Yankees Breakdown: Stars and Snubs

As baseball inches another day closer to its Midsummer Classic in Cincinnati, the New York Yankees stand in a comfortable limbo among their American League East rivals. In the month of June, New York finished with a record of 15-12, splitting first place rights between Tampa Bay and Baltimore in a thirty day span. With a swift start to July, the Yankees finished their final west coast trip of the season in Los Angeles, while also claiming two walk-off victories over the Rays this past 4th of July weekend. With six games remaining in the first half of the year, New York will square off with the last place Oakland A's in the Bronx, and conclude with a trip to Fenway Park against the struggling Boston Red Sox. At the midway point, the Yankees hold an overall 44-38 record, tied for third among the American League's best. As star outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury returns to action this Wednesday, the Yankees will finally be able to exhale after performing damage control for nearly two months.

Here's my breakdown of last week's games.


Stephen Drew's Time Is Up

This isn't even a recommendation; the numbers tell the story and show the reality. Drew miraculously posted four home runs in the month of April, but his hitting splits did not entirely show the mediocrity of his performance at the plate. In all fairness, 11 home runs is a respectable tally, but when the numbers show either a home run or a strikeout, the law of averages is never on your side. Drew currently holds a batting average of .178, the single-worst average in baseball with a minimum of 200 at-bats. For on-base percentage, he places second at .251, only ahead of Omar Infante, although Infante's batting average is above .230. There are no doubts that Drew is baseball's worst hitter, so why does manager Joe Girardi insist on penciling him on the daily lineup card? Girardi generally gives his players the benefit of the doubt, and believes that there is always room for progression, but with nearly 375 at-bats in pinstripes, Drew has hit a measly .168 with 80 strikeouts, and by no means does that shout progress. Even in 2013 as a member of the World Series champion Red Sox, Drew collectively hit .158 in postseason play with seven strikeouts in only 21 plate appearances. Perhaps Girardi's optimism comes from reviewing Drew's All-Star season in 2008 with Arizona, when the middle infielder hit .291 with 21 homers and 67 RBI. But even those statistics are eight seasons separated, and the Stephen Drew of old no longer compares to the Stephen Drew of today. Let's place his offense aside, and examine his defensive efforts. Surprisingly, Drew has only committed three errors this season, and only six in the last two years. Essentially, Drew's overall existence on this team has been solely based on his defensive prowess, which explains why Girardi has yet to bench him and why general manager Brian Cashman has yet to ship him out. To even further back up that statement, the Yankees' front office has been reluctant to call up revered Triple-A infielder Rob Refsnyder exclusively because of his mediocrity in the field. Evidently, New York has grown content with Stephen Drew's contributions, considering that their farm system has lacked talent and the trade market has been bear. Of course Brian Cashman will search for alternative solutions for the insufficient production at second base, but does that necessarily mean Stephen Drew will be packing his bags?

The All-Stars 

Rightfully so, both Mark Teixeira and Dellin Betances were selected as the Yankees' representatives at the All-Star Game next Tuesday in Cincinnati. For Teixeira, the 2015 campaign has been nothing but a dream to him and the front office, as Tex's overall health has displayed stellar efforts at the plate and in the field. Teixeira has played in 76 games this season without a single stint on the disabled list, and is on pace to play in 155 games, a plateau that he hasn't reached since 2011. Coincidentally, the numbers he recorded in 2011 resemble 2015, as Teixeira has drilled 20 homers and leads the American League in RBI with 59. Although the strikeouts remain a regular occurrence, Teixeira has boosted his on-base percentage with 44 walks, and is on pace to record over 30 doubles, the most extra-base hits in his last five seasons. Teixeira's renaissance year has been largely in credit to his new and effective gluten-free diet, and with no signs of previous discomfort in his surgically repaired wrist, Tex has returned to All-Star caliber, and will compete among the league's best first baseman in the Silver Slugger campaign.

The second All-Star slot belongs to rising phenom Dellin Betances, who has been lights out on the mound during the first half of the year. In his 37 appearances as a closer and set-up man to Andrew Miller, Betances has posted a 1.50 ERA, including 68 strikeouts in 42 total innings. Betances has made the opposing hitters appear anemic, as the opposing batting average sits at .125 with only 18 hits and walks. In Betances' 42 innings of work, his first earned run was surrendered June 5 against Anaheim, a streak of 29.1 scoreless innings of, well, All-Star pitching. Prior to this spring, it was assumed that Betances would take over the role as closer with the end of David Robetson's tenure in New York, but once Andrew Miller was signed to take on that role instead, Betances was expected to complement Miller's dominance in the bullpen, and before Miller's forearm injury, the combination of "DnA" was the best in baseball. Betances has yet to miss a beat in the bright lights, and his All-Star candidacy is rightfully deserved. 

The All-Snubs

Since Jacoby Ellsbury was sidelined with a knee injury in mid-May, Brett Gardner was forced to carry the load of leadoff man in the lineup, and captain of the outfield in centerfield. Over the years, Gardner has publicly admitted that he has never been comfortable in the leadoff spot, but since Ellsbury's absence, it seems that Gardner has thrown his worries out the window. In 179 at-bats in the leadoff slot, Gardner has tallied a .302 average, along with 15 doubles and seven home runs. When batting second in the lineup, he has hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .375, which is slightly higher than his percentage in the leadoff spot. In the entire American League, Gardner is the only hitter batting over .295 with nine home runs and fifteen stolen bases, and even with his offensive numbers aside, Gardner has played gold glove defense with a perfect fielding percentage and 82 total putouts. In a year where the majority of votes were awarded to Kansas City Royals, Brett Gardner belongs as a reserve on the American League roster, and can be voted in as the "AL Final Vote" this week.  


It's an anomaly that Alex Rodriguez is in the discussion of All-Star worthy players, simply because the numbers he has recorded were not projected by anyone on the planet. It is also fair to argue that Rodriguez is the Yankees' most valuable player, and without his production, New York's competitive season is merely a fantasy. In the beginning of the year, the pot was stirred with endless debate on whether or not Rodriguez would produce after a year-long suspension. Although many analysts expected A-Rod to blend in without a hitch, surely a small sample size expected the overall consistency and reliability that Alex has contributed thus far. As the oldest and also longest tenured Yankee on the active roster, Rodriguez' revamped confidence has positively influenced the ball club, and his experience earned on the field has further enhanced a comradery and chemistry in the clubhouse. With his veteran leadership put aside, Rodriguez' production on the field has also been impactful, as he currently is hitting .284 with 16 homers and 47 RBI, while holding the sixth highest on-base percentage in the American League at .390. Clearly the overall perception of A-Rod has not been looked at positively, and it is also not surprising that Rodriguez' support is as low as it appears by the fan votes. The players do not seem to like or respect him, but in the eyes of the Yankees, Rodriguez has been the glue to keeping this team in contention, and it is not out of the question to label him as baseball's Comeback Player of the Year. 


Photos By
Adam Hunger- USA TODAY Sports
Jim McIsaac- Getty Images
Getty Images
Kathleen Malone- Van Dyke
FanCloud