NFL
By Billy Lewis
New York Yankees pitchers and catchers officially reported to Spring Training on February 17th, marking the unofficial start to the new season! Of course, the Yankees had an underwhelming 2020 losing in the ALDS and will be looking to make the World Series for the first time since 2009.
The Yankees will once again be led by ace Gerrit Cole. After Cole, the Yankees still have a lot of ifs. The New York Yankees did acquire Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon in the offseason. Both acquisitions come with a lot of question marks. However, if those question marks become good answers, then the Yankees will have an outstanding rotation. It currently looks to sit:
- Gerrit Cole
- Corey Kluber
- Jameson Taillon
- Jordan Montgomery
- Domingo German
Kluber is a two-time Cy Young award winner in 2014 and 2017. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Kluber has not pitched much the past two seasons. In fact, he has only thrown 36.2 innings between 2019 and 2020. It shouldn’t be expected for Kluber to become the Cy Young contender he once was, but he should be able to rebound to become a good starting pitcher.
Taillon was acquired via a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Taillon is coming off of Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2020. Taillon would have the higher upside over Kluber in 2021 and could become a steal for the Yankees. Taillon played with Cole in Pittsburgh and has that familiarity to help him adjust to New York.
Montgomery is a solid starter and should be a good back end of the rotation arm. The fifth spot could be up in the air, with German coming back from his suspension, and also the young kids like Devi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, and Michael King among others.
When it’s all said and done, the rotation could be a great strength for the Yanks. It could also go the other way and be Gerrit Cole followed by keeping your fingers crossed and hoping the bullpen keeps you in games.
Catchers
During the playoffs, it looked as though Kyle Higashioka overtook Gary Sanchez as the starter. At the time that was true, going into 2021 it is still Sanchez’s job to lose.
Sanchez has far too much upside as a catcher to ignore. Yes, his 2020 season was absolutely abysmal. He must become the player the Yankees thought he would be when he first came up in 2016. If Sanchez is able to put it all together he is an MVP type talent, but he has also shown he can disappear for long stretches of time.
2021 will provide Sanchez with his shortest leash yet. He is going to have to perform if he wants to stay in the Bronx. Higashioka is a great backup catcher and has shown pop. Sanchez should be the far and beyond better player, but last season Higgy was the more reliable option.
As pitchers and catchers report, it is another time to be optimistic as the Yankees and their fans look towards a new season.
