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Yankees 2019 starting rotation report card

By Brandon Plutner

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: James Paxton #65 of the New York Yankees pitches during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 21: James Paxton #65 of the New York Yankees pitches during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Unfortunately, the 2019 campaign for the New York Yankees has finished with an earlier than hoped for postseason exit.

Going into the season, many expected the Yankees to feature a dynamic offense, a dominant bullpen and a questionable starting rotation.

As we begin to dive deep into our analysis of this past year, questions remain. The first is, how did the starting rotation fare?

We’ll take an in-depth look at how the rotation performed during the regular season. In the playoffs, they weren’t the issue that most predicted.

Heading into the postseason, a commonly asked question was, “Can the Yankees win the World Series in spite of their rotation?”

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Ultimately, the offense turned out to be the main reason why the Yanks fell to the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Some of the main culprits included:

  • Edwin Encarnacion: 5-for-31 (.161) with 13 strikeouts
  • Brett Gardner: 6-for-34 (.176) with 15 strikeouts
  • Gary Sanchez: 4-for-31 (.129) with 16 strikeouts

The only starters to hit above .275 in the playoffs were Gleyber Torres and D.J LeMahieu. Timely hitting with runners on base turned out to be an issue yet again, despite the Yankees leading the majors in batting average with RISP during the regular season.

On the other hand, the starting rotation, while not “incredible,” was indeed “good enough.”

  • James Paxton pitched to a 3.46 ERA across 13 innings, including a gutsy performance in Game 5 of the ALCS.
  • Luis Severino allowed two earned runs (two solo home runs) across 8.1 postseason innings.
  • Masahiro Tanaka pitched to a 2.25 ERA across 16 innings, with dominating performances in Game 3 of the ALDS and Game 1 of the ALCS.

However, how did these pitchers, in addition to the other members of the Yankees staff, perform throughout the regular season?

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