The 2017 New York Yankees are a team in the midst of a youth movement.
Coming off the back of a season where they finished with a 84-78 record, good enough for fourth place in the American League East, this season will be as much about youth-development as anything else.
Gone are the ageing contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann, and with it, the opportunity for the Yankees to move towards their next golden era.
Let’s take a look at the projected line-up and rotation for the coming season.
1. Brett Gardner (LF)
2. Jacoby Ellsbury (CF)
3. Gary Sanchez (C)
4. Matt Holliday (DH)
5. Greg Bird (1B)
6. Starlin Castro (2B)
7. Didi Gregorius (SS)
8. Aaron Judge (RF)
9. Chase Headley (3B)Bench
Austin Romine (C)
Chris Carter (1B/DH)
Ronald Torreyes (UTL)
Aaron Hicks (OF)Rotation:
1. Masahiro Tanaka (RHP)
2. Michael Pineda (RHP)
3. CC Sabathia (RHP)
4. Luis Severino (RHP)
5. Chad Green (RHP)Bullpen:
Aroldis Chapman
Dellin Betances
Tyler Clippard
Tommy Layne
Adam Warren
Bryan Mitchell
Chasen Shreve
Catcher Gary Sanchez, first baseman Greg Bird and right fielder Aaron Judge highlight this new era of Yankees stars, and with the addition of veteran Matt Holliday, who will provide leadership for the younger guys on and off the field, the only way is up.
This young core promises for an exciting year offensively, with Sanchez, Bird and Judge all capable of hitting 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. It is the starting pitching rotation however that leaves the most to be desired.
Aside from ace Masahiro Tanka (3.07 ERA in 2016), the rotation is full of question marks. Michael Pineda is a strikeout machine (10.6 K per 9 innings pitched), but struggles for control at the start of games.
Despite a bounce back season in 2016, 36-year-old CC Sabathia is coming towards the end of his career. Youngster Luis Severino is coming off a year where he looked more comfortable in the bullpen.
In 11 starts the the 23-year-old righthander went 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA compared with going 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA out of the bullpen, while Chad Green has yet to experience a full season as a major league starter.
The strength of this team no doubt lies in the bullpen. With Clippard, Betances and Chapman at the Yankees’ disposal, the team has a scary ability to shorten games. If the starters can go six innings and hand over to the bullpen with a lead, then the opposition might as well back their bags.
These guys are ‘lights out’.
All in all the 2017 Yankees should be quite fun to watch. If Sanchez and co can provide the offensive spark, the rotation hold their own, and the bullpen do their thing, then this team could cause a few surprises. It awaits to be seen if any of this happens, but if it does, the return of the glory days might not be too far away.
Prediction: 87-75 record (3rd in AL East and challenging for a Wild Card Spot)
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