River Avenue Blues

Yankeemetrics: Road Bombers Rolling (June 4-6)

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(UPI)

Severino goes beast-mode
The Yankees three-city road trip continued with a short stop in Detroit for a double-header on Monday, their first twinbill against the Tigers since May 12, 2010. They took the afternoon contest thanks to another brilliant start by Ace Severino, who was backed up by one of the Bronx Bombers’ patented explosive innings at the plate in the 7-4 victory.

After the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the first, the Yankees knotted it up at 1-1 in the third with another clutch homer by Gleyber Torres, the 10th of his career. At 21 years and 173 days old, he became the second-youngest Yankee to reach double-digit home runs, trailing Mickey Mantle (19 years, 323 days) and just ahead of Joe DiMaggio (21 years, 216 days). That’s quite the legendary pinstripe sandwich (sorry!).

Greg Bird untied the game with his own solo homer in the fourth inning, sparking a six-run frame during which the Yankees had six straight hits before the Tigers even got one out. Obscure, yet sweet, stat alert: It was the fourth game that the Yankees scored at least six runs in an inning, tied with the Cubs and Astros for the most such games in MLB (through Monday).

Severino was a beast on the mound, mowing down the Tigers lineup after a first-inning hiccup, as he went eight innings while allowing two runs (one earned) with 10 strikeouts and no walks. In other words, just another typical Sevy gem:

And just for fun … the only other Yankee pitcher to strike out at least 10 guys, walk none and allow one earned run or fewer in a game against the Tigers was Roger Clemens on July 19, 2000.

(AP)

Two is not enough
The bats went cold in the nightcap as the Yankees dropped the second game in Motown, 4-2, in one of their more frustrating losses of the season. They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, left 10 men on base, and twice loaded the bases without plating a run.

The split meant that the Yankees still haven’t swept a twinbill since April 16, 2014 against the Cubs, an eight-doubleheader sweepless drought that is the longest by a Yankee team in nearly 50 years (14 straight in 1969-70).

Miguel Andujar provided one of the few offensive highlights with two booming doubles, his team-leading 19th and 20th two-baggers of the season. He is the eighth Yankee since 1908 to reach 20 doubles this early into the season, and the only rookie in that group.

It’s only the first week of June, but he is already the first Yankee rookie third baseman with 20 doubles in a season since Gil McDougald, who would go on to win AL Rookie of the Year in 1951 to kick off a productive (yet largely forgotten) 10-year career in pinstripes.

While Miggy was spraying balls into the gap, Aaron Judge was whiffing and watching called strikes pass by him at the plate. He got his first career five-strikeout game on Monday night, and combined with his three punchouts in the afternoon game, became the unfortunate record-holder for the most strikeouts by a player in a doubleheader. Six guys previously had struck out seven times in a twinbill, and the most recent one was Shea Hillenbrand on Sept. 27, 2005.

(Getty)

#PapaSlam
The final leg of their road trip to them north of the border to the Rogers Centre, a place that had recently been a house of horrors for the Yankees. Entering the series they were 8-16 at the venue since the start of 2016, their worst record at any AL ballpark over the last three seasons. A combo of Baby Bomber power and Vintage Veteran pitching helped the Yankees get a rare win there on Tuesday.

CC Sabathia rebounded from an awful four-start stretch to deliver a turn-back-the-clock performance that was reminiscent of the pitcher who had a 1.39 ERA through his first six starts of the season. He kept the Blue Jays off the board through the fifth inning, and the only runs he gave up were on two solo homers in the sixth and seventh frames.

Facing an all-righty (including switch-hitters) lineup, Sabathia relied on his changeup — a season-high 20.2 percent usage rate — to complement his other off-speed pitches, and the pitch was super-effective for him. It was all about location, location, location, as he pounded the outer edge of the zone:

None of his 18 changeups resulted in a hit or walk, and they netted him four called strikes, four swinging strikes, a couple foul strikes and just three balls hit into play with an average exit velocity of 70.8 mph.

It was Sabathia’s 240th career regular-season win, matching Frank Tanana for 55th place on the all-time MLB list, and his 123rd regular-season win in pinstripes, tying Mike Mussina for 12th place on the all-time franchise list.

Miguel Andujar made sure that Sabathia earned the win, crushing his first career grand slam in the seventh inning that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead. Let’s celebrate with our traditional bullet-point salute:

  • Youngest Yankee with a go-ahead grand slam in the 7th inning or later since a 20-year-old Mickey Mantle did it on July 29, 1952.
  • Third rookie third baseman in franchise history to hit a grand slam, joining Mike Pagliarulo (1984) and Horace Clarke (1965).
  • First Yankee since Dave Winfield (1987) to hit a go-ahead grand slam against the Blue Jays when trailing in the game.
(AP)

Lucky No. 13
Another day, another game, another drama-filled and stunning win for the Yankees. Ho Hum.

The Fighting Spirit was strong on Wednesday night as the Yankees capped off their mini-sweep in Toronto with a 3-0 win in 13 innings. The only other time in the last 25 years that the Yankees beat the Blue Jays in a game that went 13 or more innings was April 19, 2001, a 6-5 win that lasted until the 17th. Neither team put any runs on the board until the Bronx Bombers exploded for three in the 13th. This was the 623rd game played between the Yankees and Blue Jays, and the first one that was scoreless through nine innings.

Aaron Judge wore the hero’s cape after his 404-foot monster blast to center untied the 0-0 game in the top of the 13th inning.

The only other Yankees in the last 90 years to break a scoreless tie with a homer in the 13th inning or later were Alex Rodriguez, who hit a 15th-inning walk-off homer on August 7, 2009 against the Red Sox, and Bill Skowron, who hit a solo shot in the top of the 14th on April 22, 1959 to beat the Senators.

Perhaps the most amazing stat of the game: this was Judge’s first career extra-inning hit of any kind; he was 0-for-14 with 10 strikeouts in extras prior to the homer on Wednesday night.

Giancarlo Stanton added an insurance run in the 13th inning with a 119.3 mph laser shot into the left-field seats. Not only was it the hardest-hit homer by any player this season, it was also the hardest-hit extra-inning homer hit by any player since Statcast tracking began in 2015.

Lost in the extra-inning madness was an outstanding gem thrown by Sonny Gray, who retired the first 12 batters he faced and allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings. It was the first time in 25 starts as a Yankee (including the postseason) that he didn’t give up a run.

2018 Draft: Yankees go heavy on catchers and college players on Day Three

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Marceaux. (Christian J Stewart/WBSC)

The 2018 amateur draft is now complete. A total of 1,214 players were picked these last three days, including 40 by the Yankees. Believe it or not, not one of those 40 is a Southern California kid. Crazy. It was a down year for SoCal overall, but I still figured scouting director Damon Oppenheimer would find someone he liked out there. Guess not. Anyway, here are my Day One and Day Two draft recaps. Let’s review the Yankees’ Day Three haul.

The Best Day Three Prospect

The best prospect the Yankees drafted yesterday is Louisiana HS RHP Landon Marceaux (37th round), who went into the draft as a potential top three rounds pick on talent. His commitment to LSU was considered borderline unbreakable, however, so I wouldn’t count on the Yankees being able to convince Marceaux to turn pro. This was one of those “hey, we’re interested in case you change your mind, otherwise we’ll touch base again in a few years” pick.

Marceaux is a 6-foot-1 right-hander with excellent command and pitchability. He really knows how to work both sides of the plate and set hitters up. His fastball is mostly 88-92 mph right now and his best pitch is a snapdragon curveball. Add in a quality changeup and a slider, and you’ve got a kid who could come out of college as a first round pick in three years. It seems to me the Yankees have some extra bonus pool space to spend on a Day Three prospect. I really doubt they have enough to convince Marceaux to pass on LSU and turn pro though.

The Top Prep Catchers

Even after selecting George HS C Anthony Seigler and Texas JuCo C Josh Breaux in the first and second rounds, respectively, the Yankees really attacked their organizational weakness at catcher on Day Three. They drafted four more catchers in rounds 11-40, including two from the high school ranks with considerable upside. Will the Yankees sign either of them? We’ll see.

Nevada HS C Austin Wells (35th) was one of the top high school catchers in the draft class thanks to his well-rounded skill set. The problem? He’s been nursing an elbow injury all spring and hasn’t been able to throw. When healthy, Wells has a cannon and he’s very accurate. He can hit too. He’s a lefty with some pop and a sound approach. Had he been healthy, Wells might’ve gone on Day One this year. Instead, it’s likely he’ll follow through on his commitment to Arizona, and he could be one of the top college catchers on the draft board in three years.

The other top prep catcher, Connecticut HS C Patrick Winkel (31st), is a very advanced receiver for a high schooler, especially one from a cold weather state. He’s a very good thrower and he’s had no trouble catching elite pitching in showcase events. Winkel can catch. It’s unclear whether he’ll hit. He has an uppercut swing from the left side and needs to iron that out, as well as develop more discipline. Winkel is committed to UConn and, like Wells, he was considered a tough sign going into the draft.

It’s also worth noting the Yankees selected another prep catcher, Idaho HS C Alex Guerrero (18th), who is rough around the edges defensively but can really hit from the left side. Unlike Wells and Winkel, Guerrero is expected to turn pro. He told Michael Lycklama he is “99.999% sure” he’ll sign. “It being the Yankees, it’s a big deal … It’s a crazy feeling to even be considered a part of that history,” said Guerrero.

The College Bats

In an effort to find the next Steven Sensley, the Yankees grabbed several college position players with strong track records of performance on Day Three. George Washington 3B Isaiah Pasteur (13th) managed a .331/.398/.589 batting line with eleven homers and 31 steals in 57 games this spring, and when you add solid hot corner defense to the mix, you get one of the most intriguing college senior position players in the draft class.

VMI OF Matt Pita (12th) hit .389/.459/.721 with 14 homers and 23 steals in 53 games this spring, and Tennessee Tech OF Alex Junior (19th) put up a .326/.458/.494 batting line with seven homers. Bryant 1B Mickey Gasper (27th) hit .340/.468/.539 with eight homers in 56 games. Interestingly enough, Gasper was a catcher all four years in school, but the Yankees announced him as a first baseman. Hmmm.

West Virginia 2B Kyle Gray (14th) hit .374/.462/.677 with 14 homers and ten steals in 55 games this spring, and that’s after hitting three home runs total in 110 games his freshman and sophomore seasons. Gray told Brett Barrett he adjusted his approached this year. “I’ve worked on having a better approach when it comes to certain counts, allowing fastballs to be driven the other way. That way I’m timing up off-speed when it shows up, and being able to keep it to the middle of the field,” he said. Here’s that new approach in action:

Gray showed good on-base ability and defense before this year’s power breakout. The Yankees are betting a 14th round pick the power is here to stay. Not a bad idea. Pasteur, Pita, Gasper, Gray, and Junior are all expected to sign.

Arms of Note

The Yankees did not load up on power arms on Day Three like they have in recent years. At least not as much, anyway. The hardest thrower the Yankees selected yesterday is South Carolina JuCo RHP Tanner Myatt (11th), who stands 6-foot-7 and 220 lbs., and sat 94-96 mph this spring. He touched 99 mph and also showed a decent slider. He walked 16 in 26.1 innings though, so finding the plate is an issue.

Miami (Ohio) RHP Nick Ernst (15th) was on his way to being a Day Two pick this spring when his elbow gave out and he needed Tommy Johns surgery. He made only two starts before getting hurt. Before the injury, Ernst was working at 91-94 mph with a quality slider. I’m curious to see whether he takes the money now, or goes back to school and tries to rebuild stock next spring. The timing of the injury means he won’t return until next April, so he won’t have much time to showcase himself, plus his leverage will be low as a senior. We’ll see.

The Yankees grabbed another Tommy John surgery guy in Vanderbilt RHP Justin Wilson (23rd), though Wilson had his surgery two years ago, and he returned to the mound this spring. Between the injury and a deep Vanderbilt staff, Wilson threw only six relief innings this year, which was apparently enough to convince the Yankees to draft him. Prior to the injury he worked in the low-to-mid-90s and had both a curveball and changeup. If he signs, Wilson could be a real nice late-round get for the Yankees. Vanderbilt doesn’t recruit nobodies.

Brown. (Georgia Athletics)

Georgia Southern RHP Blakely Brown (24th) is another guy who didn’t pitch this spring, but not because of injuries. He transferred from Georgia and had to sit out the season due to the NCAA’s dumb transfer rules. Brown reached the mid-90s on the regular and also showed a great curveball last time he actually pitched. Even with zero innings this season, the Yankees might be willing to pay Brown more now than he’d get as a senior next spring. Curious to see what happens here.

Florida HS RHP Jack Anderson (36th) and Florida HS LHP Brady Allen (39th) strike me as guys who are better off going to college than signing. Anderson has a good frame (6-foot-2 and 170 lbs.) and he’s sitting mostly 87-89 mph right now, and neither his breaking ball nor his changeup are reliable pitches yet. Allen is also an upper-80s guy who is figuring out secondaries. Three years of college seems like the best thing for their development. Pro ball might be too much to ask right now.

The Rest of the Draft Class

Texas-San Antonio RHP Derek Craft (16th) is a fastball-slider reliever who went from 5.6 K/9 as a freshman and sophomore to 10.7 K/9 as a junior, so that’s something to watch … Arkansas RHP Barrett Loseke (17th) has the type of control issues typically associated with a hard-thrower despite sitting mostly 90-92 mph … Tennessee Tech RHP Marcus Evey (20th) is mostly low-90s with okay feel for a breaking ball … British Columbia 3B Mitch Robinson (21st) has some pop and did catch a bit back in the day … Louisiana-Monroe RHP Keegan Curtis (22nd) and Dallas Baptist RHP Sean Boyle (25th) are college swingmen with good strikeout numbers … St. Mary’s C Jackson Thoreson (26th) is a veteran senior catcher who will be asked to guide young pitchers in pro ball … Gardner-Webb RHP Tyler Johnson (30th) shows three pitches and could be a reliever-to-starter conversion candidate … North Carolina HS SS Sincere Smith (32nd) is a very athletic but raw baseball/football guy … Northeastern 3B Max Burt (28th), Stevens Institute RHP Chuck Ruegger (33rd), Belmont Abbey 2B Matt McGarry (34th), Boston College LHP Dan Metzdorf (38th), and Brown RHP Reid Anderson (40th) are all depth guys.

* * *

You can see all of the Yankees’ picks here. The Yankees selected 40 players in the 2018 draft, 29 of them college kids. Nine were high schoolers and two came from the junior college ranks. Twenty-four of the 40 players are pitchers (21 righties), six are catchers, four are outfielders, two are second basemen, two are third basemen, one’s a shortstop and one’s a first basemen. While I don’t think Seigler (or Breaux) was drafted to fill an organizational need, the Yankees definitely picked grabbed a good amount of catchers this draft. They’re needed in the farm system.

Yankees win in 13 innings behind Judge and Stanton’s homers

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Remember how I said yesterday’s game was relatively stress-free? This one wasn’t like that. It was a deadlock tie for the first 12 innings with several scoring chances that the Yankees could’ve taken advantage of. Thankfully, New York ended it in a loud way with home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the 13th inning. Oh, and Sonny Gray was also really, really good and so was the bullpen. Can’t forget those guys. Overall, good win, and the Yankees have 40 of those this season and it’s only June 6. Let’s recap this thing.

(Getty Images)

An anatomy of Gray’s start

Sonny Gray is starting to turn the narrative around this season. After a rough start, he’s pitched a quality start five times out of the past seven starts. Going eight scoreless, tonight’s game might have been his best in 2018.

Gray started the game with four perfect innings. The perfect game bid broke in the fifth with a Justin Smoak leadoff double. That frame also happened to be the most trouble Gray got into. After the Smoak double, Kendrys Morales hit a single to put two runners in corners with no out. Kevin Pillar hit a grounder right at Miguel Andujar and the young third baseman wisely threw home for a force out. Smoak is not a fast runner and that run the Yanks prevented turned out to be huge (though you can never tell how the game would’ve unfolded in a different scenario). Gray followed up with a walk to Russell Martin to load the bases but induced an inning-ending GIDP from Devon Travis to end it.

A good diagnosis from tonight’s outing? Gray attacked the strike zone. Here is his pitch map from Baseball Savant:

99 pitches, 63 strikes. He did a pretty good job staying within the strike zone compared to when he’s having a bad day. Here’s his pitch map from May 26, when he allowed 5 ER in 3.2 IP versus the Angels:

A bit more all over the place here. Gray’s got an excellent stuff and it works wonders when he can locate it, and that was the case tonight. He went 8 innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 8. He brought his season ERA under 5 (4.81) and has a 3.38 ERA in his past 7 starts, which goes back to that road game versus the Astros.

The lucky 13th

Sam Gaviglio isn’t really a household name in Toronto, but he threw a heck of a start tonight. Coming into tonight’s game, Gaviglio had pitched in Triple-A and made three starts with the big club. He wouldn’t be a guy that the Jays would send out for a must-win game but he pitched like that guy.

Gaviglio isn’t really an electric stuff guy, but his low-zone sinker approach worked well. The Yankee batters hit an average of 81.3 mph exit velocity against him (per Baseball Savant). That doesn’t mean that the Yankees didn’t have opportunities though. In the second inning, Austin Romine hit a smash up the middle with runner on corners only to be robbed by Travis for a base hit and a sure RBI. In the fifth, they had the bases loaded with two outs, but Greg Bird grounded to first to end the threat.

Things turned for the dramatics in the 13th. Again, it is nice to have power in the lineup. As the Yanks approached the softer part of the Jays bullpen, John Gibbons sent out Joe Biagini, who hasn’t been great in 2018 (7.50 ERA in 8 games before tonight). After a Gleyber Torres strike out, Brett Gardner singled to get on base. On a 1-2 count, Judge hit a hanging curveball low in the zone for a two-run homer. Judge had been scuffling for a bit while – he had that 8 strikeout doubleheader game and was 0-for-4 before that home run – so it’s nice to see him breaking out of it. Getting the team a lead is nice too.

Two batters later, Giancarlo Stanton hit one of the most ridiculous homers of the season. On a 1-0 changeup, Stanton crushed the pitch into the left field seats for a 119.3 mph (!!), 416 feet home run. 3-0 Yankees.

There’s just something about Stanton homers. We often use terms like “punishes,” “smashes,” “pulverizes,” etc. We’re gonna need something else for him. He swings at baseballs like he’s angry at them.

Leftovers

Remember that “We bring the heat” commercial from spring? That was full on effect tonight. Chad Green, Dellin Betances, David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman combined for a 5.0 IP, 2 H, 7K outing. Robertson’s been slowly progressing to his usual self, allowing only one run in his past 7 appearances. His ERA has dropped from 4.91 to 4.08. Much more like it. Chapman is having a heck of a season so far. After the save tonight, he has a 1.3 fWAR, which is tied for the best in AL with Mariners’ Edwin Diaz. Chappy also has a 46 strikeout sand 11 walks in 25.2 IP in 2018. That’ll do.

How does a team go 12 innings without scoring? The 2-3-4-5-6 hitters of the Yankees lineup went a combined 0-for-22 prior to Judge and Stanton dingers (after that, they were 2-for-26). Greg Bird had a rough one, going 0-for-6. Austin Romine also had an 0-fer night, going 0-for-5.

Box score, highlights, standings and WPA

Here’s tonight’s box score, video highlights, updated standings and WPA.


Source: FanGraphs

The Yanks have a day off tomorrow and then they will head to Queens for a weekend series versus the Mets. Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to be on the mound against Jacob deGrom in Friday’s opener.

DotF: Frazier has big game, McKinney homers in AAA loss

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Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (10-5 loss to Durham)

  • SS Tyler Wade: 1-5, 2 K — seems like he’s been striking out a lot, but his 23.2 K% since being sent down isn’t too far out of line with last year’s 19.4 K% at this level
  • CF Clint Frazier: 3-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 CS
  • 3B Brandon Drury: 0-2, 3 BB, 1 K
  • LF Ronald Torreyes: 0-4, 1 R, 2 K — he played five total innings in right field with the Yankees the last two years … this is his first start in the outfield since 2015
  • RF Billy McKinney: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K — four homers in his last eight games
  • RHP Erik Swanson: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1/0 GB/FB — 44 of 66 pitches were strikes … 73/19 K/BB in 59.2 innings
  • RHP Brady Lail: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 2/1 GB/FB — 26 of 36 pitches were strikes (72%)
  • RHP Tommy Kahnle: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 10 of 15 pitches were strikes

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Game 58: End of the Road Trip, Kinda

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(Presswire)

The eleven-game turned nine-game road trip kinda sorta comes to an end today. The Yankees have an off-day tomorrow, then they’ll play three games against the Mets at Citi Field. Technically a road series, but it’s in New York, so the Yankees will be home. No travel, sleep in their own beds, and chances are the stands will be full of Yankees fans too. The road trip ends today even though it doesn’t.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. The Yankees have to take care of business tonight against the Blue Jays, in the second game of this quick two-game series. Sonny Gray will be on the mound and no one really knows what to expect from him every fifth days. He was pretty good against the Orioles over the weekend. Will he be good tonight? I hope so. The starters have been pretty good lately and I’d like that to continue. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Greg Bird
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. DH Gary Sanchez
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Sonny Gray

Toronto Blue Jays
1. RF Curtis Granderson
2. 3B Yangervis Solarte
3. LF Teoscar Hernandez
4. 1B Justin Smoak
5. DH Kendrys Morales
6. CF Kevin Pillar
7. C Russell Martin
8. 2B Devon Travis
9. SS Aledmys Diaz

RHP Sam Gaviglio

It is cool and cloudy in Toronto, so the Rogers Centre roof will probably be closed. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:07pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game.

Jonathan Loaisiga may be closer to helping the Yankees than it may appear

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(Getty)

Earlier this week the Yankees played a doubleheader in Detroit, and if not for Sunday’s rainout in Baltimore, they would’ve had to use a spot starter at some point. If not in the doubleheader than either yesterday or today. All the rainouts stink, but, in this case, it allowed the Yankees to avoid starting a minor league call-up.

The Yankees never did reveal the identity of the call-up starter, though, based on the schedule and the fact he’s already had two stints with the Yankees this season, David Hale seemed like a good guess. He started and threw 6.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton last Wednesday, so he was lined up perfectly to start in the doubleheader. I thought it would be Hale.

It’s possible, however, the Yankees had another — and much more fun! — idea in mind. Yesterday Double-A Trenton manager Jay Bell insinuated that right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga, a fast-riser in the farm system and my No. 5 prospect, was being prepped for a call-up in the days leading up to the doubleheader. From Greg Johnson:

“We were just giving him a little bit more time off, but there was a potential of some movement (in the system) there,” manager Jay Bell said. “You can read between the lines.”

…

“If I could tell you more, I’d tell you more,” Bell said. “But I just don’t know what I’m at liberty to talk about.”

Loaisiga started for Double-A Trenton last night and was excellent again (5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K), and it was his first start in nine days, which is what Bell was referring to with the “just giving him a little bit more time off” thing. The Yankees were holding him back in case they needed him for the doubleheader, basically. Happens all the time.

I think Loaisiga’s story is well-known by know, at least among RAB readers. He originally signed with the Giants way back in the day, they released him after some injuries, the Yankees signed him out of a tryout camp, and soon thereafter he needed Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old returned with his new elbow ligament last season and has been electric since. This year he has a 2.30 ERA (2.40 FIP) with 31.6% strikeouts and 2.3% walks in 43 innings split between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

It’s possible Loaisiga was only being held back as a backup plan, in case Hale couldn’t go or something like that. Or maybe Loaisiga was Plan A all along. He’s already on the 40-man roster, and while the Yankees do have an open spot, they may not have wanted to go through the process of re-adding then designating Hale yet again just to have him make one spot start. They’ve been down that road with him twice already this year. It’s a hassle.

Given the way they’ve operated the last few seasons, I’m of the belief Loaisiga was indeed Plan A. They’ve been going young wherever possible, even in short-term injury fill-in situations. Giving Loaisiga a spot start in a doubleheader would’ve been aggressive — the kid had barely pitched in full season ball prior to this season — but the stuff is good and he’s been pitching well of late, and if the Yankees think he’s mature enough to handle it, why not? I’m not sure Loaisiga is ready for full-time MLB duty, but one spot start isn’t the end of the world.

Sunday’s (and I guess Thursday’s as well) rainout eliminated the need for a spot starter in Monday’s doubleheader and that appears to have robbed Loaisiga of the opportunity to make his MLB debut. Sucks, but you know what? The Yankees have more doubleheaders coming this season (lots more), and the fact Loaisiga was apparently even being considered for a call-up speaks volumes. The Yankees really like the kid and think he can help right now. And, if that is truly the case, he’ll get a chance to pitch in the big leagues soon enough.

Recent rainouts do have some silver linings for the Yankees

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No mas. (Presswire)

Monday, in Detroit, the Yankees split a doubleheader with the Tigers as the two clubs made up a pair of rainouts from April. Well, it was actually one rainout and one snowout, but the end result was the same. The Yankees had two games postponed in April and they were made up Monday.

Postponements and doubleheaders are part of baseball and pretty much every team deals with them each season. The Yankees have had an inordinate number of postponements already this year though. This past Saturday was the one-third point of the season for the Yankees and they’ve had six rainouts already. I guess it’s five rainouts and one suspended game, but you catch my drift.

Generally speaking, all the postponements and makeup doubleheaders are bad news for the Yankees. They have to play a condensed schedule the rest of the season. As of Monday, there were 119 days remaining in the regular season and the Yankees will squeeze 108 games into those 119 days. The Red Sox, the team they’re competing with for the AL East title, only have to play 102 games in those 119 days.

All the postponements and the condensed schedule stinks, and there’s nothing the Yankees can do about it. They have to bite the bullet and play. But, for the sake of taking a glass half full look at things, here are four silver linings to all these postponements and doubleheaders.

1. The starters get some extra rest. The Yankees go to great lengths to avoid overworking their starters and for good reason. Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) and CC Sabathia (knee) have physical concerns and Sonny Gray has visited the disabled list a few times himself. Luis Severino? He might be the most valuable pitcher in baseball given his age (24), his effectiveness (+8.8 WAR since Opening Day 2017), and his team control (through 2022).

The Yankees want to keep their starters healthy like every other team in baseball, though the early injuries to Luis Cessa (oblique) and Jordan Montgomery (elbow) took a bite out of the rotation depth chart. Calling up a spot sixth starter isn’t as easy as it would’ve been with Cessa and Montgomery. And yet, thanks to the rainouts, the starters have been well-rested so far this season:

  • Gray: Four starts on normal rest, seven starts on extra rest.
  • Sabathia: Four starts on normal rest, seven starts on extra rest.
  • Severino: Five starts on normal rest, eight starts on extra rest.
  • Tanaka: Two starts on normal rest, ten starts on extra rest.

Aaron Boone and the Yankees talked about calling up a spot sixth starter at various points this season to give the regular starters extra rest, which is nothing unusual these days. The Yankees haven’t been able to do that, largely because Cessa and Montgomery are hurt, but they haven’t needed to either. All the rainouts have helped the Yankees give their starters extra rest without having to plug other pitchers into the rotation.

2. More games with Bird (and others). Monday the Yankees played two games against the Tigers that were originally scheduled for April 14th and 15th. Greg Bird was still recovering from ankle surgery those dates. But, because the games were postponed and pushed to yesterday, Bird was able to play. And he hit a homer. It mattered. Bird will also be able to play in the makeup games against the Nationals despite being on the disabled list for the originally scheduled games.

That’s four games — well, three and a half given the suspended game — Bird will be able to play that he wouldn’t have been able to without the rainouts. It’s not just Bird either. It applies to Adam Warren and maybe Tommy Kahnle too. Also, it means two more games with Gleyber Torres, since he had not yet been called up for the originally scheduled Tigers series. Sure enough, he went deep Monday. It mattered! Point is, the rainouts equal more games with a full strength roster, at least in theory.

On the other side of the coin, the two rainouts against the Orioles this weekend are potentially two fewer games the Yankees will see Manny Machado this year. He could be traded before the makeup doubleheaders. He should be traded by time the August 25th doubleheader rolls around. The July 9 doubleheader is less likely. Machado has torched the Yankees this season — he’s gone 10-for-26 (.385) with four homers against them this year — and the less they see him, the better.

3. The Yankees get to use their depth. At the moment, the Yankees legitimately have more good players than roster spots. There’s no way baseball will let that continue — depth has a way of disappearing quickly — but, right now, the Yankees have lots of good players sitting in Triple-A who, in a vacuum, deserve to be in the big leagues. It’s a good problem to have.

Monday the Yankees were able to use Clint Frazier as the 26th man in the doubleheader. The remaining doubleheaders equal more 26th man opportunities and thus more chances for the Yankees to show off their depth. It was Frazier yesterday. Maybe it’s Brandon Drury in two weeks. Or Justus Sheffield! Or Cody Carroll! The 26th man is a chance for the Yankees to use players who otherwise wouldn’t be in the big leagues given their roster situation, and that’s pretty cool.

4. They lost “only” two off-days. The MLBPA pushed for more off-days in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement and they got them. That’s why the season started on a Thursday this year. To accommodate the four extra off-days that were built into the season. Four doesn’t sound like much — it’s not even one extra off-day per month — but hey, that’s better than nothing.

Anyway, despite all these rainouts, the Yankees have only — “only” — lost two off-days to makeup games this year. One was Monday, the doubleheader in Detroit. The other is two weeks from Monday, for the makeup games with the Nationals. The two Orioles doubleheaders will be played on days the Yankees and Orioles were already scheduled to play. Last Thursday’s rainout will be made up July 9th. Last Sunday’s will be made up August 25th. No lost off-day. That’s not too bad.

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The Yankees have enjoyed more off-days than usual so far this season and at some point they’re going to have to pay the piper. These games need to be made up, these doubleheaders will be played, and they’ll create problems. Players will have to deal with all that added fatigue and playing three doubleheaders in a month’s time will do a number on the pitching staff. The postponements are bad overall. At least they came with some short-term benefits.