The New York Yankees are off to a solid start in the ongoing season. In the offseason, fans discussed whether the NY side looked like a title contender. The general opinion was the team looked good, especially in their offense. However, there are still some concerns over the starting pitching lineup. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers are playing without their ace pitcher, Gerrit Cole. The AL Cy Young winner of last year hurt his right elbow during the Spring Training ahead of the ongoing season. Moreover, the NY side’s captain, Aaron Judge, has not been totally healthy.
Last year, the superstar slugger had a severe toe injury that turned out to be a torn ligament. Later, in the spring training this year, like Cole, Judge was also on the Injured List. However, the abs injury of the Yankees was not as severe as Cole’s or even DJ LeMahieu’s who suffered a right foot fracture. Despite these, several injury issues to the key players, the Yankees have been looking like a serious contender after the first month of the 2024 regular season. They had several breakout stars already. But who can they sell or buy among those breakout players?
Based On Track Records And Metrics, Who Should The Yankees Buy Or Sell?
There have been a few breakout players in 2024 already for the 27-time World Series champions. The new addition in Juan Soto has been a great asset to the team. But then the performances of the young guns like Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera have been quite simply revelations for the Yankees. According to Bleacher Report, there are three breakout players about whom the NY franchise can plan to sell or buy. First of all, the right-handed pitcher Luis Gil. There was a time when Gil used to be the top pitching prospect in the New York Yankees farm system. But the Yankees had to sideline him last season because he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022.
Prior to the surgery, Gil had been dealing with injuries as well as general ineffectiveness. He is 25 years old and posted a 4.01 ERA this year with 35 strikeouts after pitching 24.2 innings after five starts so far. But Bleacher Reports thinks that’s not enough, and the Yankees can sell those performances. However, the other RHP Dennis Santana was a top prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system a while ago. But this year, he found a home in the Yankees bullpen. Moreover, the RHP Santana is 28 years old. He posted a 3.95 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP after 11 appearances so far. But the more promising picture of his performance has been a 2.94 FIP. Hence, BR suggests the Yankees should buy his breakout performance.
What About Anthony Volpe’s Breakout Performance So Far?
The new shortstop of the NY Yankees has been a revelation so far in 2024, offensively. As a rookie last year, Anthony Volpe had a great start to his MLB career, especially in the defense. But he struggled with strikeouts. However, the 23 year old has improved quite a lot in the offense. So far in the 2024 regular season, Volpe has slashed .271/.358/.398. He had 136 plate appearances so far in 2024 and posted a 117 OPS+.
Moreover, Volpe reduced his strikeout rate from 27.8% to 19.9%. On top of that, he enjoyed a healthy growth in his walk rate, from 8.7% to 10.3%. Clearly, this improvement proves that he will have a great career ahead. However, one more important improvement was his understanding of the strike zone. BR suggests the Yankees are buying his breakout performances for sure.
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