No team in the American League is deeper than the New York Yankees.
The Yankees are red hot. New York enters Friday riding a six-game winning streak that’s seen them score 48 runs. In addition, the Yankees are finally at full strength as Giancarlo Stanton returned Tuesday and Aaron Judge is set to return Friday.
This past Monday, the Yankees added the power bat of Edwin Encarnacion to the lineup, and in four games he’s already walked the parrot around the bases twice with a pair of homers.
The Bombers’ lineup is flat out dangerous. Not to mention their bench depth is off the charts as well. The Yankees will have Cameron Maybin and Brett Gardner both in reserve roles. On most rosters, both would surely be starters. The bench also features solid back-up catcher Austin Romine and one of baseball’s best stories in Gio Urshela.
With their bench depth, the Yankees will be able to provide plenty of rest for their veteran players and those working their way back from injury without missing a beat.
As for the pitching, the starting rotation has had their up’s and down’s in June. However, when looking at the numbers, it’s hard not to like what the club’s starting staff has done in 2019.
Masahiro Tanaka, who threw a complete game shut out in his last start, has pitched to a 3.23 ERA so far this season. This is far below his carer ERA of 3.56, putting him on pace for one of the best years of his carer.
Despite a high ERA, the Yankees are winning most of J.A. Happ’s starts. The team is 11-4 when Happ takes the ball including a 7-1 record against the AL East. The veteran goes out and eats innings as the offense does their job. James Paxton is still working his way back from a knee injury but has shown flashes of ace potential all season.
With CC Sabathia at the back end of the rotation and Domingo German being likely to return soon, the Yankees rotation is stable and will only improve when Brian Cashman makes a trade at the deadline for a front line arm.
Then there’s the lockdown bullpen. Give the Yankees a lead after five and the game is almost always over. Tommy Kanhle, Adam Ottaviano, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman have all done an outstanding job this season. Dellin Betances still may return this season to make the pen even deeper, but if not, look for Cashman to add one more arm.
All in all, be proud Yankees fans. Cashman and company have built an absolute juggernaut. This team from top to bottom as good as anyone in baseball.