The New York Yankees are coming off a 95-win season in which they led the league in runs scored. They earned the wild card spot with a second-place finish in the AL East, but they have a good amount of questions coming into this year.
We're not saying they won't make the playoffs for a 16th time in 17 seasons, but considering key veterans like Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are past their prime, New York will need the rest of their lineup to step up plus get some kind of production out of starters not named C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes. Take a look below at my MLB predictions as to where the Yankees will end up this year in the AL East.
Projected Lineup
While the Yankees still figure to have one of the top offenses in baseball, it doesn't bring the same level of fear to opposing pitchers as it has in previous seasons. The Yankees made sure Jeter would end his career a Yankee, and the future Hall of Famer will get his 3,000th hit this season if he doesn't suffer a season-ending injury. Jeter however, didn't exactly play all that well last year hitting just .270. While we wouldn't be shocked if he raised that average in 2011, we don't expect a huge season out of the veteran shortstop.
Posada is making the move to DH this season, as the Yankees went out and brought in Russell Martin to take over behind the plate. Posada doesn't figure to have a whole lot to offer at this point in his career, but we also aren't convinced that the Yankees will be all that impressed with Martin, who has really struggled the last two seasons.
While Rodriguez is also on the decline, we still think he has enough pop left in his bat to be a big factor in this lineup. Rodriguez hit 30 home runs with 125 RBI, but hit a career-worst .270 as a starter. While he isn't the player he once was, he is still one of the top hitters in the game.
The two guys to watch out for are first baseman Mark Teixeira and second baseman Robinson Cano. Both will have to be a force in the middle of this lineup for the Yankees to contend with Boston in the East. Cano put together an MVP-like season with a .319 batting average, 29 home runs, 109 RBI, and a Gold Glove. He finished third in MVP voting, but another year like that and we wouldn't be surprised to see him win the award.
Teixiera wasn't the same hitter as he was in his first year with the Yankees. He hit 33 home runs with 108 RBI, but his averaged dropped from .292 to .256 and his OPS fell from .383 to .365.
Left fielder Brett Gardner really played well last year and figures to be a great leadoff hitter for this lineup. Gardner finished with an .383 OBP and stole a team-high 47 bases.
New York is hoping for a much better season out of Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson. Both failed to deliver in 2010, but could surprise this year. Swisher is in the final year of his contract and wants to show New York he belongs on this team, while Granderson really got it going late last year after he shortened up his swing, which has us thinking he will turn things around in his second season with New York.
Projected Rotation
With Sabathia and Hughes leading the starting rotation, New York has two starters they should feel very confident in sending to the mound. Sabathia is 40-15 with a 3.27 ERA in his two seasons with the Yankees and is without question the ace of this staff.
Hughes really turned it on last year and wound up winning 18 games, but his late season struggles are a bit of a concern. Still, we think he will be even better this season, and could reach the 20 win mark if he stays healthy.
The rest of the pitching staff is full of concerns. A.J. Burnett has the stuff to be a solid starter in this league but can't seem to put it together. He went 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA and simply has to be better this year for New York to get back to the playoffs.
After Burnett, the Yankees will more than likely go with Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre, not exactly the big names we are use to hearing in the Yankees starting rotation. Nova was great in Triple-A last year but had a 4.50 ERA in seven starts with the Yankees, and it's hard to tell what he will bring to the table this season. Mitre posted a solid 3.33 ERA in three starts and 24 relief appearances in 2010 and could be primed for a breakout season if given the shot to start on a consistent basis, but he hasn't showed much as a starter in his career up this point.
2011 Projection: Second place AL East
The Yankees are two starters away from being a shoe-in for the playoffs. That doesn’t even include the shaky Burnett, who must rebound from the worst season of his career. With Andy Pettite retiring, that puts a ton of pressure on the bottom end of this rotation.
The Yankees best hope is that their powerful offense can carry the load until the best deal for a starting pitcher comes around before the trade deadline. Even then, the Red Sox may be too far in front to catch up. Age is creeping up on their most important hitters, and it appears the Yankees will be fighting for a wild card spot in 2011.
The Yankees MLB odds to win the AL East are currently listed at +180.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments