Pride of the Pinstripes Vol. 1
The baselines are drawn, the grass is cut, and the pinstripes are out as baseball is officially back for the 2017 campaign. It's all fun and games for the veterans, just a tune up before they take their guaranteed spots on the roster. For others, however, the stakes are much higher. The new-look Yankees will have a younger roster than in recent years that looks to build with eyes towards the future and the glory days of the late 1990's. Young talent such as Greg Bird, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez look to secure roster spots in the Big Leagues that many assume they already have. Others, however, such as Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar are just looking to get their feet wet and create some buzz around their names for future seasons. Notice something about all three of these names and even the young Big League guys? They're all hitters. The Yankees biggest problem coming into the 2017 season is starting pitching. The bullpen is bolstered with talent such as Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard and Aroldis Chapman, who of course just inked a prodigious 5 year, $86 million dollar deal. The starting staff, however, has been the question since the Yankees 2009 World Series run. The top three spots in the rotation are almost guaranteed, with Masahiro Tanaka being named the opening day starter followed by veteran CC Sabathia and talented Michael Pineda. The four and five spots, however, remain up for grabs. Luis Severino, Chad Green, Bryan Mitchell, Luis Cessa and Adam Warren all battle it out for the last two spots on the rotation. As of now, manager Joe Girardi has not indicated any clear leader in regards to either starting spot, so all five pitchers aim to make their case during spring training games. Girardi has previously stated that he enjoyed the role that Severino played for the Yankees at the end of last year, moving to the bullpen and posting an outstanding 0.39 ERA in 11 appearances. This could be a potential spot for the young man, who has reportedly been working with the enemy, Pedro Martinez in the offseason. Chad Green is a name being thrown around as well, as Green is hoping to comeback after a dominant year in AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he posted a 1.52 ERA in 16 starts. The only problem with Green is that he suffered a sprained UCL in the later part of the season, and as all pitchers know, elbow injuries are extremely hard to overcome. The last two names up for grabs are Luis Cessa and Bryan Mitchell. Mitchell has had some experience in the league, and shows promise as a young arm. After battling injuries for the last two years, Mitchell pitched a 3.24 ERA in 25 innings pitched. Cessa was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers that also involved Chad Green. Cessa has pop on the mound, tallying 70.1 total innings pitched for the Bronx Bombers last year. His ERA, 4.35, is not fantastic, but the potential surroundng the 6'0", 204 pound Mexico product is immense. Girardi will have to choose, and I think any decision he makes can help ready the young talent and grow the rotation for coming years. I know that Yankees fans have heard this already, but patience is the name of the game. Happy Spring Training, and Go Yankees!