Yankees starting rotation ranked No. 2 by Bleacher Report

The New York Yankees starting rotation has a lot of expectations for the 2020 season and got some high praise from Bleacher Report.

The start of the 2020 season for the New York Yankees and the rest of Major League Baseball remains unclear. Amid the coronavirus outbreak, there isn’t much certainty in the world of sports right now. But that’s not keeping people from analyzing what might be in 2020.

Though we should have already been two weeks into the regular season, no baseball has begun yet. Despite this, Bleacher Report ranked every starting rotation entering the 2020 season. Thanks to their acquisition of Gerrit Cole this offseason, the Yankees came in at No. 2 overall in the rankings.

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Here’s what Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller had to say:

Like the Rangers, the Yankees are looking to make a huge leap up the pitching rankings because of a stud they acquired this offseason.

Cole racked up 602 strikeouts with a 2.68 ERA in 412.2 IP over the past two seasons in Houston. His K/9 rate was the best in the majors both seasons, and it’s hard to believe he didn’t win the Cy Young in either season, let alone both of them. Per FanGraphs, only Jacob deGrom (16.0 WAR) and Max Scherzer (14.0) have been better than Cole (13.4) since the start of 2018, and they both pitch in the NL East.

They needed a guy like Cole, though, because Luis Severino missed almost all of the 2019 season with a shoulder injury and is going to miss all of 2020 following Tommy John surgery in February. Paxton, Tanaka and Happ are high quality options as the Nos. 2-4 starters, but the Yankees would’ve been down in the 12-15 range if those three guys were their top options.

The signing of Cole cannot be understated. It did wonders for the entire roster—not just the starting rotation. Having one of the best aces in the game certainly holds weight when being compared to the rest of the league. The Yankees got some tough news with Severino’s torn UCL. But having Cole softens the blow.

One name to keep an eye on will be Jordan Montgomery. The southpaw is in line to be the No. 4 or 5 starter in the rotation. His presence and production hold a major key to success whenever games resume this season. Having Cole is wonderful, but the back end of the rotation has to step up as well.

It will be interesting to see how much of a strength the Yankees rotation will be in 2020. Despite not having Severino, the Yankees rotation is still primed for success whenever the new season officially arrives.