State of the New York Yankees
March Record: 4-0
April Record: 15-12
May Record: 21-7
June Record: 14-13
Record entering July: 54-32
Games Behind in AL East: 0
Games Behind AL Wild Card: +7.0
It took two whole months for the New York Yankees to endure their first real slump of the season.
Even then, the Yankees got off to a great start to June, after looking like possibly the best team in the league throughout May. After a pair of wins against the San Francisco Giants to complete a three-game sweep, the Bronx Bombers finished a perfect season against the Minnesota Twins before finally dropping a highly anticipated series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York still rebounded quickly, taking three-of-four from the Kansas City Royals, coming within one strike away from sweeping that series.
Unfortunately, the series win in Kansas City was the last for the Yankees, as cracks began to show in their once-impenetrable armor. After being dominated by their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox, New York dropped two-of-three to the Baltimore Orioles, who were right behind them in the AL East; they also suffered a humiliating 17-5 drubbing in the series finale. Next was another series loss to the Atlanta Braves, before the Yankees were handed their first sweep all season long when they dropped both games at Citi Field to the cross-town rival Mets. Even a four-game set against the last-place Toronto Blue Jays couldn't get the Yanks fully back on track, as they could only leave with a two-game split where all four games were blowouts.
Despite the slide, New York was fortunate to have the Orioles get into a funk at the same time; at the end of the month, the Yankees are tied for first place, with Baltimore currently having the edge in win percentage. However, what made the slump concerning for the Yankees wasn't due to the division race; it was the fashion in which they were losing.
In 16 games played from June 13 to June 30, the Bronx Bombers went 5-11 and were outscored 107-81, and most of their losses came in uncompetitive games. The offense was somewhat hot-and-cold in that they scored runs in bunches during some games but couldn't get anything going in others; injuries to Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hurt the lineup's consistency. Much more of an issue, however, was the pitching staff, as many staters fell back down to Earth while the bullpen suffered from a crippling lack of depth.
Regarding the offense, most of the lineup's production has come from superstars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Soto, in particular, suffered two injury scares in the span of three weeks: the first was left forearm inflammation that sidelined him for the three-game series against the Dodgers, and the second was a bruised right hand that he may be undergoing testing for on Monday (an off-day for the team). He has, however, been brilliant throughout the year with a .303/.437/.568 slash line with 20 homers, a 185 wRC+, and 5.0 fWAR; although Soto only hit .275 during the month, he had a .500 on-base percentage due to fearful opposing pitchers.
Judge is having an even stronger campaign, and has a valid argument for winning Player of the Month again; during June, he hit .409/.514/.864 with a 277 wRC+, 11 homers, and 37 RBI. On the year, he leads the majors in home runs (31) RBI (82), and OPS (1.144), while his .316 batting average leads the American League and his 5.9 fWAR is second in the majors (behind only Gunnar Henderson). So much for that April slump, because those are Barry Bonds-like numbers.
Unfortunately, the rest of the lineup hasn't been pulling their weight. While shortstop Anthony Volpe has 2.9 fWAR and has continued to play Gold Glove-caliber defense, he struggled greatly in June with a .220/.238/.309 slash line and a 53 wRC+. His plate discipline and power have taken nosedives, as he walked in only 2.4% of his plate appearances during the month (while striking out in 26.2%) and hasn't hit a home run since May 16. Left fielder Alex Verdugo has also slumped badly by hitting .219/.265/.324 with a 68 wRC+; at one point, he went on an 0-for-22 slide.
Third baseman DJ LeMahieu returned from injury on May 28, but was unable to tally an extra-base hit until June 28, while hitting just .188. Catcher Jose Trevino struggled both offensively and defensively; at the plate, he hit just .196/.255/.392 with an 84 wRC+ in June, and behind the plate, his catcher pop time ranks in the 4th percentile on Baseball Savant (one of the worst in the league), something opponents have regularly exploited lately (most notably the Red Sox, who swiped nine bases on June 16). Although fellow catcher Austin Wells has shown improvement, he's only hitting .214 on the season and is still developing. Finally, second baseman Gleyber Torres hit just .218 with a .276 on-base percentage during the month, while also struggling with a barking groin; with a .226/.300/.352 slash line and defensive lapses hurting his confidence, Torres was benched for two games as a mental reset (fortunately, he has responded well so far, with three straight multi-hit games).
Injuries have hurt the lineup's depth as well. First baseman Anthony Rizzo fractured his forearm on June 16 (the same game that the Red Sox stole nine bases in) and will be out until at least August; although he has struggled greatly this year, he was showing improvement in the previous few games before getting hurt. Much more significant, though, was the injury to Giancarlo Stanton. The veteran DH strained his left hamstring on June 22, sidelining him for at least a month; unlike Rizzo, Stanton had been enjoying a resurgent season by hitting .246/.302/.492 with 18 home runs, 45 RBI, and a 125 wRC+ while batting in the heart of the order. The Yankees have since struggled to replace his production, even with catcher/first baseman Ben Rice being called up and center fielder Trent Grisham playing well lately (since June 6, Grisham has hit .256/.348/.590 with four homers and a 160 wRC+ to compliment his fantastic defense).
The bigger issues, however, have come on the mound. During the month, Yankee pitching had a 5.26 ERA, the second-worst of any team (only the Colorado Rockies were worse, which isn't surprising); in 27 games, the Bronx Bombers allowed five or more runs in 15 of them.
The starting rotation has crashed back down to Earth, even with the return of Gerrit Cole from injury. Luis Gil led the American League in ERA (2.03) entering June 20 against Baltimore, and that number has since ballooned to 3.15 after being shelled in back-to-back starts. Carlos Rodon entered June 15 against Boston with a 2.93 ERA, but he was knocked around in each of his last three games as his ERA climbed to 4.42. Nestor Cortes Jr. leads Yankee pitchers with 2.0 fWAR and has a respectable 3.50 ERA, but he oddly has a 5.63 ERA on the road while pitching to a 1.84 mark at home. Marcus Stroman's ERA has increased from 2.82 to 3.29 (which is still decent), and his tendency to walk batters has made it more difficult for him to pitch deep into games lately. Cole is understandably not at his ace level yet, as he's still ramping himself up after missing most of spring training and the first two months of the year with a Tommy John scare. Finally, Clarke Schmidt is on the IL, and he's someone the Yankees' rotation desperately needs right now.
Even worse is the bullpen, which has become extremely top-heavy while lacking strikeout potential and effective lefties. Closer Clay Holmes has regressed with a 5.59 ERA in June, while his tendency to issue walks has gotten him into trouble several times. While Luke Weaver and Michael Tonkin have been reliable lately, they've been perhaps the only reliable arms in the bullpen. Ian Hamilton has a 4.55 ERA and 1.58 WHIP on the season while battling injuries, Caleb Ferguson has been highly unreliable in high leverage situations, and Victor Gonzalez was designated for assignment due to his unfavorable combination of issuing walks without strikeout prowess. Meanwhile, veteran options like Dennis Santana and Phil Bickford have been disasters, and homegrown option Ron Marinaccio has been ineffective as well.
Despite all the struggles during the month, the Yankees would rather have their weaknesses exposed now instead of late in the season. The trade deadline is at the end of July, so New York has plenty of time to look for bullpen help or an extra bat, preferably in the infield. As a bonus, New York is still in a very good position standings-wise, with Baltimore only being ahead of them in the AL East by win percentage and being six games ahead of the second Wild Card spot.
In the end, June was a very tough month for the Yankees, but unlike in past seasons, they seem to be far better equipped to handle the adversity ahead of them, especially since they're only at the midpoint of the year. Their goal of winning the World Series is still a very realistic possibility, especially if they make the right moves at the trade deadline and their key players perform at their usual levels.
The Bronx Bombers have finally run into obstacles, but they're more than capable of overcoming them.
