May 31, 2023
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Sal Maiorana, a friend of the site, will be sharing some of his thoughts on the Yankees here on SSTN.
For honest, unfiltered analysis on the New York Yankees, you can subscribe to Sal Maiorana's free Pinstripe People Newsletter at https://salmaiorana.beehiiv.com/subscribe.
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Taking Stock of the Yankees at the One-Third Point of the Season
By Sal Maiorana
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Today I will share a comment on some of the primary players who have played for the Yankees thus far in 2023. (Editor's Note - See Sal's newsletter for more of his views on more of the Yankees this season.)
Aaron Judge: Year one of the $360 million contract has gone great as he’s second in MLB with a 1.013 OPS and is fourth in home runs with 15.
Anthony Rizzo: Second on the team in homers (11) and RBI (32) and he’s hitting .304. His defense has been a little suspect lately, though. Believe me, he’s not the same fielder he was when he was with the Cubs. Let’s just hope the neck injury he suffered Sunday isn’t an issue.
DJ LeMahieu: It’s been a grind for him with a .251 average which is way below his career mark of .296. His defense remains stellar no matter where the Yankees play him.
Harrison Bader: Since he returned from the IL he has energized the offense, though he’s been in a bit of a slide the past few games. On defense, he’s nearly unparalleled in center field.
Gleyber Torres: If you can get past the mental mistakes he makes, Torres is having a nice year. He has nine homers, 25 RBI and his 89 total bases are third behind Rizzo and Judge.
Anthony Volpe: The rookie is really struggling right now both at the plate (.198 average, .280 on-base) and in the field (six errors, and it should be more if not for some ridiculous official scoring). Patience is key for the Yankees here; they need to let him play through it, but he’s been a hard watch recently.
Willie Calhoun: There’s been some occasional pop in the lefty bat, but he’s another guy who has no business being on the team.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: His transition to the outfield has gone well, but outside of a little spark here in the past week, his offense has been terrible. Still, I’d much prefer IKF to Cabrera in the super utility role because he’s just as athletic, and he puts the ball in play.
Giancarlo Stanton: Hey, he played 13 whole games before he got hurt. Obviously the Yankees miss him and need him but his never ending injury issues have grown so tiresome. And you know once he returns, he’s most likely going to be useless at the start which has typically been his MO when he comes off the IL.
Gerrit Cole: He got off to an amazing start but has not been good in four of his last five outings and the long ball is starting to become a problem, two more Sunday meaning eight in the last five starts. His ERA has climbed to 2.93 and he needs to get back to being an ace.
Nestor Cortes: I’ve said his before: When he’s hitting his spots he’s terrific, and when he’s not, it’s batting practice. His ERA is up to 5.30 which, as you know, ain’t good.
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For more on Sal, see this interview we conducted with him in 2021:
