The New York Yankees are once again making the biggest moves in baseball. They traded for the best power hitter in the Majors and only gave up Starlin Castro and some ‘okay’ prospects. The Marlins just wanted to get rid of Giancarlo Stanton’s massive contract and the Yankees obliged.
Youth is a huge key to the Yankees success. They need their future stars like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez to keep improving. Judge was making hard contact with every ball that met his bat, but strikeouts were a huge issue down the stretch. Can he cut down on strikeouts and keep his power stroke?
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 91-71
Key Additions: OF Giancarlo Stanton, 3B Brandon Drury, 2B Neil Walker, RP David Hale, SP Wade LeBlanc & 2B Jace Peterson
Key Losses: 2B Starlin Castro, SP Michael Pineda, 3B Chase Headley, 3B Todd Frazier, SP Jaime Garcia, OF Matt Holliday, 3B Garrett Cooper & SP Bryan Mitchell
Interleague Schedule: NL East
Projected Starters: Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Ronald Torreyes, Brandon Drury, Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton
Projected Starting Rotation: Luis Severino, Sonny Gray, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia & Jordan Montgomery
Closer: Aroldis Chapman
Fantasy Sleeper: 1B Greg Bird – Bird was one of the most coveted young players going into last season. He struggled mightily and was sent down to the minors for quite awhile. He also struggled with injuries and just couldn’t stay healthy. He has power upside, but he could also fall flat on his face again. The Yankees have a ton of power in the lineup, so maybe they could place him somewhere in it that would protect him. I fear he could end up in a platoon if he struggles again. The upside is still hard to ignore.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: SP Chance Adams – The Yankees have some homegrown talent in the minors that are almost ready to be called-up. Unfortunately for the position players, there aren’t many at-bats available. There are some spots in the bullpen and starting rotation that could open up throughout the season. Adams is their best pitching prospect and was very good in Triple-A last season. He had an ERA of 2.89 and batters couldn’t get hard contact off of him. He did walk a few too many batters, but due to the lack of hits, his WHIP was still under 1.10. He should start the year back in Triple-A as he works on his off-speed stuff.
Team Analysis: The Yankees could set a record for most home runs by a team in a season. They are just loaded with 20+ homer guys, plus they have monsters like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Pitchers will have a hard time keeping the ball inside the park against the Bronx Bombers this season.
The Yankees kept their starting rotation intact this offseason and didn’t do anything to upgrade it. I would have loved to have seen them sign someone like Lance Lynn or Jake Arrieta to bolster the back-end, but they are keeping Tanaka and Montgomery in those spots.
The bullpen has two talented, former closers breathing down the neck of Aroldis Chapman. Dellin Betances and David Robertson could both step into the role if Chapman struggles as much as he did late last season. They have one of the best bullpens in the league, so even if the back-end of the rotation struggles, they could go to the bullpen early and still be okay.
The AL East is basically the Yankees and Red Sox again. The Blue Jays and Orioles are still competitive, but I don’t see them sticking around in the playoff race. The Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is as hot as ever as they are currently in an arms race. Both teams are spending loads of money. I have Boston ahead of them at the end of the season due to their experienced and talented starting rotation.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 94.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 94-68 (2nd in AL East)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.