Yankees amazing and inconceivable season at the 40-game mark

May 6, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) congratulates second baseman Starlin Castro (14) for hitting a 2 RBI home run during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) congratulates second baseman Starlin Castro (14) for hitting a 2 RBI home run during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
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Yankees
Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Two Big Men; Two Big Contributions

First the runners up.

Aaron Judge. Aaron’s production and presence have been amazing. And there is only one thing you have to know about him to understand how good of a start the Yankees are off to; but, first his numbers.

Aaron is slashing .331/.431/.728. He leads the team in home runs (15) by almost double; Matt Holliday has eight. He is second on the team in OBP (.431) and leads the team in RBI’s, with 30. Do you wanna know how you can tell the Yankees are off to a tremendous start, on pace to win 96 games? Aaron Judge, with those accomplishments, is not the MVP.

We might see him again in the BBB category, but now it is time to move on to…

Big Mike

Michael Pineda. The Yankees have hit their way to a ton of wins. And the pitching has been better than feared. Even with their recent problems and Masahiro Tanaka’s bloated ERA, the Yankees pitching staff has the 6th best ERA in the AL (3.98). That’s one big reason the Yankees have won 24 of their first forty games.

And the most significant reason for that is Big Mike. Read this next sentence carefully: Michael Pineda has been the steady and consistent rock the staff has leaned on. He leads the starters in ERA at 3.42. Pineda leads the team in most strikeouts (55) and fewest walks (8). And his WHIP (1.035) and winning percentage (.667) are tops on the team.

Most importantly, he has been the most reliable starter. Luis Severino’s numbers are very comparable, but he has not been as consistent. We might see him again in the Most Bizarre category, but now it is time to move on to…

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