The new look Yankees have played 42 games so far this season and have been looking like a much better and different team than just a season ago. The addition of guys such as Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and others, along with the dominant pitching all around, the Yankees have been cruising.
The Yankees currently hold the second-best record in the American League and that's without their ace, Gerrit Cole, and a slew of other arms as well. This season the Yankees have been able to hit the ball extremely well and consistently compared to their abysmal season at the plate last year.
Yes, they are second in baseball with 57 home runs, but the averages, OPS, OBP, WAR, and all other stats are up from a season ago for a lot of their offense. For instance take Aaron Judge, off to a slow start in the hitting column, but to make up for that, his OPS is sky high and he is drawing the most walks he ever has before.
New York has become a very patient and disciplined team at the plate and this is a direct reflection of the improvement from franchise shortstop Anthony Volpe. Volpe after winning a gold glove at shortstop a year ago, was dismayed by his offensive performance and wanted to focus on that going into the offseason.
Volpe opened the season as arguably the best Yankee hitter for the first couple weeks and since then has cooled off a bit, but has shown massive improvement and he has earned the leadoff spot. The overwhelming talking point with the Yankees is obviously Juan Soto, so let's talk about him.
Soto has been doing everything right in the field to in the batter's box. Currently leading the Yankees in most offensive categories, Soto is making a good case for MVP given the short amount of time this season has eclipsed. His job has been plain and simple when at the plate: give the opposing pitcher's nightmares. The lineup itself is already scary to deal with, and with Soto playing at his highest level, he's helping give his teammates better pitches to hit as well.
Let's take a look at the pitching so far and they have not missed a beat, even in the absence of Gerrit Cole. Everyone was panicking in Spring Training that the Yankees were losing Cole for an extended amount of time, but they knew all along that they had the guys in that clubhouse to fill the gaps. The rotation headlined by Stroman, Rodon, Cortes, Gil, and Schmidt has been nothing but excellent so far in the first 42 games.
The Yankees pitching staff currently combines for the second-best ERA in all of the Majors at 3.10. With the pitching doing its job, even without their ace, and the offense being able to facilitate at a high rate, it is going to be tough to beat this team given that they keep it up.
We know the end goal is to get a 28th to the Bronx and with the way this team has been playing, they are definitely going to be in contention for it. Although it's a small sample size, it's refreshing to know that the Yankees are playing some great baseball.
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