Yankees: Which players need to step up the most in the second half?

If the Yankees are going to have an even better second half and win the World Series which players who struggled during the first half are going to have to step up the most?

The Yankees had as good of a first half as they could’ve possibly asked for but from an individual standpoint, there are a select few who have failed to live up to expectations so far as you’ll see on the list below.

For some, like Giancarlo Stanton, injuries were the main factor for his lackluster first half and for that reason, he gets a pass. Although, there’s no doubt the Yankees need him to play like the All-Star he is when he returns hopefully at some point in August.

Now onto the guys who aren’t on the IL that need to play much better from here on out:

J.A. Happ

When the Yankees resigned J.A. Happ this past offseason most fans were happy to see him return to the Bronx. He went 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA for New York after they acquired him before last season’s trade deadline, but this season it’s been a different story so far.

Happ has been extremely inconsistent in 17 starts with a 7-4 record and an ERA of 5.02. His biggest problem has been his propensity for giving up home runs. He’s allowed 20 in 89.2 innings and opponents are hitting .263 against him. Throughout the first half, he just wasn’t able to string together multiple quality outings in a row. Every time he took a couple of steps forward he’d take a couple more back.

Part of the reason the Yankees are looking to add another starting pitcher is because of Happ’s struggles. If the season ended today there’s no way they would give him the ball to start a playoff game. Even if he does pick things up he still probably won’t start one, but regardless he needs to be better.

Edwin Encarnacion

Encarnacion was with the Mariners for most of the first half before being traded to the Yankees on  June 15th. He batted .241 with Seattle and hit a league-leading 21 home runs at the time of the trade but since coming to New York he’s looked terrible at the plate. He’s hit 4 home runs with the Yanks but in 65 at-bats he’s only hitting .123 with seven RBI and a .338 slugging %.

When the Yankees traded for him they had to send down OF Clint Frazier to Triple-A even though he was hitting .283 with 11 HR and 34 RBI. You wonder if right now they’d rather have Frazier in the lineup every day than the slumping veteran. That being said, it’s not as if Encarnacion can’t turn things around in the second half.

The odds are he isn’t going to hit under .200 for the rest of the season and he’s going to get hot. With Giancarlo Stanton still out the Yankees need the former All-Star to be the power-hitting run producer he’s always been. Despite his lack of contributions so far the Yankee offense is arguably the best in the league but if he can get going this lineup could become truly unstoppable.

James Paxton

Paxton finished the first half on a high note in his last two starts allowing only three runs combined and striking out 14 in 12 IP but for the most part, his first season with the Yankees has been underwhelming. For the sixth time in the last four seasons, he once again landed on the IL, this time with left knee inflammation. He missed about a month and returned on May 29th but he’s had to wear a brace on his knee ever since which could be contributing to his inconsistency.

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In 15 starts Paxton is 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP and 95 K’s in 76.1 IP. His K per 9 rate of 11.2 would be the ninth best in baseball if he had enough innings to qualify but batters are hitting .267 against him. Before he went on the IL Paxton lived up to the hype pitching to a 3.11 ERA. In April he had back to back outings where he struck out 12 including one where he shut out the Red Sox over eight innings of work.

As long as he’s healthy he’s certainly capable of delivering more outings like that and if he can do it on a consistent basis he’d give the Yankees an ace-caliber starter they can rely on come October.

Getting Luis Severino back and another starter before the trade deadline would make a big difference for the Yanks as well. However, in order to make a deep postseason run, they’re going to need Paxton to become a leader in their rotation and really step up his game in the second half.