Yankees: Predicting the postseason starting rotation and bullpen for the ALDS

The Back End of the Pen

Zack Britton

No Yankee reliever has pitched better over the past two months than Britton. He’s been unhittable and has looked a lot like the 2016 version of himself when he had one of the best seasons by a closer in MLB history.

The Yankees have multiple guys who could pitch the eighth inning but if they could script a game Britton would be their go-to guy to fill that role throughout the playoffs. There’s obviously a good chance we’ll see him pitch before that multiple times but I don’t think we’ll see him used much before the seventh inning, unlike Kahnle and Ottavino.

Britton is going to be such an important player for the Yankees during this ALDS because of his ability to keep the ball on the ground and in the ballpark. The Twins hit a ton of home runs but he can neutralize that because he’s only given up three all season and hasn’t allowed one since July 23rd.

Aroldis Chapman

Chapman put together another outstanding season for New York saving 37 games with a 2.21 ERA and 85 K’s. He doesn’t throw 103 consistently like he did in years past but he can still get his fastball up to triple digits when he wants to in addition to featuring a wipeout slider. The slider has been the key for Chapman this season because he’s confident enough to throw it any count so he always has opposing hitters guessing.

Injuries haven’t been an issue for Chapman this season like they were the past two years and he only pitched 4.1 innings in September so he’s very well-rested for what he hopes to be a deep postseason run. He’s got a great supporting cast in front of him but a lot of these games are going to come down to him so expect him to give the Yankees more than three outs a lot this October.