NEW YORK — The Yankees reached the All-Star break at 54-42, clinging to an American League wild-card spot and sitting three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. The record hides a wide gap in individual value. Some players carried the roster. Others weighed it down.
Grading the first half by production, role and availability sorts the group in a hurry. Two names sit at the top of the class. One sits alone at the bottom. The rest fall somewhere between a solid regular and a fringe contributor.
The marks below run on a 10-point scale, built from FanGraphs‘ first-half batting, baserunning, defensive and WAR figures through the final weekend before the break. FanGraphs listed Ben Rice as the Yankees’ top position player at 3.2 WAR and Cam Schlittler as the top pitcher at 3.5 WAR.
That pair defines the ceiling. Austin Wells defines the floor. Everyone else is a study in trade-offs, and those trade-offs will shape how the Yankees attack the July 31 deadline.
Position players: Rice sets the standard, Wells drags the bottom
Ben Rice earned the highest hitter mark on the roster. With Judge limited by a right rib injury for much of the first half, Rice became the club’s power source and reached the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby. His bat, not his defense, carried the grade.
Bellinger, Judge and Goldschmidt round out the upper tier. Judge would grade higher with more games. Wells lands at the other extreme, undone by a 40 wRC+ and a .244 on-base percentage that his glovework could not offset.
| Player | Mark | Assessment |
| Ben Rice | 9.8/10 | A genuine S grade. His 29 homers, 166 wRC+ and 3.2 WAR made him the Yankees’ most productive available hitter. |
| Cody Bellinger | 8.7/10 | Strong all-around half. A 114 wRC+, 2.4 WAR, dependable defense and low strikeout rate outweigh the cold spell. |
| Aaron Judge | 8.6/10 | Elite when available: 17 homers and a 149 wRC+ in 59 games. Availability prevents a 9.5-plus grade. |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 8.4/10 | Excellent value from a veteran role player. His 15 homers and 124 wRC+ exceeded reasonable expectations. |
| Trent Grisham | 7.8/10 | A productive regular rather than merely a depth outfielder. His 115 wRC+ and strong plate discipline added real value. |
| Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 7.5/10 | The bat disappointed with a 93 wRC+, but 26 steals, baserunning and defense still produced 2.1 WAR. That is not a mediocre season overall. |
| Max Schuemann | 7.4/10 | Excellent in limited action, posting a 150 wRC+ and .406 on-base percentage. The 64-plate-appearance sample keeps him below an A. |
| Anthony Volpe | 7.1/10 | His 96 wRC+ remains ordinary, but improved defense, speed and a .344 OBP produced 1.1 WAR in only 44 games. |
| Jose Caballero | 7.0/10 | Near-average hitting, 22 steals and positional flexibility made him a useful contributor, although not a major offensive force. |
| Ryan McMahon | 6.5/10 | Valuable defense and 0.8 WAR soften the impact of an 85 wRC+ and high strikeout rate. The bat must improve. |
| Amed Rosario | 6.0/10 | Nine homers and a 104 wRC+ helped, but poor defensive value limited his overall contribution. |
| Jasson Dominguez | 5.8/10 | The recent offensive improvement matters, but a 94 wRC+, low walk rate and negative defensive value made the overall half disappointing. |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 5.1/10 | Roughly league-average offense when active, but only 24 games and three homers provided too little overall value. |
| Ali Sanchez | 4.6/10 | His defensive work provided some value, but a 67 wRC+ and minimal offensive impact leave him below average. |
| Austin Wells | 2.5/10 | The clear F grade. Strong defensive numbers could not overcome a 40 wRC+, .244 OBP and negative WAR. |
The offensive ratings reflect first-half FanGraphs figures for batting, baserunning, defense and WAR through the final weekend before the All-Star break.
Starting pitchers: Schlittler grades out perfect
Cam Schlittler is the story of the staff. He finished the half with a 2.05 ERA and 118 2/3 innings, then removed himself from All-Star Game duty to rest for the second half. His workload and run prevention earned the only perfect mark in the group.
Behind him, the rotation grades reflect missed time as much as performance. Fried, Rodon and Cole all pitched well in stretches but were limited by injuries or smaller starts totals. Weathers and Warren filled innings and kept their marks respectable.
| Player | Mark | Assessment |
| Cam Schlittler | 10/10 | The easiest grade. A 2.05 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate and 3.5 WAR across 118 2/3 innings made him the staff ace. |
| Max Fried | 8.3/10 | A 3.21 ERA and 1.9 WAR in 10 starts represented excellent performance, but missed time reduced his total first-half contribution. |
| Carlos Rodon | 7.3/10 | A 3.30 ERA, 26.8% strikeout rate and 1.0 WAR were strong. Nine starts and a high walk rate limit the grade. |
| Ryan Weathers | 7.0/10 | Better than his 4.15 ERA suggests. His 26.9% strikeout rate, 3.87 FIP and 1.6 WAR show legitimate rotation value despite the homers. |
| Will Warren | 6.9/10 | A useful but inconsistent half. His 4.15 ERA and 1.4 WAR over 93 1/3 innings qualify as solid mid-to-back rotation production. |
| Gerrit Cole | 6.7/10 | Encouraging command and stretches of strong stuff, but a 4.04 ERA, eight homers and only nine starts fall short of ace standards. |
Schlittler carried the rotation while the other established starters were slowed by injuries, inconsistency or lighter workloads.
Relievers: Headrick, Bednar and Cruz anchor the bullpen
The back of the bullpen graded out as a strength. Headrick posted a 1.55 ERA and drew the top reliever mark. Bednar handled the closer role with a 2.70 ERA, and Cruz leaned on a dominant splitter to miss bats at a high rate.
The bottom of the group is where the staff sprang leaks. Hill, Doval and Bird occupied the lowest tier, with Hill’s minus-0.4 WAR standing out as the weakest single line among the pitchers.
| Player | Mark | Assessment |
| Brent Headrick | 9.4/10 | An outstanding first half. His 1.55 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 1.2 WAR were elite for a reliever. |
| David Bednar | 9.0/10 | Reliable closer production with a 2.70 ERA, 2.55 FIP and strong strikeout-to-walk profile. |
| Fernando Cruz | 8.6/10 | A dominant splitter helped produce a 2.25 ERA and 29.9% strikeout rate. Walks remain the main concern. |
| Paul Blackburn | 7.8/10 | A 2.31 ERA across 46 2/3 innings made him a valuable long reliever and emergency starter, even if his underlying numbers were less dominant. |
| Ryan Yarbrough | 5.5/10 | The 4.17 ERA was survivable, but a low strikeout rate, elevated walk rate and 5.19 xFIP point toward limited effectiveness. |
| Jake Bird | 4.8/10 | Poor, but not a disaster. A 4.50 ERA and 4.23 FIP were below average, though he still produced slightly positive WAR. |
| Camilo Doval | 4.5/10 | The 4.58 ERA and home-run problems hurt badly. His 3.48 xFIP suggests some rebound potential, preventing a complete failure grade. |
| Tim Hill | 3.8/10 | His 4.33 ERA, 5.34 FIP and minus-0.4 WAR made him one of the weakest pitchers on the staff. |
FanGraphs credited the Yankees’ pitching staff with a 3.39 ERA at the break. Headrick, Bednar and Cruz were major reasons for that success, while Hill, Doval and Bird made up the bottom tier.
What the grades mean for the second half
The report card points the Yankees toward clear needs. The catching spot, dragged down by Wells’ 40 wRC+, looms as a target with the trade deadline near. The back of the bullpen needs an upgrade over its weakest arms.
The strengths are just as clear. Rice and Schlittler give the club two building blocks in their primes. A healthy Judge, a productive Bellinger and a deep group of high-mark relievers give the roster a foundation to defend its wild-card position.
The Yankees exit the break with momentum after sweeping the Nationals. The grades show a team carried by a small number of standout performers and held back by a short list of underperformers. How the front office addresses that bottom tier by July 31 will decide how the second-half story reads.
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