Zack Britton was one of the New York Yankees‘ best relievers in 2019 and will be looking to continue that into 2020. With a 3-1 record and a 1.91 ERA, Britton was dominant all season. He pitched in 66 games over 61.1 innings in 2019, striking out 53.
Typically, you don’t see relievers with fewer strikeouts than innings anymore. But Britton is a huge exception to that. It’s not that he can’t throw hard, but more so because of his sinkerballer reputation. Sinkerballers come into the game looking for contact, often groundballs. That’s why a guy like Britton is great in late-inning jams to try to get a big double-play. 121 of 153 balls hit into play off of him were on the ground.
Though great against both sides, Britton is completely in control against lefties. They hit just .158 off of him, and he never allowed a home run against them.
2020 Expectations:
The Yankees could use Britton in several different roles in 2020, but they need another good season out of him.
Britton was a closer with the Orioles, so he could potentially close out games when Aroldis Chapman needs a day off or if he is injured.
In games where he doesn’t close (which is the majority of the time), he could either be an eighth-inning guy or a jam guy. By a jam guy, I mean come into a mess and try to get a double-play as I said earlier. Being an eighth-inning guy, his objective is to retire all three batters in the inning to get the game to Chapman for the ninth.
And statistically, the Yankees need him to be about as good as he was last year. But realistically, even if his ERA is a bit higher, it will be fine.
The Yankees are expecting another big season out of Zack Britton, and hopefully, he will produce.