Yankees 2017 MVP and the rest of their regular season awards

The MDS: Runners-Up

No one wants to win the Yankees MDS award, yet every year there are several competitors. This year is no different and the list starts with Big Mike.

Michael Pineda

WAR: 0.6

Normally, Pineda could not disappoint the Yankees. The expectations had gotten so low that, had he been cut in Spring Training for poor pitching, the reaction would have been more resignation than shock.

What makes 2017 different is how good Mike was at the start of the season. He looked ready to fight for ace status in spring, and continued to win that mantle in the early going. But he got injured and tried to pitch through it; he couldn’t.

The injury ended his year and subsequent Yankees career. A season that started with such promise for Pineda ended with a 4.39 ERA and WHIP of 1.287. That is his second worst WHIP in his last four years. But it is more of a letdown because he finally, fleetingly, showed just how good he could be.

Matt Holliday

WAR: -0.1

Holliday came into 2017 with a 295 home runs and a career BA over .300. So, the Yankees signed him to be a middle-of-the-order bat. But injuries—a common culprit for Yankees on this list—and ineffectiveness limited Matt to 360 at-bats so far. Worse, he has posted a .231/.318/.428.

His 18 home runs and 17 doubles show he is still a gamer but the skills have eroded too much. More telling is the home run contest he and Gardy were having earlier in the season. That Brett is beating Matt 20-18 so far tells you all you need to know about Holliday’s year.

Today, with the season winding down, Holliday hardly plays. Two years ago the Yankees sat one of their highest paid players in the Wild Card game. That year it was Ellsbury; this year, it will be Holliday.