Gio Bravo

 

Okay. My beloved Yankees, heading into 2021. How we lookin?

Well...honestly, this Yankee team isn't giving me many of the warning signs I've gotten in pretty years. Yes, Voit and Judge aren't hitting but...look, two power-hitters striking out a shit-ton in March is no cause for alarm.

Look, the detail that has kept me most at ease this spring has been the starting rotation. We've had a few straight years of trusted starters going down and making us dig into shaky relief options for a 5th spot. But so far, the 6 guys chasing starting spots are all doing pretty well. Yes, Gerrit Cole's early ERA is hopefully just a sign of spring cobwebs, but German and Montgomery have been sharp in return auditions, Deivi Garcia put an early failure behind him and started working solid innings, and, most importantly, the two injury-plagued new additions, Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, have been pretty nice in early appearances. Taillon hasn't allowed a run yet. German has 13 Ks. This is looking really good.

My favorite stat in terms of the rest of the roster- two guys have hit 2 homers so far this spring on the team. One is a probable guess, Gleyber Torres. The other? Jay Bruce. The former Reds hero is now looking to edge Mike Tauchman out of a roster spot, taking a ton of reps at 1st base and hitting better than Voit AND Mike Ford. Out of all the non-roster guys, Bruce has the best chance of making the team [sorry, Derek Dietrich]. 

At the same time, the core of the team is hitting- Stanton, Hicks, Torres, LeMahieu, Gardy...they're all doing well so far this spring. Judge, Voit, and, sadly, team hero Gio Urshela are taking a bit longer to get there [Gio is also coming off of a preseason injury], but this roster is looking to be in pretty good shape so far.

And it's a good thing they look so good, too, as they've got a pretty nice shot at 1st this year, despite waning opposition from Tampa and rising opposition from Toronto[/Dunedin]. I want this sort of breezy, fresh feel of this Yankee team to last, even though I must, like usual, prepare for October heartbreak of some sort. But it'd be nice if this one was the one, wouldn't it? 

Come on, Yanks. Before we run out of re-ups for Gardy.

Coming Tomorrow- Former Cubs power-hitter, figuring out how Washington's gonna work for him.