New York Yankees - Overview (2024)

Soto swatted a two-run dinger in the eighth inning to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 8-4, but the Yankees got no closer. The homer and walk improves the All-Star’s slash to .300/.438/.568 with 21 blasts and 63 RBI.

The long ball was a problem for Stroman, as he gave up three homers accounting for all five runs. He walked two and struck out six in a start that would have looked fine without the roundtrippers. That’s not how this works, unfortunately. Stroman will take a 3.58 ERA into his final start of the first half against the Rays on Wednesday.

Boone said that the Yankees have noticed that Gil’s recent point has been inconsistent of late. That could be tied to fatigue since he’s pitching more innings than he ever has before or it could simply be a mechanical issue with an easy fix. The inconsistent release point could also be leading Gil to tip some of his pitches, which might provide more context to why the Orioles were able to pounce on his fastball so much in his recent start. It should also be noted that Gil is making many non-competitive pitches and leaving pitches over the heart of the plate, so the release point isn’t the only issue to be fixed, but it might be one that can be addressed soon.

It will be the first time that Anthony Volpe is in the lineup and not leading off since April 10th, so this is a big opportunity for Rice. The rookie has a .378 on-base percentage in his 14 games since being called up from Triple-A and Volpe has struggled to get on base. Considering the Yankees’ leadoff hitter gets to bat in front of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, this would be huge for Rice’s fantasy value if he can take advantage of this opportunity.

It’s the first time since April 10th that Volpe will be in the lineup and not be leading off. However, it appears to be a move that was a long time coming. Since Volpe moved into the leadoff spot, he has had the worst on-base percentage among every Yankees player with at least 250 plate appearances. He also ranks as the third-worst leadoff hitter in baseball with his 87 wRC+. Considering the Yankees’ lead-off hitter bats in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, the team needs somebody who can consistently get on base and be driven in by those two studs. Ben Rice will get that shot on Thursday.

Volpe got New York on the scoreboard in the seventh inning with a two-run double off Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott. It wasn’t all positive for the young shortstop as he grounded into a key double play in the ninth inning to squash any hope of a Yankees rally against Reds stopper Alexis Díaz. The 23-year-old shortstop has been struggling the last few weeks, batting .212 (29-for-137) with zero homers and only four steals over his last 30 games.

Rodón struggled once again to keep the ball in the yard, serving up a two-run homer to Noelvi Marte in the second inning before coughing up a solo shot to Stuart Fairchild a couple frames later. He kept Cincinnati’s lineup in check otherwise, allowing just one additional hit and three walks. The most encouraging development here from a fantasy standpoint was that he piled up an eye-popping 15 swinging strikes, and finished with a 33 percent CSW, despite some diminished velocity across the board. There’s still some work to be done here, but Rodón didn’t look completely cooked in this one, which qualifies as an encouraging development. He’ll square off against the division-rival Rays on Tuesday in his next outing,

It’s the fourth straight year that Judge will represent the American League in the Mid-Summer Classic. Here’s who will join him in the starting lineup for the American League All-Stars (with their number of times making the All-Star team and starting in the game in parentheses): 1B: Vladimir Guerrero (4 - 3x starter), 2B: Jose Altuve (9, 6x starter), SS: Gunnar Henderson (1 - 1x starter), 3B; Jose Ramirez (6 - 3x starter), C: Adley Rutschman (2 - 1x starter), OF: Aaron Judge (6 - 6x starter), Juan Soto (4 - 1x starter), Steven Kwan (1- 1x starter) and DH: Yordan Alvarez (3 - 1x starter).

Bickford cleared waivers and elected to report to Triple-A rather than hit free agency. He allowed nine runs (eight earned) in five innings with the Yankees (14.40 ERA). Bickford has a 2.93 ERA in 22 Triple-A appearances this year. He would need to be added back to the 40-man roster before the Yankees could call on him again as bullpen depth.

This Judge guy is pretty good. The big man is now up to an absurd 32 home runs and 83 RBI on the season while slashing .321/.440/.718. There’s a good chance he could win the Triple Crown this season, and he continues to be unbeatable by anything other than cement walls in the outfield.