Two things happened in New York Yankees news this past week, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said “Fans should keep an open mind that I’m never done until I’m done, and that’s usually not until opening day,” and PECOTA released its 2019 projections for players and teams ranking the Yankees at the top of the American League East.
I’m not claiming there’s any connection between the two events, just noting that the Yankees are already slated to be very good and Steinbrenner suggests they may not be done.
Baseball Prospectus‘ PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm) projections rank the AL East this way:
- Yankees – 96-66
- Red Sox 90-72
- Rays 86-76
- Blue Jays 76-86
- Orioles 57-105
Projections are not predictions, but it’s fair to say based on these numbers that the Yankees and the Red Sox will be battling it out at the top of the division without much interference from the other three teams in the AL East, with the exception of the Rays, who may surprise again with a strong record.