The New York Yankees had been looking for redemption since last season was a forgettable one. They have not been able to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. Moreover, the worst part about last season for the Bronx Bombers was the 82-80 record. It turned out to be the worst season for the NY side in the last 30 years. Moreover, there were several injuries to deal with for the 27-time World Series champions. Key players like Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and so on were on the injured list for a lot of games last season.
That did not help the NY side at all. These injuries weakened the offense of the Yankees to a great extent. Hence, the front office decided to bring solid reinforcements for the team, especially in their offense. The addition of Juan Soto has been the biggest highlight for the Yankees so far. Clearly, the team is doing well in 2024, as they have won 20 games already. It has been a little more than a month in the regular season.
Juan Soto Helped The Yankees Have A Great Opening Month
There have been several players in the Bronx who have impressed the fans in the ongoing season. None more than the Dominican superstar. Juan Soto had a highly anticipated debut for the NY Yankees this year. Fans were eagerly waiting to see how the best hitter in baseball uses the Yankee Stadium to his advantage. Clearly, the ballpark is an ideal hitting ground for lefty sluggers, and someone like the Dominican superstar should benefit a lot from it. He is already doing it so well. The four-time Silver Slugger winner is hitting .336 in 2024 regular season so far. If he can keep up his hot form, he can soon surpass his career-high batting average of .351 back in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he could only play 47 games that year, and he did miss the opening series in Washington owing to COVID-19.
Albeit, Juan Soto is not really surprising anybody with his great form as his teammates have been in awe of him since the Spring Training, it has been crucial for the team. Since Aaron Judge is going through an early season slump, the team needed Soto to win as many games as he can by himself. So far, the biggest highlight for Soto’s stint wearing the Pinstripes, has been the 409-foot home run on April 19 against Tampa Bay Rays. Since his first regular season game for the Pinstripes, Juan Soto has been proving his great defensive abilities as well. Starting Pitcher Clarke Schmidt said that he is not very surprised after witnessing Soto’s performances so far. Moreover, the Yankees starter believes Soto is really a special player.
Clay Holmes Has Been Equally Impressive In Pitching
According to Forbes, if there is any pitcher of the Yankees who has been equally dominating as Juan Soto in the offense is Clay Holmes. The signature sinker has been working miracles for Holmes in 2024. It has helped him in his early dominance in the ongoing season. So far, the sinker has helped Clay Holmes in a 69% groundball rate. Last season, Holmes had 66.7 percent groundball rate.
In 2023, he posted an ERA of 2.86 after 66 appearances. As a secondary pitch in 2024, Holmes has been using a dominating slider. So far, in the ongoing season, sluggers are 0 for 12 on Holmes’ slider. Moreover, the combination of the slider and the sinker has helped Holmes to enjoy a run of 15 appearances where he went scoreless and saved 10 as well.
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