Baseball is a strange game. Back in March, you could have told me that Carlos Rodón, Luis Severino, Nestor Cortes, and Frankie Montas would combine for a sub-zero WAR total, with the Yankees missing the playoffs, and I would have nodded and probably asked few follow-ups. Tell me the same thing and add that pitching might not have actually been the number one reason they missed the playoffs, though, and I’d have raised three eyebrows, if I had them.
In spite of the big name flops on the staff, the Yankees still had their share of good pitching this year, and Matt Blake and the team’s pitching development operation has proven consistently that they’re among the best in the game at tweaking arsenals and getting pitchers to get the most out of what they’re good at.