JA Happ likely starting potential WC series Game 3 is the right (but scary) choice

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said JA Happ will probably start Game 3 of the Wild Card series if it comes to that.

We know, you don’t even want to think about the fate of the New York Yankees‘ 2020 season coming down to the left arm of JA Happ, but with the way this year has gone, that probably has a much more higher likelihood of happening than you could’ve ever imagined.

Manager Aaron Boone, while speaking to reporters before Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Indians, said that “it’s looking like” Happ (2-2 record, 3.47 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in nine starts) would start Game 3, if the team’s stay in Cleveland lasts that long.

It’s definitely the right decision, but it’s also terrifying.

Why is it the correct choice? Well, Happ is a 14-year MLB veteran with 14 career postseason appearances under his belt. On top of that, he’s a left-hander, and the Yankees need some variation in the rotation after Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka. Plus, the Indians own a .229 average with a .683 OPS against lefties, and somehow their right-handed hitters are batting .242 with a .316 OBP against them too.

Happ also has something to prove in terms of earning his next contract. He’ll be a free agent after 2020 because he failed to make 10 regular-season starts to trigger his 2021 vesting option. Now, he’ll have his 3.47 ERA and any positive playoff outings to show teams in need of a veteran left-hander.

On top of all that, Deivi Garcia, who is/was seemingly in the running for that start as well, is only a rookie and has barely any experience above Double-A. Sure, he’s impressed us this year, but do the Yankees really want to potentially hinder his development by throwing him into the fire of a do-or-die Game 3 on the road? Probably not.

The downside? Happ’s 2019 campaign scares the living daylights out of Yankees fans, and he still displayed that lack of reliability a number of times in 2020. He was given sizable leads of four runs or more in three of his starts and blew all of them, resulting in two losses.

Yankees fans were once again reminded of his first-inning woes in his final start of the regular season when he allowed a three-run homer off the bat of Marlins slugger Garrett Cooper … after walking two batters with two outs.

But Happ is the way to go, especially since Boone will probably still have Deivi Garcia and Jordan Montgomery to use in case Happ falters if it gets to that point. However, it is scary, because if Happ does see the wheels come off early, this streaky Yankees offense will have to play from behind when every out counts more than they ever have.

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