Category: Yankees Players (Page 2 of 2)

Luis Severino Sent Down to Triple-A

June 6, 2016 /

The thought of Luis Severino being the next ace in the Yankee rotation needs to be put on hold. Immediately after being taken off the disabled list for his tricep injury he was sent down to the Yankees triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

severinoThe Yankees front office, as well as the loyal Yankees fans, all had very high hopes for Severino this season. Unfortunately, he has not lived up to the hype…at all.

He finished the 2015 season at 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA and things were looking bright for the young pitcher.  However, so far this season he has been one of the worst starting pitchers in all of baseball. His ERA of 7.46 lands him as the second poorest pitcher with at least 35 innings pitch in all of baseball.

The Yankees are sending him down in hopes of reviving the magic that he brought to the mound last season. Remember that Severino is only 22 years old, so it’s not the end of the world that he started off the season poorly. Judging by the cool, composed attitude that he brought to the mound last year, I don’t think there’s any reason for fans to worry. I think he’ll come around and be back in the rotation in a couple months

~ Gregory Hold

The Future of A-Rod

June 6, 2016 /

Alex Rodriguez being benched two straight games certainly raises some questions from fans. I can say with certainty that Alex Rodriguez is one of the best baseball players of this era, but is his run finally coming to an end? Playing only as a DH this season, A-Rod is hitting an abysmal .170 while driving in only 14 runs. At his age, even though he has always been lauded for his work ethic, it could be very difficult for him to turn things around.

arodHowever, Joe Girardi stated that he’s not giving up on A-Rod. “If I don’t play him, then everyone thinks he is done, and I don’t necessarily think that,” says Girardi. He also added that he still thinks that A-Rod can be productive for the team this season. I agree with what Girardi is saying. While I don’t think A-Rod should be an everyday player, I do still think, if used effectively, he could add production to the Yankees lineup and help them win games. The front office certainly hopes so as well, as A-Rod is still owed $42 million over the rest of this season and next.

We all know how hot and cold streaks rule the game, so here’s to hoping that A-Rod uses his back to back benching as motivation and starts hitting the ball.

~ Gregory Hold

Sabathia Brilliant Despite Losing Record

June 6, 2016 /

There were a lot of question marks next to the name C.C. Sabathia before the season started. No one really knew what to expect out of him. Would he be the ace of old or the out-of-shape, “average” pitcher that he has been the past couple of years. His performance so far this season has undoubtedly shown shades of the ace of old.sabathia

Despite sporting a losing record of 3-4, Sabathia leads the Yankees rotation with an ERA of 2.85 through 8 starts. While he isn’t striking out as many batters as he used to, he is finding a way to keep the ball inside the park. He’s only given up 2 home runs so far this season while the rest of the Yankees starters have given up 38 total homers. He’s also been extremely consistent, never giving up more than three earned runs in a start.

Now the reason he has a losing record is another story. The lack of production from the Yankees lineup. In his four loses, the Yanks have put up a total of only 6 runs. Come on offense, give the big guy some support! Hopefully Sabathia stays healthy and keeps up this stellar performance as we get deeper into the season.

~ Gregory Hold

Player Spotlight: Didi Gregorius

April 18, 2016 /

Since it’s been a little over a year since the captain decided to hang up his cleats, I figure it’s a good time to take a look at his replacement, Didi Gregorius. Let’s start out by looking at his stats from the 2015 MLB season:

GP: 155

AB: 525

R: 57

H: 139

2B: 24

HR: 9

RBI: 56

AVG: .265

It’s hard to deny that Didi had a solid season last year. While these aren’t comparable to Jeter numbers (even in his first season as Yankee), it’s hard to complain. He hit .02 points above the average of all qualified shortstops last season, which is a promising statistics What I’d like to see from him is a little more power. He’s a big guy, standing at 6’3”, so the potential is certainly there for him to go off for a 20 home run season.

Didi Gregorius New York Yankees shortstop

Didi Gregorius

So far this season Gregorius has gotten off to a hot start, hitting .333 through 5 games with 3 RBI’s and a homerun. I expect him to improve on most if not all of his numbers from last year as he should be settled in now and there’s less pressure for him to follow in Jeter’s footsteps.

~Gregory Hold

Report: Nick Swisher Nearing Minor League Contract

April 11, 2016 /

Veteran utility player Nick Swisher is reportedly close to striking a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. Swisher, 35 was a key part of the Yankees World Series winning roster in 2009, hitting 29 home runs and driving home 82 RBI’s. He should provide the Yankees with increased depth at first base, outfield, and DH. While it can be argued that the Yankees already have adequate depth at these positions, Manager Joe Girardi has always stressed how important depth is to a successful baseball team.

While Swisher has had declining mobility over the past couple of years due to a recent knee surgery, he could still provide the team with some serious power. This will be an interesting story to follow, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well Swish performs in the minors and if he gets another chance to help the Yankees reach the postseason.

~Gregory Hold

Reactions: Back End of the Starting Pitching Rotation

March 28, 2016 /

Overall, the bag end of the starting staff performed pretty average in my eyes. There were some flashes of strong promise and some things that just made me shake my head. Here are my reactions:

New York Yankees C.C. Sabathia - Gregory Hold

C.C. Sabathia in 2011. Credit Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Eovaldi: Another subpar start by a pitcher who is expected to do big things this season. Eovaldi gave up five earned on six hits through 5 innings pitched. He most notably gave up back to back home runs in the second inning to put the Yanks in an early hole. He was able to strike out 7 and the Yankees did come back to win the game, so I guess there’s no reason to be too upset with his performance.

Severino: While Severino got absolutely no help from the Yankees bats, he didn’t do himself any favors either, and quite frankly should have suffered an ERA much worse than he did. He got smacked for 10 hits over 5 innings of work, however only conceded 3 earned runs. His ability to get out of jams was promising, but I think we would all have much less anxiety if he didn’t get into the jams in the first place.

Sabathia: Leave it to C.C. to have the Yankees best start over the first 5 games of the season. Sabathia put in a very solid 6 innings of work, giving up three earned runs on four hits. A worry for fans however is the four walks that he conceded. Control has always been a bit of an issue for C.C., so hopefully this season it’s not any worse than it has been in the past. Either way, his start to the season was more promising than anything.

~Gregory Hold

Castro an Early Season Spark for Yanks

March 20, 2016 /

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’m excited for Starlin Castro’s arrival to New York, and so far he’s certainly lived up to expectations. Throughout the team’s first five games, Castro hit at a .450 clip, while leading the team with 8 RBI’s. He is also tied for the team lead with 2 home runs. His stats don’t even tell the whole story. Watching him play throughout the first week of the season showed me what he has a real passion for the game, and that’s really all you can ask for from a member of your team.

Gregory Hold Yankees Starlin Castro

Starlin Castro

It will be interesting to see where the Yankees decide to settle him into the lineup. He batted 8th in the team’s first 3 games. He jumped up to the 3 spot in game number four before being pushed back to batting 7th in the fifth game of the season. If he continues to bat the way he is it wouldn’t surprise me to see him permanently at the beginning of the lineup, but with all the big bats the Yankees have, it is hard situation to manage.

~Gregory Hold

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