The Yankees vs. Guardians battle lines are drawn. The most experienced MLB playoff team is facing its youngest counterpart to decide who should be heading to the 2022 World Series.
When these two teams play each other in the American League Division Series, which starts Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, it will be the first time they’ve met in October since Cleveland changed its name. However, it will be the continuation of what has become a long postseason history between them since the Wild Card was introduced. They have played each other before in the ALDS of 1997, the AL Championship Series of 1998, the ALDS of 2007, the ALDS of 2017, and the AL Wild Card Series of 2020.
Here is our choice for the ALDS roster. Let’s know what do you think.
Three of the last five World Series were won by the Yankees. Who has the upper hand this time when the expensive Yankees and their 62-homer hero Aaron Judge play the annoying Guardians, who have the youngest roster in the MLB. Let’s see how they match against each other.
The starters
Yankees: Cole, Cortes, Severino
Guardians: Quantrill, Bieber, McKenzie
Gerrit Cole is a very good pitcher to start Game 1. He is one of the best pitchers in the sport, but his 111 ERA+ in 33 starts this year was average for him, and his rate of 1.48 homers per nine was the fifth worst among qualifiers.
The better numbers came from Nestor Cortes (2.44 ERA, 159 ERA+) and Luis Severino (3.18 ERA, 123 ERA+), who are going to start the second and the third games respectively. Both of them have long since gone over their 2021 innings totals. Jameson Taillon wasn’t always good, so his ERA+ was the same as the league average for the second year in a row.
Cleveland’s rotation has been a big strength for a long time. Cal Quantrill can pitch in Game 1 based on his 3.38 ERA and 113 ERA+ in the regular season. Shane Bieber is the ace. He came back from an injury to his right shoulder this year and has slowly gotten back into 2020 AL Cy Young form. In his last 14 starts, Bieber has a 1.97 ERA and a .208 opponents’ average, which includes a great game against the Rays in the Wild Card Series.
Triston McKenzie followed up his big year in 2022 (2.96 ERA, 129 ERA+) with six scoreless innings in the Wild Card Series in which he only gave up two hits. Aaron Civale, whose season numbers aren’t great but who had a 3.35 ERA and a.186 opponent average in the second half, would be the fourth choice.
Both of these teams had a rotation with an ERA in the top 10, but Cleveland’s was in the top five (3.41), while the Yankees were 17th (3.94). But if Cole played his electric version, which is always a possibility, things would change quickly.
The closers
Yankees: Holmes, Marinaccio, Effross, Peralta
Guardians: Clase, Karinchak, Stephan, Hentges
The Yankees don’t have a clear best choice. Clay Holmes did it in the first half, but his 4.48 earned run average (ERA) and right shoulder strain in the second half were cause for concern. Ron Marinaccio was having a great rookie year until he hurt his right shin. Both looks set to return to the ALDS roster. Aaron Boone may also fall back to Jonathan Loaisiga, Scott Effross, Wandy Peralta, and Lou Trivino.
Cleveland has a better bullpen. Emmanuel Clase is the best closer because he led the Majors with 42 saves and finished 67 games. He is at the top of his class and can give the Guards more than one inning. James Karinchak (2.08 ERA), Trevor Stephan (2.73 ERA), and lefty Sam Hentges (2.32 ERA) are the best options for setting up in a bullpen that had the best ERA in the second half of the season, pitched the fewest innings overall, and didn’t let any runs in 10 1/3 innings in the Wild Card Series.
The catching prowess
The Yankees traded Gary Sanchez and get Jose Trevino, who had an All-Star season. The player hit .355/.396/.505 and played great defense behind the plate. Between Trevino and Kyle Higashioka, New York has the eighth-best MLB catcher.
The Guardians face a disadvantage. Austin Hedges and Luke Maile are both good at defense and calling the game for the Guardians, but their .533 OPS from catcher was the second worst in MLB.
Manning the first base
The Yankees are strong and have an advantage. Anthony Rizzo signed a two-year deal to come back to the Yankees for 2022 and 2023, and he had his best season since 2019. His 32 home runs were tied for a career high and his 132 wRC+ created were second only to Aaron Judge.
For Cleveland, Josh Naylor came back from a bad injury to his right ankle and calf to have a 117 wRC+. But Owen Miller was not a good offensive player.
The second base
Gleyber Torres gave the Yankees their best overall season since 2019 with a batting line of .257/.310/.451. Even though most of his offensive impact came in the first half of the year, he ended the year well with a .959 OPS in September. If DJ LeMahieu, a veteran who can do a lot of things and has had trouble with his toe, is on the team, he is also a possibility.
The Guardians steal a lead here with Andres Gimenez becoming an All-Star and the second-best second baseman in the AL, behind only Jose Altuve of the Astros. In the Wild Card Series, he failed to repeat that 1 for 8 and struck out six times.
The Shortstop
The Yankees have Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who hit .261/.314/.327 and played good defense. On defense, his advanced metrics were mixed. Outs above average put him at -2 (25th among shortstops), but defensive runs saved put him at +10. (tied for sixth best among shortstops).
Amed Rosario was a plus-6 in defensive runs saved at shortstop, but he was a minus-7 in outs above average. Even so, he worked hard and had a good season, hitting .283,.312, and .403 with 18 stolen bases and nine triples, which was the most in the MLB. This gives Cleveland a slight edge.
Men at Third base
Josh Donaldson’s first season in the Bronx was statistically his healthiest season since his rookie year with Oakland in 2012. He hit .222/.308/374, but his defense was better than average, so he still got a plus-7.
José Ramrez remains the mainstay of the Guardians. In the Wild Card Game 1, he hit a two-run homer that gave them the lead and in Game 2, he saved the game on defense. Going back to 2016, only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout (both 43.5) have a higher FanGraphs WAR than Ramrez’s 39.4.
The left field
The Yankees continue to struggle. Andrew Benintendi broke his right hamate bone 33 games into his new job. Since then, Aaron Hicks, a struggling veteran, and Oswaldo Cabrera, a rookie, have been starting in his place. The latter made a big difference right away (1.5 fWAR in 44 games), but he is still getting used to things.
Steven Kwan, is a big reason why Cleveland has its strength here. He hit .298 with a .373 on-base percentage and is a contender for the Gold Glove. But the way Cabrera is upping the ante against the opponents, the Yankees can get a surprise lead.
The Center field
The Yankees have only recently started to put Harrison Bader, who they got in a trade, in center field. After dealing with plantar fasciitis, he played his first game in pinstripes on September 20. He only played in 86 games for the Cardinals and Yankees this season, but in the last three years, he’s had an MLB-best 24 outs above average with the league-average offense, which is a nice combination.
Myles Straw is a game-changing defender for the Guardians. Straw, however, fell short of league-average offensive this season, with the lowest OPS (.564) of any qualifier and is no match for Bader.
The Right field
Though the Guardians’ Oscar Gonzalez have some excellent games, no one stands in comparison to Aaron Judge this season. It is Judge’s year.
The Designated hitter
Giancarlo Stanton remains a significant power threat, as he hit three homers in his last three games of the regular season. He had the worst year of his career that year. 759 OPS in 452 times up to bat. On the other hand, the Guardians don’t actually have one. They field Naylor or Miller or rookie Will Brennan.
The Yankees look more powerful and stronger than the Guardians. But October has a history of surprises for baseball fans. The Guardians’ journey to this round is one of baseball’s greatest shocks. The Yankees struggled and their bullpen was a concern before they had a September revival. So, the contest is tied though the Yankees have an edge and more experience.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
