Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Yankees

 

As we are about to ring in a New Year, let's remember a Yankees season that was very much reminiscent of the last few. A huge rise, a steep midyear drop-off, some close playoff wins and an inevitable loss to Houston. Same Yanks, different year.

I'm not gonna lie and say there weren't any improvements to this Yankee team, because there certainly were. People like Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino showed up and became surprise heroes, late additions like Harrison Bader and Matt Carpenter made for an exciting second half, and, well, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs and gets to be a Yankee for the rest of his life. Even as the highs were higher than a lot of Yankee seasons of late, we still couldn't make a World Series, and it's getting to be that this team may not be able to leg it out for an entire postseason now that it's a month+ ordeal.

Aaron Hicks, this year, played his fullest season in a Yankee uniform since 2018. Though his defense has improved since the injury-plagued years, Hicks' plate numbers left a lot to be desired, as he hit .216 with 40 RBIs and 8 home runs. We've got him for another 3 or so years, and it's looking like he'll be starting the year in the outfield, so I hope he has something left.

2023 Prediction: He doesn't. Oswaldo, you're up, buddy.

2022 was Aroldis Chapman's final one in Yankee pinstripes, and in his absence, Clay Holmes, a 2021 pickup, got the ninth. The first half he was incredible, scoreless through May, and nabbing an All-Star nod. His July was almost enough to sink him, and he allowed 16 earned runs from July to September after allowing just two before then. Postseason Holmes was more akin to his earlier behavior, as he went scoreless in 5 appearances with 7 strikeouts, even if the ninth inning role had been given to another pitcher by this point. Still, Holmes ended the season with 20 saves and a leg up on the closing position going forward.

2023 Prediction: 30 saves. Not cleanly, but still. This is the post-Rivera era of Yankees pitching, not every closer is gonna be clean.

Inevitably, Domingo German had an opening this season to start again. I don't know if the Yankees have forgiven him in the way they forgave Chapman [initially], but he at least improved this year, with a 3.65 ERA and 58 Ks in 15 starts. Not perfect, but the exact kind of extra arm the Yanks had in mind.

2023 Prediction: Seeing as the Yankees will be going with a Cole-Rodon-Cortes-Montas-Severino rotation, and four of those guys have had health issues to this point, I expect 20 starts.

We signed Marwin Gonzalez to be a useful utility bat who can play just about anywhere, and that's exactly what he was for us. His fielding numbers were excellent, with his best fielding statistics since 2019 in Minneapolis. At the plate, while he did have 6 home runs and 18 RBIs, he still struggled to hit for average. 

2023 Prediction: Uses a Korean Leagues season as a ramp to eventually be a useful piece of a 2024 contender.

The Yanks had two relevant bullpen hidden gems for me this year. One of them was Ron Marinaccio, the rookie from Toms River, NJ who began the year in the Yankee bullpen. In 40 games he had a 2.05 ERA, 56 Ks and gained a fan-following. For a kid that grew up a Yankee fan, that's gotta be pretty cool.

2023 Prediction: Finishes in the top tier of the Yankee bullpen and lasts the whole season.

Additionally, Wandy Peralta continued his strong work since coming over from San Francisco. In 56 games he held a 2.72 ERA, only allowing 17 earned runs and coming away with 4 saves. Peralta was the team's primary closer during the postseason, and got 1 save during the Cleveland series, while striking out 8 and allowing 3 earned runs.

2023 Prediction: A down year, but the bullpen won't exactly suffer.

Of all things I expected going into this season, the Yankees signing Matt Carpenter and him being one of their biggest midyear successes was certainly not one of them. After his subpar years with St. Louis, and after a botched Spring Training gig with Texas, I figured he didn't have anything left. In just 47 games, Carpenter hit .305 with 15 home runs and 37 RBIs, finishing the season with a higher OPS than even Aaron Judge. Yes, an injury robbed him not only of a second half continuation but of any pop during the postseason, but that June was enough for us to appreciate him.

2023 Prediction: I don't think the Padres are gonna get much of what we just got.

Speaking of great performances stunted by an ill-timed injury, Andrew Benintendi was a high-profile trade for us, coming over from Kansas City. Though he took a while to get used to New York, he was just getting the hang of things, notching 5 RBI in the last weeks of August and keeping his season batting average above .300. Then, beginning of September he gets injured, Bader takes his place and becomes a postseason hero.

2023 Prediction: A worthy sequel to his 2021 KC numbers in Chicago.

And finally Frankie Montas, the one move I really wished the Yankees wouldn't have made. I figured Luis Castillo was a surer bet, but the Mariners got him and locked him up. Montas always came off as streaky and ineffective. After trading J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk to Oakland for him, Montas pitched 8 starts, and had a 6.35 ERA with 28 earned runs in the midst of injuries. 

2023 Prediction: I really hope there's some level of improvement. I really, really do. Cause if not, we just wasted another trade deadline. 

That's all I've got for 2022. I hope you've enjoyed the blog this year. Hopefully there'll be some level of content in the next few months before pitchers and catchers report.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Twins

 

Suffice to say, the Twins' follow-up to their monster 2019 was a bit of a letdown. Yes, they won the AL Central this year, but they did so after trailing the Indians and White Sox for half the season and slipping into first at the very last minute...followed by a first-round loss to the SEVENTH-SEEDED ASTROS. Losing to a strong Yankees team last year is one thing, but losing to a team that finished 29-31 is another thing entirely. 

Miguel Sano is the perfect example of this Twins team. Yes, he was back and healthy this year, which was nice, but he also struck out 90 times in 53 games, while hitting .204 with 13 home runs and 25 RBIs. Yes, those are good power stats, but they came at the expense of contact hitting and striking out a bunch of times. So Sano still remains a double-edged sword for the Twins- keep him and continue to lead the league in power hitting, or dump him and actually get someone good to play 1st base.

2021 Prediction: He's gonna lose a starting gig and get DFA'd by July. 

Jorge Polanco, one of the most overrated players in the game right now, had, you guessed it, an okay year at short after his HUGE 2019. Almost as if his 2019 was a fluke or something. Anyway, Polanco hit .258 with 19 RBIs, giving him a WAR of 0, his lowest since 2016. The one thing setting him apart in past years, his batting numbers, have declined. 

2021 Prediction: Either traded at the deadline or made a bench player thanks to a rookie call-up.

Meanwhile, Luis Arraez, the team's second baseman, is going the exact opposite direction as Polanco. Arraez, who spent 32 games starting at 2nd, hit .321 this year with 36 hits and 13 RBIs, a pretty solid offensive register for the rising defensive infielder. Arraez has a strong hold on the position for 2021, and looks to be a key piece in the next stage of this team.

2021 Prediction: A gold glove, or at least consideration for one, and some great contact stats upon Arraez' first full-season performance. 

Mitch Garver's stock took a big hit in 2020, with injuries limiting him to 23 games, and a .167 average with only 2 homers limiting him even further. The once-strong backstop felt like he was taking a step backwards from his breakout last year, and it was tough to see.

2021 Prediction: An improvement in terms of average, but he'll have to contend with Ryan Jeffers for the starting gig now.

Randy Dobnak had an immaculate start for the Twins this season, going 5-2 in his first 7 starts, with a 2.43 ERA and 17 strikeouts. Dobnak wasn't exactly a fireballer, but he had good control, and was fantastic at keeping opposing offenses at bay. His 6.75 ERA in September dive-bombed his strong season, and led to him being phased out as a starter as the playoffs began.  

2021 Prediction: More control, a few more strikeouts, and a held rotation position throughout the season.

Rich Hill's late career success is just a really heartwarming factor of this modern era of baseball. Everyone wrote him off after 2009, and since 2015 he's been 43-22 with a 2.92 ERA and 584 strikeouts, seeing playoff time with Los Angeles and Minnesota, and impressing the hell out of people despite injuries limiting his seasons. His 2020 was only 8 games, but he had a 2-2 record, a 3.03 ERA and 31 strikeouts. At age 40, those are excellent stats. 

2021 Prediction: He still wants to play. I honestly think Minnesota re-signs him. If not, maybe he returns to his hometown team in Boston. 

Marwin Gonzalez spent his second season as the stock utility man in Minnesota as a backup for Josh Donaldson at 3rd, which paid off when Donaldson hit the IL early in the season. Gonzalez hit .211 with 5 homers and 22 RBIs over 55 games, which isn't GREAT, but it's not bad at all, especially given Donaldson's disappointing year.

2021 Prediction: More utility work elsewhere. 

Taylor Rogers continued to be a strong choice for the ninth for the Twins.  Rogers notched 9 saves in 21 appearances, and struck out 24, despite a 4 ERA weakening his WAR numbers. 

2021 Prediction: 30 saves and a low ERA again.

Of course, one of the flashiest bullpen options for the Twins continued to be Sergio Romo, who followed up his strong, low-ERA year last year with a more human one with a 4 ERA and some horseplay resulting in an ejection. Romo is still one of the more trusted relievers in the game, but he's beginning to lose his footing while keeping his character fully intact. 

2021 Prediction: More setup work somewhere. Maybe the Phils sign him, that'd be something..

In Mitch Garver's absence, the Twins called up Ryan Jeffers to catch for a bit, and he had a heck of an audition, batting .273 with 7 RBIs and 3 homers in 26 games. He seems more of a contact type than Garver, and while he does have 'backup' written all over him, him and Mitch Garver vying for a starting job next year is gonna be interesting.

2021 Prediction: Will get the backup gig, but will still hit .280 with some RBIs. 

And after finishing a suspension, Michael Pineda still made some starts for the Twins this year, and did fairly well, with a 2-0 record and a 3.38 ERA in 5 starts, with 25 Ks. Again, his status as an elite fireballer has completely subsided, but he's still useful for a few starts here and there.

2021 Prediction: A fuller season, but I bet the magic begins to wear off for Pineda here.

Coming Tomorrow- The White Sox team that finally figured out how to make the playoffs. 

All They Do is Marwin

More fun with those hard-hitting Minnesota Twins. SIX GUYS WITH OVER 20 HOME RUNS. SEVEN GUYS WITH OVER 50 RBIs. And honestly I was expecting more batters with over 100 strikeouts (only two).

It's another one of those teams that's kinda injury-proof, too. Byron Buxton's out for a few days? Get Marwin to play some games in the outfield. He's hitting .262 with 100 hits and 14 homers. He'll be fine. This is also a team where the backup catcher is just as competent as the starting catcher, the backup infielders could honestly be starting and I wouldn't be worried, and the fun rookie is injured and nobody's especially counting the days til he comes back (unlike San Diego).

It's even rubbed off on the pitching. 3 guys, including Kyle Gibson, have 10+ wins. All five starters have over 100 strikeouts. Everyone has an ERA under 5. Even guys like Martin Perez and Michael Pineda, both of whom were afterthoughts at the beginning of the year, are doing pretty well, with Pineda having his...what, 12th comeback year? Berrios and Odorizzi get to fight over who gets the ace designation, but both are pretty great assets to have. And then you have Taylor Rogers as a strong closer, and Sergio Romo as an impressive bullpen guy. So from a distance, I don't have a ton of concerns.

But...this is a very broad team. They hit home runs, and their pitching doesn't have to stand out AS MUCH solely because they hit home runs. You put them against the best rosters in baseball (Houston, Bronx, even Tampa), and they might not get by on just boilerplate pitching. I'm worried that they may not go terribly far into the playoffs because of their lack of complexity. I could be very wrong, and I'd be perfectly fine if I was, but...I worry. I worry they lack real depth.

Still...they're awfully entertaining, aren't they? Isn't that what Manfred wants?

Coming Tonight: [loud sigh]...an ace from the team leading the NL Central.

'Stros Nest

The Astros won seven games in a row. Two of those games were against the Boston Red Sox, the best team in baseball. They may have swept. I don't know, I'm writing this before the Sunday night game even started.

The point is...even if the Astros aren't flat-out dominating like they were last year, they're still not to be slept on. At all.

For one, the emphasis isn't even on Jose Altuve anymore. It's on Alex Bregman. After a great rookie year last year, he's carrying the team in the absence of the formerly immortal Altuve-Correa-Springer combo, all three of which spent time on the DL this year. He's been a maniac at the plate, a smart defensive player, and the kind of versatile that reminds people of 2017.

Plus, even with the DL stint from Lance McCullers, a new fifth man has emerged in the sturdy, impressive Framber Valdez, who, while not to the caliber of Verlander, Cole, Morton or Keuchel, is still making sure teams can't just rely on the fifth day to attack. The bullpen has also improved, giving the ninth to Hector Rendon with full trust, and still having people like Roberto Osuna, Chris Devenski and Collin McHugh on standby just in case. It might even be a bit more shapely than their 2017 bullpen.

Martin Maldonado is looking more and more like a starting catcher. Tyler White and Tony Kemp have been phenomenal off the bench. This team is looking very strong, and they're approaching a postseason where they'll be second seed, and playing a team that's been on autopilot for the last two months. People should be scared. This team could make it back to the World Series. It's not definite yet, but it could happen.

Coming Tonight: The team they played last November, and their bearded third baseman.

Playoffs Update: Where are we now?

We're 2 games into every series, and while I could kind of see how some of them are going to go...at least one of them is pretty open-ended. At least the Nationals were kind enough to win a game last night, so it wouldn't be yet another 3-game NLDS.

At this point, I'm rooting for either one of them to take it, because I enjoy the Cubs, but I also want the Nats to finally get further in the playoffs. So I'm glad that one's tied. As for the other ones...

Yeah, that bit I had about the D-Backs coming alive...not really happening, is it? I mean, they're giving their all, but the Dodgers seem to be 20 steps ahead, and everybody, even the bench, is going wild on them.

If they win Monday night, Arizona's done, series starts in LA. You're handing the best team in baseball the momentum if that happens. I kinda want the D-Backs to win one more, just so the Nats/Cubs can have a leg up.

Meanwhile, in the AL...

Again, I saw it coming, that the Astros would be dominating Boston....but not like this. This is embarrassing. Boston's falling apart at the seams, and they're a shell of the team that won the division. It's gonna take one more great game by Houston to finish them off, and...it's looking like that game might be today.

And then...

Yeah, to be honest, I saw this one coming too.

The Yankees had no chance. We're a good team, but...the Indians are 1st seed for a reason, and they've been killing us even when we've thought we had it. Today, we're gonna have to play for our lives, and even then, if we do win, I still don't think we have the series. The Indians are just too good, and they might have the Series. Even if they do win, I can't root against them.

So that's the picture. Let's see if it changes tonight.