Yankees 2017: Who's Hot, Who's Not 2

Photo: Patrick Gorsk/Icon Sportswire

\Who's Hot

Gary Sanchez

August has been very nice to Sanchez thus far as he's hitting .333 through 15 games. If he is rounding into the form he had when he broke in last season, the rest of the American League should look out. 

Dellin Betances

After a few hiccups in July, Betances is once again pitching strong. He has yet to surrender a run this month and has successfully closed out two games. The Yankees are really going to need him to keep it up for the stretch run if they are going to make a push for the playoffs and the division.

Didi Gregorius

No Yankee bat is hotter than Didi's as he is swinging a scorching .359 with 23 hits in August. This season has been a revelation for the 27-year-old shortstop and should his good fortunes continue, he and the club will reap the benefits.

Luis Severino

Despite a rough outing against the Red Sox last week, Severino has proven the be the ace of the staff. He's has very impressive starts over the past two months and probably should have more wins to his record. Once a bit of an enigma, the Yankees look to have found something in the 23-year-old flamethrower.

Who's Not

Aroldis Chapman

It's been a frustrating month for the Yankee closer. His ERA is 10.38 and his command has abandoned him. Many fans are clamoring for Betances and Robertson to split the closer duties until Chapman is right, but Girardi is holding fast with position to keep him in the spot. How that will fare is anyone's guess.

Todd Frazier

Since being acquired in mid-July, Todd Frazier hasn't put together a strong showing at the plate hitting just .207 in 27 games. The Yankees have gotten by unscathed by his struggles, but you would like to see the veteran third baseman pick thigs up and make a healthy contribution through September.

Aaron Judge

Judge in a fall from grace period right now, posting a .189 average in August with league high 27 strikeouts. He also set a less than stellar mark as he has struck out in 34 consecutive games. Many had high hopes that he would be leading the MVP race at this point, but the league has adjusted to him and it will take an adjustment of his own if he wants to return to the form that took the league by storm before the All-Star break.

Yankees - Who's Hot, Who's Not 2

Who's Hot:

Nathan Eovaldi

Photo: Jim McIsaac Getty Images

After a shaky start, Eovaldi has put together some solid outings over the last two weeks earning victories in each of his last four starts while lowering his ERA from 5.46 to 3.95. It appears that he may have regained the confidence that propelled him last season before the untimely injury but with plenty of games left, the jury is still out. For now, the Yankees should be very pleased with his progression

CC Sabathia

Photo: Jim McIsaac Getty Images

In a shocking twist that not many saw coming, Sabathia has arguably been the team's best pitcher over the last two weeks as well as the month of May. In fact, he's surrendered just one earned run in his last three starts, which included a 15-day gap due to a stint on the disabled list for a hamstring strain. His ERA now sits at 2.83, nowhere near where anyone projected he'd be at this point, so this is definitely a pleasant surprise the Yankees will surely take.

Didi Gregorius

Photo: Adam Hunger Getty Images

With a blistering .444 average over the last 7 games, Gregorius finds himself as the team's hottest hitter. This is a great sign for the Yankees as it shows that the strong finish he had to last season was not an anomaly and he is ready to take on a bigger role with his bat. That doesn't mean he'll be hitting cleanup any time soon, but it does allow Girardi to tinker with lineup in order to capitalize on Didi's hot hitting.

Carlos Beltran

Photo: Rich Schultz Getty Images

Beltran has had a very productive month, belting 6 homers and driving in a team leading 20 runs. This has come in the nick of time for the Yankees, as he helped lead the club back to a .500 record earlier in the week (although the team has since dropped their last two). If this is to be Beltran's final year, he's certainly looking to go out with a bang.

Who's Not:

Starlin Castro

Photo: Anthony Gruppuso USA Today Sports

Castro has cooled of considerably this month hitting just .228 in May and .172 over the last week. Bad habits and impatience at the plate have been two major factors contributing to the steady decline of his hitting. He'll need to get back to basics in order to regain his April form or this could become more than just a month long slump, something the Yankees can't really afford at this juncture.

Brett Gardner

Photo: Peter Llewellyn USA Today Sports

Gardner is becoming a bit of an enigma for the Yankees. He has all of the tools to be a fine hitter, yet he can't seem to fully hone those tools and achieve his potential. In between the ups and downs he goes through week by week and his inconsistent contact at the plate (he often blindly fouls off good pitches to hit), it has to frustrating seeing yet another sub-par performance go by.

Mark Teixeira

Photo: Jesse Johnson USA Today Sports

Like Gardner, Mark Teixeira finds himself in a precarious spot on the team. Despite all of the efforts to correct his hitting, he continues to slump. With an .080 batting average over the past week coupled with nagging injuries, it appears that his best days are behind him. The Yankees have to hope that he can regain his top tier form, or it could be yet another disappointing season for the big money all-star.

New York Yankees - Season in Review

The 2015 season came to disappointing finish after a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card Game. Despite this disappointment, the Yankees still managed to accomplish a lot more than many expected of them this season. Here are some of the Yankees biggest surprises and disappointments of the year.

Surprises

Nathan Eovaldi was acquired by the Yankees to fill the vacant hole in the rotation coming into the season and many were skeptical if h could viably contribute to the club. Those sentiments were erased when he lead the team in wins and established himself as the most effective pitcher out in the rotation for most of the second half. If it were not for an inflamed elbow, the Yankees may have stood a much greater chance to win the AL East.

Alex Rodriguez was not expected to be a contributing factor this year, especially since he had missed an entire year of baseball after his suspension in 2014. Not only did he lead the club in homers (33) he also brought a stable right handed bat to the offense. Unfortunately his hitting slowed down tremendously in August and September, most likely to to his age and missed time. Nonetheless, Rodriguez certainly was a bright spot no one saw coming.

The appearance of young prospects Luis Severino, Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder, and Slade Heathcott is a major plus for a once devoid farm system. It's a far cry from years past when the Yankees would have traded them away for a marquee player. Hopefully this is a sign that the team is ready to begin the process of building a contender from within, which history has shown could work out very well in the years to come.

Didi Gregorius had a rough beginning to his Yankee career as he hit .238 through the first half to go along with one too many errors at short. However, after making a few adjustments (and a pep talk from Derek Jeter) he was able to put together a stout second half hitting .295 (second on the team behind Beltran) and flashed a much steadier glove. If this is a sign of things to come, Didi may just carve out a place for himself on the roster for the foreseeable future.

The Yankees found a great bullpen tandem in Betances and Miller, one that was nearly untouchable for the first two months. If Miller had been healthy in June and Betances had not been so overworked, they could have easily carried the Yankees to few more crucial wins which may have helped decide the division

Disappointments

Brett Gardner had as big of an up and down year as one could imagine. After hitting .302 through mid-July and earning an All Star nod, he completely bottomed out in the second half. His .206 average and high strikeout propensity through September caused fans to grow very impatient and agitated as they was showered with resentment in the final game.

Everything was going quite well for Mark Teixeira, He had 31 home runs, and was poised to put up the fantastic numbers, Unfortunately, that did not come to pass as a fateful foul tip fractured his leg, ending his season. These untimely injuries have become far too frequent for the five time gold glover and it has to equally as frustrating to the team as it is for him. He will certainly need lady luck on his side in 2016, or the Yankees could turn to Greg Bird as the everyday player much sooner than one may think.

Despite hitting 17 home runs, the 32 year old infielder Stephen Drew struggled to hit .200 all season long. There were many times where he looked completely lost at the plate, leaving many Yankee faithful wondering why he was still on the roster. Joe Girardi put his faith in Drew from the start of spring training, which did annoy some fans who believed Refsnyder should have been given the opportunity. After a concussion brought his season to an end, it may be time to move on to a younger, more stable counterpart.

It wasn't a season to remember for CC Sabathia as he won just six games to 4.73 ERA, only looking better in the final month. To add to things, he has entered alcohol rehab for an issue that unfortunately reared it's ugly head this year. With so much invested in him through 2017 ($48 million with a $25 million option), the Yankees hope that Sabathia can work through his personal troubles and bounce back in a big way next season.