State of the Yankees, Splits You Might Want to Know

(Photo Permission and Credit to Freek Bouwe of Phrake Photography)

Posted By: Steven Claxton

The Current State of the Yankees

In a certain light, the anger of Yankees fans upon recently trading for Edwin Encarnacion is humorous. Some fans likely expected a signing of either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado this past off-season - and, obviously, that did not happen. Likewise, those particular fans were probably angry, too.

Now, the Yankees have acquired a hitter who has performed offensively better than both of those marquee players all while avoiding their devastatingly long-term contracts and making said acquisition for a lower annual cost.

It was, realistically, a nicely underrated moved despite the supposed woes of the rotation. With Stanton and Judge healthy again for the time being, this offense could potentially stomp its opponents to the playoffs regardless of pitching. And even then, it's not a foregone conclusion that the moves will stop here.

DJ LeMahieu

Aaron Judge

Gary Sanchez

Aaron Hicks

Giancarlo Stanton

Edwin Encarnacion

Gleyber Torres

Didi Gregorius

Luke Voit

In some combination, the names above are the Yankees 1 through 9 hitters. A frightening spectacle you'd think to only see in the next installment of IT or some haunted carnival in a desolate northeastern town. I can't tell you why those similes were the ones to come to mind.

In my prior article, I mentioned the Yankees as possible suitors in a trade for deGrom and I am not sure that this changes that at all. If not deGrom, then another star pitcher. A once strong prospect and still fairly coveted player, Clint Frazier, is yet again stuck in the minors. Florial also might be considered "expendable" at this point given the strength of the outfield - even in the wake of injuries among two of those three. Clint Frazier agrees.

It really doesn't matter.

The Yankees have a strong core now. Not that they hadn't one already, but there are a wide range of moves this team could make this year or during the off-season. The organization's pitching prospects line up well to contribute in 2020, in conjunction with whatever moves the team makes, foreshadowing this organization to be a heavy World Series favorite next year (what's new?).

As someone who was a Red Sox fan upon discovering my joy for baseball over 15 years ago, I long disliked the Yankees. As I have aged, I am not the same fan and mostly prefer just rooting for specific players. I still don't exactly enjoy seeing them win. It's hard to not have some respect for the moves they have made, though, as they generally make the right ones.

Splits You Might Want to Know

Moving on from the talk of the New York Yankees, let's have a look at some interesting splits for various players. Splits are, of course, often key factors in fantasy leagues and DFS. It's important to remember they are not concrete, but they could serve as indications of what's to come even if they later change or even out.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - For a 20 year old in the majors, Guerrero Jr. has looked fine. He has also looked young - which would explain why someone who thoroughly dismantled minor league pitching would have a .249 batting average and a 99 WRC+ in spite of respectable strikeout and walk numbers in his rookie season.

Even as Toronto's home park has led the major leagues in home runs per game, Vlad Jr. seems to be having a difficult time getting it going at home.

Home: 91 ABs, .220 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 21 Ks, 8 BB, 4 doubles

Away: 78 ABs, .282 BA, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 14 Ks, 9 BB, 5 doubles

The extrapolation game is always a matter of perspective and sometimes feels like cherry picking but, if we do extrapolate his away numbers, you've roughly 35 home runs, 35 doubles, 98 RBI, 98 strikeouts, and 63 walks. Even in his rookie season, that sounds more in line with the Vlad Jr. we expected.

Ups and downs should have been expected and I am still on the fence as to whether or not he will win rookie of the year now that my original pick, the older Eloy Jimenez, has come to life a bit. Someone else could also clearly win the award, but that's neither here nor there.

In sum, keep an eye on his splits. Don't get carried away by any means (due to his talent), but in a rookie year especially, splits like these could potentially continue for awhile for a player who is still really just getting his feet wet.

Trevor Bauer - There's not a ton to analyze here because Bauer is an unpredictable fella. I largely see Bauer as the pitcher he was before his dominance in 2019 while the stuff still remains excellent - which was never really the issue.

After buying into Trevor Bauer and even going as far as predicting him to win the Cy Young award in the preseason, I traded Trevor Bauer and Roberto Osuna for Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel two or three weeks ago in my keeper league and I don't feel badly about it.

At this point, most people are leery of Bauer - therefore, you may be stuck with him on your roster, or your team if you are a Cleveland Indians fan. This means that any dramatic pitching splits would probably be of interest to you.

Thus,

Home: 51 innings, 54 Ks, 4.94 ERA, 9 HR, 28 ER, 26 BB, 8 HBP, 12 doubles

Away: 57 1/3 innings, 63 Ks, 2.04 ERA, 4 HR, 13 ER, 19 BB, 3 HBP, 8 doubles

Without looking at his splits, you could already likely tell that Bauer hasn't been the same pitcher as he was last year (so far) based on his other metrics alone. Still, his splits have been night and day. He has had excellent results on the road. Those home runs especially are revealing.

There are other splits. He does have a sub 3 ERA in March/April and June, but a 5.00+ in May while lefties are also seemingly succeeding far more than righties, but that's the world of splits. You have to choose what to focus on and, other than 4 unearned runs vs. CWS on May 31st (which would have totaled 6 runs), Trevor Bauer has been consistently solid on the road. Six of his eight starts have seen him allow 2 ER or less with the remaining two starts only allowing 4 earned runs each.

Those weird Nationals - For whatever reason, several Nats are hitting far better at home despite being 12th in the majors in runs respectively. I'm not sure I or anyone could tell you why that is other than teams generally win more home games than away games. Don't believe me? see for yourself.

Anthony Rendon Home:.422 OBP, .735 SLG, 1.157 OPS, .342 AVG

Anthony Rendon Away: .390 OBP, .563 SLG, .953 OPS, .282 AVG

Howie Kendrick Home: .462 OBP, .735 SLG, .1196 OPS, .410 AVG

Howie Kendrick Away: .330 OBP, .484 SLG, .814 OPS, .275 AVG

Juan Soto Home: .403 OBP, .535 SLG, .938 OPS, .318 AVG

Juan Soto Away: .383 OBP, .463 SLG, .846 OPS, .269 AVG

Victor Robles Home: .484 SLG, 8 HR, 7 doubles (122 ABs)

Victor Robles Away: .374 SLG, 3 HR, 4 doubles (123 ABs)

Meanwhile, Trea Turner and Brian Dozier have oppositely been great on the road and lesser at home (Dozier also has a .375 BA vs. lefties & 5 HRs in 56 ABs). Splits are strange.

Now, you clearly aren't going to sit Juan Soto or Anthony Rendon - and probably not Howie Kendrick so long as he is succeeding, but it could be worth keeping in mind in DFS and may be enough to consider alternating a player out in daily leagues. As well, it could potentially indicate an increase in home game winning percentage for a team that is just 20-17 at home.

Jesse Winker - Slowly, but surely, Jesse Winker has rebounded from his slow start. His OPS is back above .800 and he looks more like the guy most expected him to be. I was fortunate to nab Winker in my leagues upon his release from other teams and I hope that some of you were, too, because he should serve as a solid addition to a lineup and fantasy team in standard and deep leagues.

One thing, though, to note about Winker - dating back to last year even - is that he apparently prefers his home ballpark. And it's not overly surprising based on Great American Ballpark being considered one of the more hitter-friendly for awhile now.

Last year, Winker batted .328 at home with 6 home runs vs. .271 on the road with 1 home run (in nearly half of a season). This year, that trend has continued.

Jesse Winker Home: 111 ABs, .306 BA, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 6 doubles

Jesse Winker Away: 107 ABs, .196 BA, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 4 doubles

Winker also appears to be worse vs. same-handed pitching although that seems like something that could improve. It would be a shame if Winker is simply a home star, but that hasn't prevented Rockies hitters from being assets.

Ultimately, the Reds seem to be turning the corner as a team and Winker has been part of that. I think his splits are considerable enough to bench him on some away series/games, but it's still your choice.

Gleyber Torres: The interesting thing about Gleyber Torres is that analysts are quick to deem this season as a breakout already in spite of plate discipline that is nearly identical to last season (okay, so he did shave off 3% of his K rate).

I do think Torres has a bright future and he was certainly no slouch last year, but I am not sold that this season's results have been anything other than juiced ball fun. Then again, if the juiced ball stays, it doesn't matter. I'm getting off track.

Gleyber Torres is good and I think Gleyber Torres will be great. He won't even be 23 years old until the start of next season, in which he will then be past the potential fearsome sophomore slump stage.

Back to splits.

Gleyber Torres vs. Righties: 198 ABs, .293 BA, 15 HR, 34 RBI, 22 BB, 46 Ks, 9 Doubles

Gleyber Torres vs. Lefties: 60 ABs, .267 BA, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 20 Ks, 4 Doubles

These splits are much different than 2018 when he hit 11 home runs in just 118 ABs vs. lefties, which again show that splits aren't necessarily a long-term predictor and are often only yearly (if not less than that). Prior to Thursday's game, he actually was at only 1 home run and 6 RBI vs left-handed pitchers.

For whatever reason, Baltimore pitching aside, he has loved facing right-handed pitching this season in terms of home runs especially. While still generally a must-start at this point, it is worth noting.

Other notable splits, mostly of star players:

Yelich: If you somehow have missed the memo, Yelich is basically a legend at home.

Bellinger: .399 BA at home

Ketel Marte: 14 HR away vs. 6 at home

Tatis Jr.: 1.121 OPS on the road (may be fueled a bit by his most recent series at Coors Field)

Bogaerts: 1.026 OPS at home, an unsurprising offensive boost at Fenway Park

Mitch Garver: 1.219 OPS in away games

Merrifield: .944 OPS away (.755 at home)

Devers: .925 OPS away (.783 at home)
Carson Kelly & Hanser Alberto: Both batting .400 or better vs lefties

That is all I have for you in this installment of The Catch. Thank you to those of you out there who take the time to read our articles. Again, if there's something you'd like to see us try to cover, it's worth a shot to reach out to us and we'll see what we can do. Have a great day.

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