CC Sabathia's Resurgence May Be the Key to Contention

CC Sabathia has reestablished himself as one of the American League’s most successful pitchers in 2016, with a 2.28 ERA through 10 starts that ranks fourth among starters who have thrown a minimum of 50 innings.

At 1.6 fWAR, CC Sabathia has been the tenth most valuable starter in the AL this season, and that’s despite missing two weeks in May with a groin strain. He has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his starts, giving the Yankees a chance to win every time he takes the mound. It is a remarkable transformation for a pitcher who has been among the worst starting pitchers in baseball the past three years, compiling a 4.81 ERA and struggling with a variety of injuries.

Yankees fans have been waiting for years for Sabathia to adjust to life without his mid-90’s heater. This season, the big man may have finally found an approach that works despite a four seamer that has averaged a career low 88.1 mph according to Pitchf/x. Yankees catcher Brian McCann credited Sabathia’s newly retooled cutter as one of the primary reasons for his turnaround when speaking to Chad Jennings of the Journal News. He’s thrown it 30.6% of the time in 2016, up from 3.0% in 2015 and 2.0% in 2014. NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty recently detailed how Sabathia has worked with Yankee legends Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera to perfect the pitch over the last year.

The most exciting part about all of this is that Sabathia appears to only be getting better. Since returning from the disabled list on May 20, CC has a 0.87 ERA while striking out more than eight batters per nine innings. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14.2 innings of work. Alongside ace Masahiro Tanaka, who has worked to a 2.76 ERA and 2.0 fWAR this year, the Yankees have a tandem at the front of their rotation that can rival that of any other American League club. Add in flamethrowing Nathan Eovaldi and you have the makings of a dangerous playoff rotation.

With the Yankees’ recent winning streak, the team’s playoff odds have risen to over 20% for the first time this month. Given New York’s inconsistent offense, any chance they have of contention rests squarely on the shoulders of the rotation. CC Sabathia’s career renaissance is a major reason they remain just three games back in the Wild Card hunt. If he remains healthy and effective, it could completely change the outlook for this team.

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CC Sabathia’s Resurgence May Be the Key to Contention

CC Sabathia has reestablished himself as one of the American League’s most successful pitchers in 2016, with a 2.28 ERA through 10 starts that ranks fourth among starters who have thrown a minimum of 50 innings.

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