The New York Yankees find themselves playing good baseball and yet they find themselves second in the AL East Division. The Yankees find themselves entering today’s action with a record of 64-35 and still 5 games behind the Boston Red Sox. Coming out of the All-Star Break the Yankees 2-2 with a postponed game. But we still have some players making positive impacts and others who are struggling. Let’s break down who’s Up and who’s Down. And as always take a look back at previous installments of this countdown.
1 Up- Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge has been a model of consistency for the Yankees this season. Judge has 26 home runs to go along with 61 rbi’s. For 2018 Aaron Judge has slashed .283/.397/.550 with no major slumps like he had following the Home Run Derby last season.
1 Down- Gary Sanchez
Gary Sanchez had an eventful two-games in Tampa Bay against the Rays. His lack of hustle has been well documented in both the passed ball and not running to first to finish out the game. Sanchez has now been placed back on the DL following a “reaggravation” of his groin.
2 Up- Masahiro Tanaka
Tanaka has been good since returning from the DL. And that was never more personified then when he pitched his complete game shutout of the Rays on Tuesday night. For the season Masahiro has a record of 8-2 with 92 strikeouts in 92.1 innings. If Tanaka can continue down this path he can be a very valuable starter in the playoffs.
2 Down- Aroldis Chapman
It’s been said that Aroldis Chapman has been dealing with tendinitis in his knee and that the Yankees have been “managing” it. However, Chapman has been shaky, to say the least in his last few outings. Including having to be replaced by Chasen Shreve when Chapman threw 19 pitches and 16 were out of the zone. The Yankees need Chapman to be locked in if they are going to make a deep run in the playoffs. The acquisition of Zach Britton is a very nice insurance policy if Chapman cannot go.
3 Up- Greg Bird
After beginning the season on the DL, Bird understandably had a slow start to his campaign. However, recently he has been playing much better baseball. Greg Bird is a key cog in the Yankees order. Bird is a lefty power bat to help break up the right-handed heavy Bombers lineup.
3 Down- Domingo German
Domingo German has had his share of ups and downs this season. Which is to be expected from a rookie player in his first real stint in the Major Leagues. However, recently German has really struggled with consistency. Over his last 7 games, he pitched to a 6.52 ERA. And for the season his ERA is 5.68. German has a placed on the roster he just needs to find a more consistent approach early in the game.
B.O.L.O.- Zach Britton
The newest member of the New York Yankees is Zach Britton. Britton has the ability to help the Yanks shorten games even further than they already do. In the playoffs, this move helps even more. Britton also as we noted earlier provides protection if Aroldis Chapman struggles with his knee tendinitis.
