Riz the Damn Season

 

Okay, after a few weeks of Yankees baseball, here's what's clear:

1. The rotation depth from last year is saving our asses. You expect Gerrit Cole to do all the heavy lifting going into the year, but because they've cracked down on substances, Cole has delivered some very human starts so far. Even against a Baez-less Tigers squad tonight, I'm a little worried. At the same time, though the Yankees have a strong back half of the rotation, led by Luis Severino, who seems to be back at 2018 levels, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon and, of course, Nestor Cortes Jr. and his mighty strikeouts. Watching Nestor work on Sunday was so cool, and seeing those strikeouts add up without him going too fast was worth it. Even if Cole is a disappointment, these four can hopefully stay strong and provide some big games for us. I'm just glad Sevvy's healthy and surging, I worried that wouldn't happen again.

2. It was a very wise idea to re-sign Anthony Rizzo. The big man picked up exactly where he left off and has a lineup-high .896 OPS, with 8 RBIs and 3 homers. Around the signing, there were worried that bringing back Rizzo would act as a feeble consolation prize for not landing Freddie Freeman, but I still think we came out of it pretty well. Rizzo's still a great 1st baseman, he can still hit, and he still gets around really well in the clubhouse. I'm glad we kept him, and I'm sure he's gonna have a great season.

3. The new guys have been good, but not great. Josh Donaldson has been responsible for an extra-innings win, but is only hitting .200 with a team-leading 15 strikeouts. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been a defensive upgrade, but is only hitting .214. Marwin Gonzalez, after a blistering spring, has yet to make an impact on the team this year. The best of these has clearly been Jose Trevino, whose contact abilities have shown up early, in addition to his excellent pitch-framing. In the absence of Kyle Higashioka's bat, he's been quite the upgrade. 

4. After Clay Holmes, Miguel Castro, Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge have been so strong in relief for the Yankees, I'm gonna stop questioning Brian Cashman's logic when it comes to dealing for them. Yes, it'd be nice to have Diego Castillo right now, but where would we play him? Meanwhile, Holmes has been sharp as hell, and already has a win under his belt. Guys like these are taking away from the disappointment of Jonathan Loiasiga's struggles and Aroldis Chapman walking his way to a loss Friday night.

5. The Yankees probably aren't going to be a first place team this year, but they do plan on being very, very good. Dropping some games to Baltimore isn't a great look, but being able to nail extra-innings nail biters, like we did early on this season, is a much safer bet. 

I'm optimistic about this team's chances, and they've given me a lot to be happy about so far, but I really hope they recover from the other stuff that worries me.

Coming Tomorrow- Shortstop for the unexpected, at least if you're me, NL East threat.