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3 unexpected players who will be key to Yankees’ playoff success

By Thomas Carannante |
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 05: Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch in the bottom of the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during Game Two of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on July 27, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 05: Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch in the bottom of the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during Game Two of the doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on July 27, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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We know the big guns who will be huge for the Yankees, but what about the under-the-radar guys?

The New York Yankees are in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and they still have room to improve their seeding. Right now, they’re in the No. 5 spot, which means they’d travel to Minnesota to face the Twins, but that’d only be the beginning.

The AL will be a gauntlet, especially with the expanded 16-team playoff field, so the Yankees will need all hands on deck. This is nothing new after what we witnessed while falling short from 2017-2019, but 2020 stresses that sentiment even more.

Yup, we know guys like DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Luke Voit and Masahiro Tanaka can’t disappear, but what about a few less talked about players who could help lift the team in tight situations?

If the Yankees really want to best all of the top competition en route to a World Series victory in 2020, they’ll need these three guys to do their jobs based on what we’ve seen from them this year.

Aaron Hicks #31 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
Aaron Hicks #31 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

3. Aaron Hicks

The Yankees will need Aaron Hicks to keep battling in his at-bats.

Aaron Hicks has had a quiet season, but for a good while he led the team in on-base percentage. He’s having an unspectacular campaign at the plate in terms of batting average (.215), home runs (5) and RBI (14), but the Yankees will need him to work the count like he’s been, which has contributed to a .379 OBP.

He’s got 38 walks in 144 at-bats, good for a 26% rate! We’d love to see more hits and especially more power out of the switch-hitting veteran, but if that’s not possible, he needs to remain on this trajectory. He’s seeing 4.3 pitches per plate appearance and has the lowest strikeout rate of his career.

Hicks, at this point, can be dubbed an “unexpected” contributor because his tough plate appearances and battles with pitchers will prove to be a lot more valuable in the postseason against superior arms.

Additionally, the slugger hasn’t really moved the needle for the Yankees in his playoff appearances. Across 21 career games, he’s slashing just .191/.286/.324 with seven runs scored, two home runs and nine RBI. He can make fans forget about that weak track record by continuing to get on base to give his teammates a chance to bring him home.

J.A. Happ #42 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
J.A. Happ #42 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

2. JA Happ

At this rate, JA Happ could be the Yankees’ No. 3 starter in the playoffs.

Guys! GUYS! You’re never going to believe it but … JA Happ could, possibly, theoretically, start a do-or-die Game 3 of the opening Wild Card series. It all depends what manager Aaron Boone wants to do. Deivi Garcia has made a good case himself, but the Yankees may not want to throw a rookie into such a situation.

And that’s where Happ comes in. The left-hander owns a 3.25 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in eight starts this season. He’s the only Yankees starter to pitch into the eighth inning in 2020, and he’s done it twice. This is the 2018 half-season version of Happ the Yankees traded for, and he could be emerging as a key postseason piece.

Cole and Tanaka can’t pitch every day, and with no days off between the ALDS and ALCS, the need for quality outings will be paramount. That’s where Happ comes in, who has the veteran edge over Garcia, is the better lefty than Jordan Montgomery, and could maybe provide the presence in the rotation that James Paxton was supposed to. MAYBE.

He’s issued just five walks in his last six starts after his poor outings against the Orioles and Phillies to kick off 2020. His control right now is impeccable and he’s mixing up his pitches incredibly well. If he doesn’t get a start in the Wild Card series, we will no doubt see him for the rest of the way, whether that be the ALDS, ALCS and/or World Series.

And if he can pitch like he is at the moment, the Yankees will be very hard to beat.

Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Jonathan Loaisiga #43 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

1. Jonathan Loaisiga

The Yankees will need Loaisiga to pitch during tight spots in the playoffs.

Like we said, there will be no days off throughout the ALDS and ALCS, which means bullpens will be the most taxed than they’ve ever been. The Bombers are set with Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Chad Green holding down innings 7-9, but what happens when one of them needs a rest? Someone else will need to slot in, and it’s hard to believe Aaron Boone is going to entrust Adam Ottavino or Jonathan Holder in key spots.

That’s where Jonathan Loaisiga comes in. He’s now pitched twice since coming off the injured list, and after taking care of business in garbage time against the Toronto Blue Jays, the right-hander came in on Friday to lift the Yankees to victory over the Boston Red Sox in extra innings.

It’s easy to see Loaisiga has overpowering stuff that profiles best for 1-2 innings of work and he fits the bill for late and high-leverage situations, which he’s proven he can handle a few times this year. Ottavino’s slider clearly isn’t the best it can be, and Holder’s best pitch is his changeup, which … won’t play late in games when you need to blow hitters away.

His nasty fastball averages nearly 97 MPH, and he stopped throwing his slider to better hone his curveball (84 MPH) and changeup (89 MPH). That’s what this bullpen is going to need against some of the best hitters in the league when the top relievers need rest.

Expect Loaisiga to pitch in big spots for Boone. If he can deliver, it’ll elevate the Yankees a lot more than you’d expect.

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