Defeating the Kansas City Royals in their American League Division Series, the New York Yankees proved they are more an orchestra than a one-man band.
Their victory was a total team effort.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge got only two hits in 18 plate appearances against the pesky Royals.
Now, Judge and his Yankees will take on the underdog Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series.
The series could come down to the Yankees power vs. the Guardians bullpen.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS began October 14 in Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees won the game, 5-2. Both Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton homered in the game.
Guardians Defeat The Tigers:
While the Yankees were eliminating the Royals, the other American League Division Series saw the Guardians defeat the Detroit Tigers in five games..
To advance to the ALCS against the Yankees, the Guardians beat presumptive American League Cy Young Award Winner, Tarik Skubal, in the fifth and deciding game of the series.
A fifth inning grand slam blast by Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas put the Guardians ahead in the game. They hung on and won, 7-3.
“Don’t Let These Guys Beat You”
Pre-game locker room meetings generally include the manager saying something like, “Don’t let these guys beat you.” He then lists the guys his pitching staff has to control.
Guardians manager Steven Vogt has probably listed Yankees sluggers Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton.
In the regular season, those three hit 126 combined home runs.
Judge hit 58. Soto hit 41. Stanton hit 27.
Cleveland’s pitchers have to keep those three sluggers in check.
The Guardians can’t come close to matching the firepower of Judge, Soto, and Stanton.
The Guardians, however, do have Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor hitting in the third and fourth spots in their lineup.
Ramirez, one of the game’s best pure hitters, and Naylor, can carry the club when they get hot.
Ramirez, a switch-hitter, finished the season with 39 homers, and 41 stolen bases. He also stroked 39 doubles.
Naylor, a streaky left-handed hitter, blasted 31 homers, and 27 doubles.
In short, it would not surprise this scout if these five players are consequential in determining the ultimate outcome of the American League Championship Series:
Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor.
We saw Soto and Stanton shine in Game 1.
The Guardians bats can turn very cold at times.
The Yankees, too, can become very inconsistent.
Good pitching may win the series.
The Guardians have adequate starters, and a wonderful, but tired bullpen.
The Yankees have adequate starters, and a rejuvenated, excellent bullpen.
Pitching Matchups:
fangraphs.com projects the following pitching matchups for the ALCS:
October 14-Game 1-at New York=Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon started vs. Guardians RHP Alex Cobb
October 15-Game 2-at New York=Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole vs. Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee
October 17-Game 3-at Cleveland= Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt vs. Guardians LHP Matthew Boyd
October 18-Game 4-at Cleveland= Yankees RHP Luis Gil vs. Guardians RHP Gavin Williams
If necessary, the series would continue as follows:
October 19-Game 5-at Cleveland
October 21-Game 6-at New York
October 22-Game 7-at New York
Lineups and Supporting Casts:
Both the Yankees and Guardians have a roster of players capable of stepping up in big games.
Fangraphs.com lists the following starting lineups-
Yankees:
Gleyber Torres-2B
Juan Soto-RF
Aaron Judge-CF
Austin Wells-C
Giancarlo Stanton-DH
Jazz Chisholm-3B
Anthony Rizzo-1B
Anthony Volpe-SS
Alex Verdugo-LF
Guardians:
Steven Kwan-LF
Kyle Manzardo-DH against RHP, or David Fry against LHP
Jose Ramirez-3B
Josh Naylor-1B
Lane Thomas-CF
Andres Gimenez-2B
Will Brennan-RF against RHP or Jhonkensy Noel against LHP
Bo Naylor-C
Brayan Rocchio-SS
Bullpen Strengths:
The Guardians bullpen may be the greatest strength of their team.
The Guardians feature Emmanuel Clase as their closer. His wicked slider/cutter combination is very tough to navigate.
Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and lefty Tim Herrin have been outstanding in setting-up Clase.
The Guardians bullpen is deep, superb, and likely overworked.
The Yankees bullpen is becoming a strength of their club.
Veteran right-hander Luke Weaver has stabilized the closer’s role since taking over for Clay Holmes.
This is the first year Weaver has saved games, and he’s been outstanding.
Holmes seems more comfortable and effective in a set-up role.
Right-hander Tommy Kahnle will likely also be used in the high leverage seventh or eighth innings.
Conclusions:
New York is favored in the American League Championship Series, but the Guardians are a pesky, scrappy baseball team.
Often times a player like Lane Thomas of the Guardians, or Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees can be the hero in a seven-game series.
Perhaps the short right field porch in Yankee Stadium is consequential.
This old scout still looks for heroics to come from among Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Ramirez or Josh Naylor.
