The New York Yankees are hosting the Chicago White Sox this weekend, and doing exactly what a World Series hopeful should do against one of the worst teams in the sport. But a baseball season is long and through it, a team will encounter all sorts of challenges. The key is showing consistency through it.
The upcoming week highlights one of the toughest stretches across seven days that this Yankees’ offense, number one in the American League, will see in terms of starting pitching quality. First, a four-game set at home against the Seattle Mariners, followed by three on the road with the Padres. There’s not a single questionable starting pitcher on the schedule.
Perhaps the best way to describe the strength of Seattle’s starting rotation lies in the fact that even though the Yankees will miss their most talented young arm (George Kirby), the challenge will be daunting all the same. The projected starters for the series in the Bronx are, in the following order: Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo, the first three are all home-grown with the latter acquired in a big deadline deal a few years ago.
Gilbert has quietly established himself as one of the best young arms in the American League, and he seems to be taking a step forward in 2024, boasting a WHIP below 1.00. Both Woo and Miller were called up to an already strong staff last season and pitched their way into regular spots in the starting staff.
Woo missed a bunch of time due to injury in 2024 but has looked good in the two starts he’s made, allowing only one run in 9.2 innings. Miller finds success with one of the more dominant fastballs in the majors, used 44 percent of the time. It has an outstanding 17.2 swinging strike rate and a batting average allowed well under .200. Castillo needs no introduction, and the right-hander has flourished since moving from Great American Ballpark to the spacious T-Mobile Park.
There is no breathing room across that series, but the counterpoint is that despite all this quality, Seattle is only three games above .500. That has plenty to do with Josh Rojas being their best and at times only good hitter. As much pressure as the offense will have to perform, perhaps just a little will be enough with the pitching staff holding things down on the other end.
After ending the home stand and going on the road, the situation doesn’t let up for Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and company. The Padres’ middling record of 23 wins and 24 losses should not fool you as to the quality you’ll see on the mound. Projected starters for the Padres in that series are Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, and old friend Michael King.
Musgrove is the only one of the seven starters the Yankees will face this week who is not living up to high expectations in 2024. The righty has been inconsistent, to say the least, and missed some time on the IL. We’ll know better how he looks in his next outing against the Braves on Monday.
Often a rumored target of the Yankees, Cease is showing why he got so much attention in the offseason, making everyone forget the abysmal 2023 he had with a ridiculous 0.78 WHIP. King’s numbers are skewed by a few blowup outings (which to a certain extent is part of the deal), but the Yankees know better than anyone else how dominant he can be. King could be rounding into form, having just pitched seven scoreless with 11 strikeouts against the A’s.
The Yankees are clicking, and if Juan Soto is heating up alongside an otherworldly Aaron Judge, they can score on anyone. This week will prove to be a strong early-to-mid-season test. If they can continue to mash this week, it’ll be a nice sign as to their offense’s bona fides going forward.
