With almost 80 games now in the rear-view mirror for the New York Yankees, it is time to see which players have played pivotal roles in the team’s success. Let’s cut to the chase.
Rookie of the Year Award: Gleyber Torres
- One thing kept standing out at me when looking at Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar‘s numbers thus far. I just couldn’t get past the 23 doubles that Andujar has hit through 67 games. I then glanced through the rest of their stats and decided that you can flip a coin for which one wins this award. But then I took a deeper look at the whole body of work and zoned in on both Gleyber and Miguel’s performance with Runners In Scoring Position. Gleyber Torres not only dominated this category in comparison to Andujar, but it is safe to say that the New York Yankees best hitter with RISP is Gleyber Torres. Take a look at the numbers between the two players and notice the difference, also notice that Gleyber Torres gets even BETTER when there are two outs with RISP. This no longer is a coin flip.
- Gleyber Torres (RISP) – 52 AB, .346 BA, .417 OBP, 1.147 OPS.
- Gleyber Torres (RISP w/ 2 Outs) – 24 AB, .375 BA, .464 OBP, 1.131 OPS
- Miguel Andujar (RISP) – 53 AB, .208 BA, .267 OBP, .644 OPS.
- Miguel Andujar (RISP w/ 2 Outs) – 23 AB, .130 BA, .231 OBP, .361 OPS
- Runner-Up: Miguel Andujar
AL ROY Candidates:
Miguel Andujar: 53 G, 21 Doubles, 8 HRs, 28 RBIs, .301 BA, .332 OBP, .867 OPS
Gleyber Torres: 41 G, 5 Doubles, 11 HR, 29 RBIs, .302 BA, .359 OBP, .913 OPS
— ᴍᴘ (@MarkAPier) June 10, 2018
Most Improved Player Award: Jonathan Holder
- Meet the 2017 Chad Green. Jonathan Holder has emerged as one of the Yankees best relievers this season. In 2017, he appeared in 37 games and posted a 3.89 ERA. While he was showing signs of promise, his 1.347 WHIP last season sums up how he would get himself in jams far too often for a middle reliever. Through 25 games this year, Holder leads all Yankees relief pitchers with a 0.682 WHIP which has resulted in an ERA of just 1.84. Holder has hit his stride at an opportune time with both Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren missing time during the first half of the season.
- Runner-Up: Austin Romine
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Reliever of the Half Award: Aroldis Chapman
- Remember how long it took for Aroldis Chapman to get going in 2017? Well, he has not wasted any time being the lights out closer that the Yankees have paid him to be so far this season. Chapman leads all Yankees relievers with an ERA of 1.29 while shutting the door on 23 of 24 save opportunities. His WHIP of 0.857 trails behind only Jonathan Holder (0.682) while his K/9 of 15.4 trails only Dellin Betances who currently sits at 15.9. It wasn’t until Chapman’s 35th appearance this past Monday that he surrendered his first home run of the season. Luckily, it came at a time where the Yankees had a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning. The Yankees fan base has regained full confidence going into the ninth inning thanks to Aroldis.
- Runner-Up: Jonathan Holder/Dellin Betances
Cy Young Award: Luis Severino
- This is a no-brainer. Luis Severino has been a breath of fresh air every five days for this 2018 Yankees pitching staff. Aside from leading the Yankees staff, Severino leads all of Major League Baseball with 12 Wins. Severino has gone at least five innings or more in all 17 of his starts and has pitched through the seventh inning in eight of his 17 starts this seasons. In addition to chalking him up as the Cy Young for the Yankees halfway through the year, it is time to seriously consider him for the AL Cy Young as he ranks first in wins (12), second in ERA (2.10), fourth in WHIP (0.96), and sixth in K/9 (10.6).
- Runner-Up: Aroldis Chapman
Most Valuable Player Award: Luis Severino
- I went back and forth on this multiple times and initially gave the edge to Aaron Judge as the MVP halfway through the season. After all, he has been the New York Yankees best and most consistent hitter this season. However, I then asked myself this question: If Luis Severino or Aaron Judge were to go down with a season-ending injury tomorrow, which would hurt this team more? While this is a morbid question to ask, my answer was clear, losing Luis Severino would be the most disastrous thing to happen to this Yankees team who is looking win their first world championship since 2009. The Yankees have one ace on this pitching staff and that is Luis Severino. While losing Judge would be detrimental to the success of this team, there are still other bats that can come alive to lessen the blow. I just can’t say the same when it comes to the starting pitching staff. Also, Severino’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 4.4 which ranks seventh in all of baseball supports the claim that he is our MVP.
- Runner-Up: Aaron Judge
Yankees MVP half way through the season:
— ᴍᴘ (@MarkAPier) June 27, 2018