fans can get behind! 

On offense, the addition of Juan Soto has absolutely given the Yankees an intriguing new look and he’ll likely form an incredible 2-3 punch in the lineup, combining with Aaron Judge. Despite the Yankees still lacking a leadoff hitter with a high on base percentage and strong base running skills, the team is averaging 5.6 runs a game so far this season. With Gleyber Torres off to an unimpressive start in his walk year, Aaron Boone has resolutely remained committed to using Gleyber as the team’s leadoff man - batting him leadoff in all ten of the Yankees games so far this season.  

With an on base percentage of .333 so far this season, Torres has done an acceptable job being the leadoff man - in fact he’s even stolen a couple of bags so far without getting caught. While Torres is from being an elite leadoff man, batting him first is a solid strategy, mainly because the back of his baseball card says that his bat is worthy of getting the maximum number of at bats on the team.  

It would be shocking if the Yankees extended Torres during the season, so an event like that notwithstanding, it seems like it would behoove Cashman to be on the lookout for a leadoff man who could impact the leadoff position more than Torres can and if a deal that makes sense comes up, I won’t be the least bit surprised to see Cashman move on it. Only time will tell if Jasson Dominguez is eventually going to be the Yankees leadoff man, but another potential in-house solution also exists and it’s one Cashman might want Yankees manager Aaron Boone to implement in the not too distant future.  

I’m left wondering, is the new and improved Anthony Volpe going to become the Yankees heir apparent to the leadoff spot in the lineup? If a mere ten games means anything, Volpe will soon be anointed as the team’s new leadoff man and he’ll likely stay there for years to come.  

Thus far, Volpe is raking with a slash line of .424/.486/.606 while rocking an absurdly good 1.092 OPS to go along with a devilishly handsome .457 wOBA and a smashingly suave 211 wRC+  – MY GOD! Someone pinch me! THIS is the player who was rated as the game’s best hitting prospect only two seasons ago. Volpe still needs a ton of reps and time to mature as a base runner, but he has the makings of a downright phenomenal leadoff man. Shifting Volpe to leadoff eventually seems like a no-brainer, so I’m waiting for this to inevitably happen.  

Should Volpe continue to force the issue, there is merit to the idea of eventually dropping Torres in the lineup this season, as he’s probably best suited to bat fifth or sixth for the Bombers.  

Thanks in part to Anthony Volpe’s new approach at the plate and the positive influence of Juan Soto on players like Oswaldo Cabrera, the Yankees offense is no longer solely dependent on Aaron Judge. Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo both serve to deepen the Yankees lineup and they’ll both be counted on to drive in runs. Stanton has clubbed a few big home runs already and if yesterday’s grand slam against the Blue Jays was an indication that he’s getting his timing back, the Yankees would obviously have a lineup capable of becoming one of the game’s best. Still, we aren’t yet looking at a team that can eek out runs consistently when they need them. Watching Soto, Judge, Stanton and Rizzo stand in a group rekindles visions of a bygone era in the Bronx, as they have the look of a modern day Murderer’s Row.  

Lest we get carried away with visions of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig dancing in our faithful Yankees heads, let’s pump the brakes at this juncture of the article and quantify what we’ve seen thus far. The Yankees are 13th in the League in RBI’s (42), 10th in Runs (49), 9th  in Home Runs (11) and On Base Percentage (.331),  13th in wOBA (.322) and 12th in OPS+ (107).  

While the Bombers can’t currently be viewed as a top ten offense in MLB, if the lineup wakes up a bit top to bottom, they could become one and that’s without Cashman making a single move. Last season, the Yankees were one of the League’s worst offenses, so while they have improved quite a bit, Cashman still has plenty of work to do in order to restore the Yankees to the status of being a World Series favorite.  

Cashman will also need to kick plenty of tires as the Yankees move from April into May, as he continues to also evaluate the product he has on the field, for this is the time of year for all teams to assess what they have. Every GM in baseball needs time to discover gaps in the roster and this isn’t done in a mere week or even a month.  

Who knows, later this month or even into May, Cashman might be able to make a move here or there that might help the team. Due to the Yankees backs being up against the CBT’s fourth threshold, Cashman will need to focus moving forward on trades as his primary way of making any moves he deems necessary.  

At this point we can open it up to our readers for discussion - is the Yankee offense built to contend for a championship, or should Cashman be looking for upgrades in key spots? Also, it seems like the pitching will come back to earth a bit. With Cole and Loaisiga both out, do moves need to be made here as well? Are their players in the Yankees system that can provide some answers, or should Cashman be looking to make some moves?