Yankees: Top 10 Starting Pitchers NYY Will Face This Season

2. Jacob deGrom, NYM

vs NYY: 6 GS, 3.51 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 41 IP

With back-to-back Cy Young awards in his pocket, Jacob deGrom has solidified himself as an elite pitcher in the game. In his past two seasons combined, deGrom has a 2.05 ERA with 524 K in 421 IP. How many wins is that good for? Just 21. What a useless statistic.

Having three straight years with 200+ IP and 239+ K, deGrom has proven to be one of the most consistent pitchers in the league as well. Entering his age 32 season, there’s no reason to believe he won’t compete for a third straight Cy Young.

The Yankees didn’t see deGrom in 2019, but they did see him twice in 2018. They managed to salvage six runs (four earned) on nine hits across 14.2 IP. How is the reigning back-to-back Cy Young award winner not atop this list?

Games vs NYM: Aug 21-23, Aug 28-30

1. Max Scherzer, WAS

vs NYY: 7 GS, 4.04 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 42.1 IP

The toughest matchup the Yankees will face this year will be on opening night when they take on Max Scherzer. If deGrom has better numbers against the Yankees than Scherzer, and has won the last two Cy Young awards over Scherzer, how is deGrom behind him?

There are a couple of factors in play. The Yankees haven’t seen Max Scherzer since 2015, his first season with the Nationals. Yes, Scherzer was a very good pitcher then, even a Cy Young winner back in 2013, but he is a different animal now. In the four seasons since then, Scherzer has led the NL in K three times, WHIP three times, K/9 twice, and has two Cy Young awards to his name.

What’s scariest about Scherzer and what ultimately led him to claim this top spot is his effectiveness vs right-handed batters. In his career, righties have only managed to hit .197 off him with a .330 SLG%. Last year, righties slashed .194/.221/.309 against him. With the Yankees heavily stacked with right-handed hitters, coupled with the fact that many haven’t even faced off against Scherzer before, they could be in for a rough opening night.

Games vs WAS: July 23, 25-26