Predicting which Yankees will make 2022 All-Star Game

The New York Yankees sit with the best record in baseball through early June, and are uniquely poised to dominate the 2022 All-Star Game rosters from all angles. From the offense to the bullpen to the entirety of the rotation, the Bombers have just been … better than the rest thus far. Sometimes, Yankee fans say it, but don’t mean it. At this point … how can you not mean it?!

There will be a few snubs, though. We’re not breaking new ground by making this statement. The Yanks are, for one thing, despised. For another, the league’s lowliest teams need at least one representative, meaning a potential Yankee slot will be filled by the A’s, Mariners, Orioles and Royals. Yuck, etc.

So, who gets a free trip to Los Angeles and doesn’t get to rest during the midsummer break? Who gets to watch the game at home/on a fishing boat/on a sand-flecked Caribbean couch while being hand-fed grapes?

Based on past contests, star power usually helps out quite a bunch; MLB would rather see a big name rather than a one-hit wonder having a slightly better season.

When that first-time candidate is blowing the vet’s doors off, though, the league usually slides ’em in. Especially if there’s a great story.

Though there may occasionally be a statistical argument to the contrary in a few of these cases, this is the likeliest projection.

Predicting Yankees players on 2022 MLB All-Star Game Roster

The Near-Misses: Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon, Anthony Rizzo

As much as we’d love to tip our cap to Severino in the midst of his comeback season after 3.5 lost years from 2019 to Opening Day, he’s the second-lowest member on the totem pole in the Yankees rotation’s All-Star efforts. Which is crazy! Jordan Montgomery and his 1.006 WHIP and 3.02 ERA would be the Royals’ shoo-in All-Star!

Severino, after seven one-hit innings against the Detroit Tigers, possesses a 4-1 record, 2.95 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 55 innings. Though advanced metrics don’t dictate All-Star appearances (and probably shouldn’t!), he’s in the upper echelon of those numbers, too. He just doesn’t quite have the counting numbers, especially compared to his own rotation-mates, and there are tons of highly-qualified names.

Jameson Taillon, too, would be an All-Star representative for a lesser team, but would need eye-popping numbers to join the group representing the Yankees. After Tuesday’s iffy start against the Twins, Taillon possesses a 2.73 ERA and just 47 Ks in 62.2 innings. An extremely valuable pitcher? Yes! An All-Star? In this economy? Not unless he ducks his ERA closer to 2.00.

Anthony Rizzo tailed off a bit in recent weeks before a resurgence, and his 126 OPS+, 38 RBI and sterling defense still make him one of the league’s steadiest veteran presences. He’s been a more valuable Yankee than he has been a certified star, though. Add in a crowded field at first (though less crowded than usual, with Matt Olson in Atlanta), and Freeman is probably a step beyond the fringes.

Predicting Yankees Pitchers’ All-Star Game Chances

Lock: Nestor Cortes Jr.

Nestor Cortes Jr. should be the AL’s All-Star starter, for narrative purposes. We’ve been through this already. If he doesn’t make the team at all, we riot. The calendar has turned to mid-June. Even after a stinker in Minnesota (helped along by Giancarlo Stanton’s defensive lapses), his ERA still sits below 2.00. He’s faced top competition, and rarely (if ever) blinked. He also looked great in 2021. MLB loves great stories, and Nestor’s rise to the top of the Yankees’ rotation is arguably this year’s greatest.

Sure Lock Holmes: Clay Holmes

After watching Aroldis Chapman get a gift desperation All-Star berth in 2021, how does Holmes not make it this season? He was the most dominant eighth-inning man in baseball who’s become the most dominant closer. Through 25 games, he’s been worth 1.6 WAR, holds an 0.34 ERA and 0.675 WHIP. He limits hard contact — as well as any contact — with an eminently controllable turbo sinker. Behind Judge, he’s the most obvious Yankees All-Star pick.

Yes: Gerrit Cole

At the end of the day, name recognition wins out — and, oh yeah, Gerrit Cole’s numbers are once again mind-boggling after a rough three-start stretch to open the campaign. Cole, too, has matched Holmes’ 1.6 WAR (insane, when you think about it) and has struck out 81 men in 64.2 innings pitched entering Thursday’s start in Minnesota. This Spider Tack Merchant is also, uh, one of the game’s best. And, as the Yankees’ ace, he’s more likely to get the nod than…

No (Edged Out by Cole): Michael King

Look, we wish Michael King could get the gig, but what are the odds the league brings two Yankees bullpen pieces — ostensibly non-closers — to the big game? King scuffled with his command in May after owning the breakout narrative race in April. The Yankees’ Swiss Army knife has 42 Ks in 31 innings pitched and has dominated every metric but hard-hit percentage, but … he’s not Cole, and he’s not Holmes. He might be the most important Yankee arm in the pursuit of a championship, but despite Mike Petriello’s plea, he’s probably not climbing the mountain ahead of Cole.

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