The New York Yankees rotation has had a few rough days in the past week. The team has dropped consecutive series against the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals in what was supposed to be a favorable stretch, and the Baltimore Orioles are breathing down their neck as a result.
On Sunday, Nestor Cortes allowed nine hits and five runs in a loss against the Cards. Will Warren conceded four more runs on Saturday to take his ERA to an unfathomable 9.55, which is basically why he was sent down to Triple-A Scranton. On Wednesday, Carlos Rodon surrendered five runs in 5.2 frames, and Gerrit Cole conceded three runs and two homers on Tuesday.
There are some concerning trends and situations in the unit, particularly with two pitchers now that Warren is in Triple-A-.
2 Yankees starters who are struggling right now
Nestor Cortes
Cortes was actually pitching well before taking the ball on Sunday against a mediocre team like the St. Louis Cardinals. In a game he should have dominated, he conceded nine hits and five earned runs instead.
The left-hander has accumulated 144 punchouts in 159 innings this season, but could only fan two hitters on Sunday. It’s certainly something to keep in mind, but he is talented enough to bounce back.
Cortes has pitched a lot this season after being limited to just 63.1 frames last year due to shoulder issues. Perhaps the Yankees would be more mindful of his workload (he has already established a new career-high with a month to go) if they weren’t in the middle of a race for the division.
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Carlos Rodon
Rodon has enormous potential as a top-of-the-rotation stalwart, but his 4.31 ERA paints the picture of an inconsistent star who has struggled to find consistency after a brilliant start of the year.
Maybe fatigue is starting to become a factor, but the lack of command can really hurt him at times and he has conceded a career-high in home runs (25 to this point) in just 146.1 innings.
The strikeout stuff is still there (161 punchouts in 2024) and so is the talent, so the Yankees hope to see his best version again this season.
Other concerning trends
- Cole hasn’t been a disaster by any means, but if his last start is any indication, he is still trying to find his best command and consistent strikeout stuff. These things can take some time, but the expectation is that if he is fully healthy, he will be a fantastic leader for the Yankees rotation.
- Marcus Stroman has had a solid season overall, but his velocity is worth monitoring. Any further dips in sinker velo could be catastrophic in a playoff environment. His sinker averaged 92 mph in 2022, 91.4 in 2023, and is down to 90 mph this year according to Baseball Savant.
- It goes without saying that Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt will be handled with kids’ gloves at least for a couple of starts since they would be coming back from injuries when the Yankees activate them (likely this weekend).
