The Baby Bombers have it going early

This was suppose to be the year of patience for Yankees fans. Just wait for the farm system to pay-off. Just wait until they have A-Rods contract off the books and have money to go after Bryce Harper and Manny Machado next off season. Just wait for the young stars to find their games. It’s a hard thing to ask of New York fans who always have high expectations, even when the talent pool is shallow. Thankfully for all parties involved, the Yankees shook off a 1–4 start and have ripped off one of the more improbably eight game winning streaks in recent memory.

So what gives? For starters, the pitching staff, which everyone thought would be the weakest part of this current Yankees roster is playing out of their minds right now. The only Yankees starting pitcher who has gotten off to a rough start is, ironically, their ace Masahiro Tanaka who has a 8.36 ERA after three games. After completely retooling his game over the last year and a half CC Sabathia has been pitching great, only giving up 3 earned runs in his first three starts. Michael Pineda has been solid in the early going, keeping New York in games and for the most part avoiding the bad inning that has haunted him in the past. Youngsters Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino have both made the Opening Day roster and have wins in the first couple of weeks.

We are still well within the realm of small sample sizes, and it’s hard to say whether or not this motley group of starters can pitch well enough to get New York into the playoffs, but they have already exceeded expectations. If the starters can can keep games close going into the late innings and get the ball to the duo of fireballers, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman — who look just as dominant as ever — they will have a good shot at winning a lot of games. It never gets old watching Aroldis Chapman throw a slider, and he’s had a couple of pitches already this season that seemed to defy all laws of physics.

If there’s one area in which the Yankees should remain consistently excellent in throughout the season it’s behind the plate. They are currently second in the majors in runs scored, tied for fourth in home runs and second in OPS. They’ve got a huge boost from veteran third basemen Chase Headley who comes into todays game tied for third place in WAR (1.0) with a startling 220 wRC+. Headley really struggled last April, hitting just .150 on the month. This turn around is found money for a lineup that is filled with talented hitters.

Perhaps my favorite player to follow this season has been the 6–7 giant in right field, Aaron Judge. Everything Judge does on the baseball field is amplified by his imposing stature. For instance, here’s a picture of Aaron congratulating his teammate, 5–8 shortstop Ronald Torreyes.

It’s not that Judge is huge that makes him such a stand-out player, he uses all that size to hit baseball’s into the stratosphere:

The Jolly Blue Giant has five of the twelve hardest hit baseballs to start off the season and has the twelfth highest exit velocity of all hitters in the majors. Whenever he makes contact with a baseball it feels like an act of violence.

There’s a fun combination of veterans bats like Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holliday and Brett Gardner and new bloods Judge, Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez that makes for the right mix of consistency and excitement.

Sanchez is a big part of what the Yankees have planned for the future. He’s long been the franchise’s top prospect and made one hell of a first impression on fans by hitting 21 home runs in 223 at bats after being called up last summer. The rookie catcher is currently out on the 10-day DL after spraining his bicep, but when he get’s back expectations will be high for the young phenom to get back to bashing baseballs like he did in his debut season.

Too add to the optimism in the Bronx, Baseball America has rated the Yankees farm system second best in the majors. Their system includes the 20 year old short stop, Gleyber Torres, who BA has ranked as the fifth best prospect in all of baseball. New York got Torres in the Aroldis Chapman trade from the Cubs last season. People have raved about Torres’s defense and mature approach behind the plate. It’s only a matter of time before we see Torres in the big leagues, adding more young talent to an increasingly younger and more exciting roster.

There’s a lot to be happy about if you are a Yankees fan right now. They are are exceeding everyone’s expectations early, in a what most people thought would be a nontraditional rebuilding year. Of course regression is going to start to show it’s ugly head at some point. Chase Headley will probably end the year in the top ten in WAR. That starting pitching staff is questionable, and could fall apart at any moment. That’s the beauty of April baseball, all outcomes are possible. As teams are trying to figure out their identities, the Yankees are winning games and showing glimpses of what looks a very bright future.