Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - 120 | New York Yankees | Profile & Projection

Episode Date: March 22, 2020

SURPRISE! Our fans voted the Yankees as the top team team in Major League Baseball. We wrap up the Team Profile & Projections by discussing what the Yanks have to do to get over the hump and capture their 28th World Series title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It is another team profile and projection. It is the last TPP 30 teams, 30 episodes, a little conversation on all 30. And this one ends us. It is the New York Yankees. Jake and mine, Yankees. Yeah, one of my teams. One of Jake's many teams. Obviously, we started as a Yankees company.

We have a lot of Yankee listeners. We put out the poll to choose the order of the team. Right. And the Yankees came first. Skewed the vote a little bit. Skewed the vote. It's the last one. If you are a diehard Yankees fan, I would hope you're, and you listen to this show,

I would hope you're listening to talking Yanks, where we just completed 30 episodes on 30 players in a row. So I think we'll tailor this to the MLB fans that probably most likely hate the Yankees. Yeah, we probably don't need to deep dive on some of the last bullpen spots like we normally do or, you know, backup middle infielders. But we do have, if we have our pulse on one team,

it's this one, so maybe this is good that we end there. And this is a pretty good team that also added a pretty good dude. They got their guy. The Yankees had one pole come playoff time last year. And it was they didn't have a starting pitcher that could be an anchor on the rotation.

He'd go out there and eat just seven innings and keep you in the ballgame. Easy. And refresh the bullpen. They didn't have that. They needed it. They went out and they spent a ton of money. And they brought in Garrett Cole to do that.

They also last year had the most injuries in the history of baseball. Literally. It's not being suffice. They had the most, like, 30-something IL trips. Yeah. And they still won 103 games. They've had a lot of bats,

just like you hear about how the Astros can take pitchers and give them their special coaching and sauce or whatever, and like you'll get the best out of them. Marcus Tim's, the Yankees hitting coach, and PJ Pilateer, I don't know I pronounce it for the last name, have done that. They've had guys come over that shouldn't do what they're doing. They got Luke Voight.

He was stashed in AAA. They got Mike Talk when he was stashed in AAA. Geo Gonzalez, Gio or Schello last year. So that's what happened last year. Everyone that came up kind of got a little sprinkle of magic on him. And they opened this season with injuries as well, Jake. Yeah, it's kind of funny.

Again, you and I are in this pretty much every day. But, man, it's funny looking at the fan graphs, like how I've done all of these. You know, they have the roster resource section, which is great. I recommend any fan to go check it out. It helps you look at things. Right now it has as injured Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and Aaron Judge. So that would be a full starting outfields.

And they also have James Paxton, Louis Severino, Hurt, who were the one-two in the rotation last year. It also has Domingo Hermann on the suspended list. He did bad guy stuff. He'll probably get a mention that he will be eligible to play middle of the year. But, yeah, they're still feeling some of the effects of 2019. And, yeah, it was an injury-riddled season. Again, that wasn't sarcasm.

They were the most injured baseball team ever last year. And, yeah, they still won 103 games. They had these guys step up from different corners. of the world it felt like. And it was honestly, it was a lot of fun, seeing the guys step up and perform. And, you know, we had older guys. Cameron Mabin came in and played great for us.

We had young unknown guys, Mike Talkman's, and then young or middle kind of known guys that thought to be written off by baseball, Gio Orshella. Cameron Mabin. I mean, it's just been a wild ride with the Yankees the past couple years. And now they add the bad man.

Garrett Cole at the top of that rotation. And yeah, I mean, like most Yankees team, it's World Series or bust, and this one has a very serious chance to do it. Yep. And the injuries, so kind of the elephant on top of the elephant, that the coronavirus and the suspended play may help the Yankees a lot. Because a lot of those injuries may be good come May 1st.

Paxton, if it's May 1st, Paxton, Judge, and Stanton should all be good. Yeah, I think Paxton's saying early May at the best, right? That's the best case scenario. Yeah, yeah, right. So he might be a starter too. But yeah, close. But yeah, I mean, Giancarlo Stanton started taking swings.

To the point he was coming kind of a coin flip for opening day. And now it seems like as long as he stays healthy, which a genuine knock on wood from my end, because he got hurt rehabbing last year. Judge had a weird top of the rib injury. it's actually under his clavicle, so they're probably going to let that heal. I don't know, man. Yes, the time off should help this team. And, yeah, it's going to be another wild dynamic this year

because there's going to be, if people are healthy, there's going to be some guys that earned playing time that aren't going to get playing time. And then yet again, the Yankees did lose some dudes that have been around this team a lot, and I think this is a funny dynamic that you and I haven't fully covered. yet, but Cecee Sabathia was the biggest presence in this clubhouse, literally and figuratively,

for the past decade or so. D.D. Gregorius was kind of part of the heart and soul of this team, literally and figuratively on the field. He goes over to Philadelphia after having an injury-riddled season. Dellen Patansus, the only guy that could match Cece for size in the clubhouse, he's gone. He goes across town to the Mets. So there definitely is a little bit of a changing of the guard. Brett Gardner is the longest tenured Yankee. He is part of the heart and soul in this team.

Let Brett bang, babe. But it feels like the new guard has kind of fully taken over. It's Glaber Torres. It's Gary Sanchez. It's Aaron Judge. And now with that Cole guy, it feels like almost a new regime is in town. Yeah. It's really funny to look at the ads and drops the way we've been doing it for other teams.

Right. And see the names for the Yankees. because obviously we already just know this stuff. But, like, it's funny to look at it and be like, they really just added Cole. Yeah. There's no other addition. Yeah, Garty came back.

They added goal. That's all. That was the Yankees offseason. They lost. And then they lost Patanus, but he wasn't with the team all last year. They lost D.D. Gregorius. He wasn't with the team for half of last year. Then he was kind of platoon, and it was kind of a weird vibe around all of that.

Like the biggest losses out of the people, that helped them last year was Edwin and Carnaccio. Cameron Mabin, Austin, Romine. I mean, Dedi ended up playing half the season. Yeah, it never felt like. I think when you look at the stats, you'll be surprised how much a part of the team he was. But you're right.

It was just a different dynamic because Dedy went from being the everyday three-hole hitting shortstop personality after the game that he went to he missed the first half of the season. He had a mad year. but I mean he was he was in there a surprising amount. Yeah, I mean, 78 games started, so like half the season. Half a year. Yeah.

But was not the same D-D. Yeah. The bullpen is crazy good. Like last year it was crazy good. Are you surprised to see the numbers? Because I'm surprised to see that they were ninth in the R.A. And I know bullpen ERA can be deceptive. And they did do a lot, they did a lot of opener stuff last year.

They did some different stuff. But the back end of their bullpen is lights out. I don't care about bullpen ERA. deal I don't think that's a good stat to judge relievers at all fair um and I've been saying that for years right not just because the Yankees you have been saying that I think just as things adds up over the year you're going to see those numbers level out yeah if you do that give me the top five ERA guys and not the opener and the Nestor Cortez comes in for 16 games and gives up three runs and now the bullpen ERA is bad because of those that doesn't count towards the bullpen ERA is a conglomper is a conglomper. or it is an awful way to look at this. I like that. Maybe give us your top five bullpen guys, ERA. I like that.

Yeah. Might make that a stat. Good. Do it. Cool. Do it. Yeah. I mean, injuries are the big thing.

Yeah. The talent on the roster is really impressive. Yeah. I mean, if they have, DJ LaMayhew, Aaron Judge, Glaibre Torres, John Carlos Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voight, Yep.

Miguel Anduhar, he could be D-Hing there. Gior O'Shella, a third. It's a lot of good. Yeah. Yeah, and it's going to be that depth versus who's ready to play. And it's going to be interesting to see because we've gotten a lot of sample of these guys that, and you could say this with almost every baseball team, but a Luke Voight. I mean, what's your major league career going to look like?

You know, he's been really good for the Yankees. He's had a little bit of an injury history. you know, is he going to be a guy that after this season we pencil in at first base for the next three years in theory? Or is it going to be, you know, Miguel Andhuar took some at bass from him. Mike Ford on the bench did something. What is Miguel Andhuar going to do this year? Is he a huge part of the Yankees next three years plan or is he not? Gio Orchella.

So there's a lot of dudes like that on the Yankees that in the second half of that lineup, who can be really good bats, who can be really good baseball players. but we haven't seen too too much of them so that's going to be fun to watch play out without Paxton and Severino in the projected starting five Right It's if we were not Yankee fans and not zero biased

You'd say we have one dude Two half guys Yeah And that's all As a Yankee fan Tanaka is my favorite guy And in the playoffs he's a dude But during the regular season I think majority of people don't even consider him a guy.

No, and these are fair. I mean, Garrett Cole is Garrett Cole. Paxon, like we said, should be back in May, so you can't fully wash him out. No, he should be playing majority of the season. Right. And he's a guy. He's a guy.

And Tanaka, I think Tanaka would be interested from an outside perspective. We honestly don't have it. I think if I had gotten his numbers as an outsider, I think we could put it together. And the playoff numbers speak for themselves. Not a lot of guys have him. His playoff, I agree in the major. I think the Yankees are so hated.

Sure. That the bad narratives spill to the rest of the national fan base way easier than the good narrative. So, like, Tanaka gives up home runs. He's bad. I think that's the narrative. Judge is injury prone. I mean, Gary is known as a bad catcher more than he's known as the second fastest player ever to hit 100 home runs. Right.

And I mean, like people will say he can't block before they say he's the second fastest catcher or second fastest player. ever to 100 almost. Yeah, faster than the AAL. And I think, you know, part of that is right. Part of that's being too close to it and getting the negative stuff. I think the rotation questions are fair. I mean, J.Hap had a bad year last year. Yeah.

And, you know, right now he's slotted in the three-hole. Jordan Montgomery, he's coming back from Tommy John, and he's only got basically a full year of Major League work under his belt. Right now, Johnny Lazzanias, pencil in the fifth spot. I mean, that guy's got an injury history bigger than... I also don't. Bigger than your... you know.

So I think what are you guys, but what I will say, at the same time, when you do take a step back, I'm looking around this Yankees team and Glaber Torres is going to get his first year at shortstop. What does that fully look like? We don't know.

He's got all the tools in the world. Glaver's a stud. He's got all the tools in the world, but what does that look like defensively? Gary Sanchez has all the armed talent. They brought in a new catching coach. He was a lot better at blocking and catching balls last year. Some of his catching stuff he had been good at wasn't good.

Luke Voight is not a plus first baseman defensively. So I think there could be some serious defensive questions, especially if, you know, Clint Frazier gets some run in right field, if Miguel Anduhar finds himself in the field. I think there could be defensive questions about this team. Yeah, I mean, that's a good call. I think DJ and Gio really quelled that last year. Yes, yeah, and I mean, they do have good defenders.

I mean, Brett Gardner's been doing it for a while. Mike Talkman graded off the charts defensively. Aaron Judge, when he's out there, he can be special. But I do think, you know, it's tough for me to look at this Yankees team and say, like, wow, defensively, this team is going to be locked up. But when I looked at a team like St. Louis, I feel like everywhere you looked around the horn. But again, that team's built differently. These are the New York Yankees, and they have some guys that, hey, if you're

forced to play Giancarlo Stanton in left field. A, he's been solid out there. B, he's Giancarlo Stan. He won the National League MVP. So it'll be interesting to see where the health stuff lines up. It'll be interesting to see where the pitching staff gets to. Is Garrett Cole going to be what he was in Houston? There's questions about that because of the stuff they were doing down there. This team is, I think the depth of this team and how much talent is really on the roster. it could kind of get overlooked from an outside fan when you,

when you, if we were doing this blind and coming in and looking at like there's an overall power ranking number, you know, DJ LaMayhew and Garrett Cole are the only ones with fancy the bright red number. I don't know if that's top 50 players or whatever it is. But when you factor in, you know, Gary Sanchez missed another almost half season. Luke Voigt missed a chunk of it. Miguel Andouhar wasn't even around. So I don't know. There's a lot of talent on this team.

Health will be interesting. And I think I'm kind of realizing this now, but there's a lot of guys on this team that this is a big year for the rest of their major league career. Yeah, like Voight. Gio. Voit, Anduhar, Talkman, Gio. I mean, Clint. Oh, yeah.

You know, I think there's a lot of guys. Gary Sanchez, if he did have a tough year, catching, I think there's an argument to say, or if he gets hurt again, I think if he gets heard again, the argument for him to DH is going to make more sense. Because his bat is that special. Yeah. They have a lot of good guys. Like last year, they had seven hitters with OPS Plus above 100.

Yeah. And they had nine pitchers. And Domingo Hermon will join this team in midseason two, and that. He was really good last year. really good last year. Listen to this shit. A bad guy thing. The four horsemen. The four horsemen is the name of the four relievers out of the bullpen. Tommy Canley, Rolls, Chapman,

Britain, and Ottavino. Canley, 122, ERA plus? Sure. Chapman, Britain, and O'Divino, all of their ERA pluses start with two. Yeah. 200 and above. Insane years out of the time. There was some stats I think when the Yankees had the lead last year, you know, they shut it down. The

bullpen was built to be the strength of this team, and they tried to out and win with that. And the bullpen openly said after they lost last year that they need a little more help. And they got supposedly that guy in Garrett Cole. So, you know, this Yankees team wants, they're going to be in the postseason. I mean, there is a chance that they could have, you know, Cole, Paxton, Tanaka, Domingo Hermann lined up for the postseason. That's a pretty good four with the bullpen and a tough Yankees lineup that they're always going to have. So I'm interested to see there are going to be some young guys that get their kind of shot this year.

Mostly on the pitching side of the ball, there's some kind of quick rising prospects. Clark Schmidt probably gets tried out this year. You know, if Davey Garcia's got a chance, he's the top prospect in the organization, according to fan graphs. He's really young. So it'll be interesting. I think young pitchers are going to have an opportunity on this team. The lineup, man. I mean, they basically have, I've tweeted this out a couple of times.

The Yankees basically have two lineups. Yeah. You're not going to see, oh, the only other guy, first thought I had was, you're not going to see too many AAA guys come up and get a splash because we had so many last year. It's going to be the same guys again. Non-roster invitee, Roselle Herrera, has been impressing everyone in camp. If he goes to Yankees AAA, expect him to come up and maybe he can have a magical season like everyone else did last year. But as far as prospects, like there's some.

some relievers and some pitchers that may come up, but this isn't a team that's relying on a prospect or waiting or has one in the wings that's going to join halfway through the season automatically, and they expect him to be an impact guy. It's not that. They've got Domingo Hermann for that. They've got Aaron Hicks for that. They've got injured, injured or suspended dudes for that. Yeah. Yeah. What's their over under? I know that we did their over under and now they're not even playing that many games or whatever. 98, some like that? No, no, no. It was 98. It would take the over by I think it was higher because Plouf took the under and I said yeah it's fine it's right around a Hyundai

102 and a half that's the over under yeah so I'd go under get that from the same place oddshark com slash MLB slash MOC that's what we did with ploof too that's a big old number I know I think it's too high I don't care it's a big old number I'll take the under they don't need to win 103 three games again yeah it's it's a high over not over under it's it is high but they won 103 last And again, I like to break things down a little more basically. They won 103 games last year without Garrett Cole, the best pitcher in baseball, who they added. And I know a couple teams get mad at that, but Fangraphs has it. Get off my butt.

DeGrom's good, too, so is Verlander and the other guys. They added Garrett Cole, and they had the most injuries ever in baseball last year. A little bit, a lot of magic, though. Yeah, this original one had the line at 97-5. 1.025, I mean, I think the Red Sox are going to land where the Red Sox are. The Rays are tough. 102, they win 101 games under. That's what I'm saying.

You didn't say the 101 part. There's also only been, like, the only team I think that's ever won 100 games in a row, three years in a row is the Astros who were cheating in those three years. I don't think it's happened three years in a row. They did what? Was producer BBD outing the Astros. Kind of insane. What?

No idea. How do you even cheat in baseball? So, yeah, I don't know. I think what we've... I'll take the under because it's just... If you're a betting person, I'd take the under. Yeah, it's going to be close, which is a pretty incredible thing to say. I don't know, man.

I think the three upper echelon teams are the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Astros. they're all going to be in it towards the end of the year. And yeah, it's going to come down to health who's hot at the right time. And I'll say this now before I hand it to Jimmy. Now's the time, I'd say leave a five-star review. Coronavirus has knocked us out. Not literally. We're okay for now.

We think. We don't think we have it. When this comes out, we'll find out. If you enjoyed these mini episodes, the best thing you could do to help us out would be to leave a five-star review. Leave a review or tell a friend. People are going to be looking for sports content. How about all 30 major league teams? Someone left a less than five-star review because the Cardinals episode was only four minutes.

And it's like, dude, refresh your podcasting. Be better. Obviously, it wasn't four minutes. You don't know how much these reviews matter to us. Be better than that. Come on now. Yeah. And just be leaving less than five-star reviews all willingly.

It breaks my heart. Yeah. So go do that. Yeah. Please. And if you listen to all these, if you shared them, if you enjoyed them, we thank you very much. I mean, it is an exuberant amount of work. It's a lot.

To record two episodes a day for like 60 days, edit them for YouTube, edit them for the podcast, edit the little preview clips we put on Instagram and Twitter. It takes a whole team effort and takes an audience that actually listens to them to make it worthwhile. So we thank you for that. Thank you. It's been a hell of a ride. It's been a lot of fun. Now we'll go on to talking some baseball, some interviews, some fun stuff until the season finally gets here. We appreciate you.

See you later. Buh!