The New York Yankees are currently 12-6 and are comfortably sitting atop the American League East in first place. Although their starting pitching (besides Cole) would make fans think they’d be somewhere around .500, the team has found a way to score a ton of runs every game to keep them winning.
There have been several players that have flown under the radar so far who have been helping the Yankees a ton and Chad Green is the biggest of them all. I don’t think Yankee fans realize how solid a reliever Green is and he doesn’t get enough credit. The only time fans are talking about him is when he has a bad outing.
Take a look at his game logs up until this point in the season:
7/26 vs. WSH: 2.0 IP, 7 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
7/29 vs. BAL: 1.0 IP, 4 BF, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K
7/31 vs. BOS: 2.0 IP, 6 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K
8/3 vs. PHI: 0.2 IP, 2 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
8/5 vs. PHI: 2.1 IP, 7 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
8/8 vs TB: 1.1 IP, 6 BF, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 K
8/11 vs. ATL: 0.2 IP, 2 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K
8/12 vs. ATL: 1.0 IP, 3 BF, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K
These numbers speak for themselves. Green has been absolutely dominant for the Yankees so far and not enough people are talking about him. In eight outings and 11 IP, Green has allowed just two hits and one earned run. Every time he comes into a game, he consistently pounds the zone and gets guys out. In that time on the mound this year, Green has only issued three walks and has struck out 15 batters.
One of the biggest reasons why Green is so effective on the mound is his ability to throw strikes consistently and get a ton of swing and misses. According to FanGraphs, when Green is in the zone, hitters z-contact % is 77.8% and the average is around 87%. Although he doesn’t get a ton of guys to chase out of the zone, his hard four-seam fastball blows by hitters.
Chad Green has been everything and more for the New York Yankees this season. With a struggling and inconsistent starting rotation, it’s crucial that the bullpen picks up the slack. Green has been doing it all for the Yanks, and fans should expect to without hesitation.