Aaron Judge leading Yankees resurgence, Rookie of the Year power rankings, league leaders and more

Slugger Aaron Judge is the new face of the Yankees, Matt Harvey is in trouble, Rookie of the Year power rankings, league leaders, and more.

The Yankees are retiring Derek Jeter’s No. 2 this weekend, which is fitting since there’s a new face of the franchise in the Bronx.

Premature? Perhaps. Jeter is a legend in New York, a surefire Hall of Famer that spent two decades in pinstripes. However, Aaron Judge is quickly becoming a folk hero.

Judge, a 6-foot-7, 282-pound outfielder that played 27 games in the majors last season, is hitting .317/.410/.772 through 28 games this season. He still has rookie status, and is therefore the odds on favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. The last Yankee to win the honor? Jeter in 1996.

But Judge might have a shot at even loftier hardware. Through Monday, the right-handed hitter was tied for the major league lead with 13 home runs. Judge also held the AL lead with 28 runs scored, 28 RBI, 78 total bases, a .772 slugging percentage and 1.183 OPS. He even ranked in the top five in the majors in defensive runs saves with six – just one behind Tampa Bay defensive wizard Kevin Kiermaier for the best in the junior circuit. That’s MVP-caliber production.

Overall, Judge has been worth 2.2 wins so far this season, 0.1 behind Bryce Harper and tied with Mike Trout for tops in the AL. Jeter posted a 2.2 WAR in 157 games as a rookie in ’96. The Yankees rookie record for WAR in a season is 4.6. Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Charlie Keller (1939) share that distinction.

WAR is a cumulative statistic, so it’s conceivable Judge will set a new team mark by the All-Star Break, at which time he should find himself at Marlins Park, participating in both the Home Run Derby and the Midsummer Classic. Of course, it’s still early May, so we’re still dealing with the issue of small sample sizes. Also, historically, plenty of rookies have gotten off to hot starts before fizzling out. Yankees fans still remember Kevin Maas.

Nevertheless, while Judge may be unable to hit at his current pace for an entire season, there are signs that indicate he will be able to avoid a disappointing let down. As Ben Lindbergh pointed out at The Ringer last week, Judge hits the ball harder and farther than anyone else, and he has also made huge strides in contact rate compared to his cup of coffee in 2016.

Most importantly, Judge (in addition to the five other Yankees position players that rank among the top 45 in the majors in WAR thus far) have helped the Yankees post a 21-9 record through their first 30 games. That mark tied with the Washington Nationals for the best in the big leagues this year through 30 contests.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the 2017 season is the 17^th time in club history New York has posted the best record in baseball through 30 games. Of the previous 16 Yankees clubs to turn the trick, 12 won the World Series.

Three things we learned this week

1. Matt Harvey is another problem for the Mets

The other MLB team in New York was expected to be a postseason contender thanks in large part to one of the best and deepest starting pitching rotations in baseball. However, things got off to a terrible start when Seth Lugo and Steven Matz began the season on the disabled list. The club’s issues worsened when ace Noah Syndergaard landed on the 60-day disabled list after a bicep issue led to a refused MRI, which potentially led to Syndergaard partially tearing his right lat muscle.

Of course, the injuries aren’t limited to just the pitching staff. The club’s best offensive player, Yoenis Cespedes, has been on the DL since April 28 with a hamstring strain. Lucas Duda, Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright are also currently on the DL and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is day-to-day with a thumb injury.

But the team’s latest issue has nothing to do with injuries. Matt Harvey, one of the team’s top pitching performers when healthy (a rare occurrence over the last few years), was suspended three games over the weekend for the dreaded “violation of team rules.”

Early speculation attempted to tie Harvey’s suspension to a supposed clubhouse prank that included a sex toy in catcher Kevin Plawecki’s locker, which was inadvertently shared by the Mets official Twitter account. After that theory was debunked, word spread that Harvey claimed he didn’t show up at Citi Field Saturday because of painful migraine, though that point led to an apparent miscommunication between the club and the pitcher, and Harvey was bumped from his Sunday start. The Mets were subsequently blown out by the Marlins.

But, the story doesn’t end there. Reports of Harvey’s whereabouts in the hours before he failed to show up at the ballpark include late night partying and midday golfing. Jon Heyman, who suggested Harvey would consider filing a grievance, also reported the Mets sent representatives to Harvey’s apartment where they reportedly found him in his pajamas (which is a detail we need to know for some reason).

Heyman also wondered whether the gesture was done out of concern or distrust, and when coupled with the potential grievance, signals that the Mets may be running out of patience with the Dark Knight. Our Justin McGuire was among those that called for Harvey and the Mets to part ways in the aftermath.

Harvey met with the media Tuesday, and owned up to the partying and golfing during the opening statement of his press conference. The pitcher said he apologized to his teammates and coaches, and extended those apologies to the team’s owners and fans as well.

Taking full responsibility for letting his team down was the best decision Harvey could make, and it’s a start to repairing the damage done between the Mets and the pitcher that started the 2013 All-Star Game in front of his home fans. Time will tell if Harvey’s actions follow suit.

Some star players can get away with bad behavior. But, as a wise football coach once told me, you can’t suck and be an asshole. Big league clubs don’t tolerate players that create headaches for the team unless they perform on the field. In other words, Harvey must pitch much better if he expects the team to be put up with him not showing up or partying all night.

In six starts this season (including four Mets losses), Harvey has a 5.14 ERA and has allowed seven home runs in 35.0 innings. He is 6-12 with a 4.93 ERA in 23 starts over the last two years. Still, despite a slow start to the season, Harvey and the Mets are still in the mix in the Wild Card race. Nevertheless, as the injuries and off-field issues pile up, even in early May it’s difficult to imagine New York catching up to the Nationals in the division.

Harvey is expected to start for the Mets Friday in Milwaukee.

2. Cubs lack of dominance means NL Central is up for grabs

The Chicago Cubs were head and shoulders better than the rest of the major leagues last season, which led us to believe they were not only poised to defend their World Series title in 2017, but were also set up to become the next great MLB dynasty. There’s still time for the Cubs to rediscover their dominance, but the club has been far more beatable through the first six weeks of this season.

Last year, Chicago didn’t lose its 15^th game of the season until May 31. This year’s squad dropped to 16-15 May 7 after being swept in three games by the Yankees at Wrigley Field, and fell to 16-16 with a 10-4 loss to the Rockies in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday. The Cubs were 39-16 and held a 9.5-game lead in the Central June 5 last season.

Though the Cubs are just 1.5 games out of first place, they find themselves in a tie with the Brewers for third place in the division behind the rival Cardinals (winners in 12 of their last 16 games) and the surprising Reds. The Pirates are still very much alive at 14-19, just 4.5 games back.

A big reason the Cubs have failed to reign supreme in 2017 is a starting rotation that ranks 24th in the majors in ERA (4.64) and leads all of baseball with 41 runs and 52 hits allowed in the first inning. Chicago has a 11.32 ERA in the first inning of games through Monday, and has allowed a .364 batting average in the first frame of games thus far.

Also, Kyle Schwarber (.198), Anthony Rizzo (.224), Addison Russell (.228) and Ben Zobrist (.230) have all struggled to hit consistently. The lineup as a whole has been largely mediocre, ranking seventh in the National League in runs scored (154), hits (275) and doubles (56), ninth in home runs (36), and sitting No. 10 in the league in batting average (.246) and No. 12 in slugging (.406) as of Monday.

Top to bottom, the Cubs still have the best roster in the division. However, the Cardinals have had better starting pitching, the Reds are hitting better and playing better defense, the Brewers have shown more power at the plate and speed on the bases, and the Pirates… well, the Pirates aren’t completely terrible. In other words, the Cubs will have their hands full.

3. Jameson Taillon will come back, again

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, Jameson Taillon was expected to be a top-of-the-rotation star for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a long, winding path that included Tommy John surgery, sports hernia surgery and a line drive to the head, Taillon made his big league debut in 2016, ready to fulfill his potential with the Bucs.

Taillon posted a solid 3.38 ERA in his first 18 major league starts, and followed with a 3.31 ERA in 35.1 innings across six starts this year before being placed on the disabled list with a groin injury. Sadly, it turns out that Taillon has been treated for suspected testicular cancer, as the team announced Monday.

The 25-year-old has spent a large percentage of his professional baseball career on the disabled list, but has returned each time and established himself as a good major league starter. A cancer diagnosis is easily the scariest health threat Taillon has faced to date, but he has a track record of overcoming obstacles and there’s no reason to question him now.

Here’s wishing the best to Taillon’s health, and we hope to see him back on the mound again soon.

Quotable

"“Marwin Gonzalez continues his home run rampage”."

• Astros television broadcaster Todd Kalas after Gonzalez hit a home run against the Texas Rangers May 4, 2017

With all due respect to the Yankees, the Astros are still the team to beat in the American League this season. Houston has a solid pitching staff headlined by Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers and Chris Devenski, and a powerful lineup that features Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran – and the team leader in homers and RBI – Marwin Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, a 28-year-old utility man, made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2012 at the depths of the club’s rebuild. Houston finished 55-107 his rookie season, and lost 111 games the following year.

Gonzalez has played every infield position and both corner outfield spots as a big leaguer. A switch hitter, Gonzalez has a diversified skillset, but he hadn’t been much of an offensive force until this season. In fact, in his first five seasons with Houston, he hit .257/.298/.389 with 37 home runs and 134 RBI – setting career highs with 13 dingers and 51 runs driven in 141 games last season.

Nevertheless, Gonzalez’s blast (in which he slammed his bat down in disgust apparently believing he had flown out) Thursday against the Rangers was his ninth of the season and his sixth in six days. He has 21 RBI (12 of which came during that six-day stretch), a period in which he hit .500/.545/1.556.

Play of the Week

Kevin Pillar doing Kevin Pillar things.

League Leaders

Baseball has a seemingly countless number of statistics that have been developed in order to help us to better understand the game. Each week we take a look at one advanced stat for position players and another for pitchers.

While Aaron Judge may rank among the major league leaders in several categories through the first six weeks of the season, he won’t feature anywhere near the lowest strikeout rate (K%). Judge has struck out in 26.5 percent of his plate appearances this year, and while that is a significant improvement from his 44.2 percent rate at the big league level last season, he has a long way to go before reaching the top of the leaderboard.

Strikeout rate (K%)

• Eduardo Nunez, San Francisco Giants (6.4%)
• Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (7.3%)
• Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox (8.4%)
• Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (8.6%)
• Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins (9.1%)

Eduardo Nunez holds the early lead for lowest strikeout rate among qualified position players. Nunez has struck out eight times in 125 plate appearances through Monday. Like Nunez, Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Joe Mauer are all striking out at a better rate than last year’s leader, Joe Panik, who fanned in 8.9 percent of his plate appearances.

A low strikeout rate means a hitter puts the ball in play often. The average batting average for balls in play (BABIP) is roughly .300. However, everyone on the field can affect BABIP. Fast hitters beat out more infield hits. Slow outfielders allow more hits to fall in front of them. Derek Jeter allowed countless ground balls to get through the infield because of his limited range.

Also, despite defense and luck also playing a large role, pitchers also have an impact on BABIP, and it can be used to measure talent. For instance, a hard-throwing pitcher with a devastating cutter is likely to break more bats, and force more weak pop-ups.

BABIP (Qualified starters)

• Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins (.132)
• Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros (.195)
• Ian Kennedy, Kansas City Royals (.200)
• Dan Straily, Miami Marlins (.200)
• Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians (.214)

It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Ervin Santana and Dallas Keuchel near the top of this list. Both pitchers are off to tremendous starts, and look like Cy Young candidates. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to maintain a BABIP as low as Santana’s or Keuchel’s over the course of a full season.

Last year, Marco Estrada led the majors (among qualified starters) with a .234 BABIP and Dan Straily led the National League at .239. Carl Edwards, Jr. had the best BABIP (.162) among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched.

Random MLB Power Rankings: Rookies

1. Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees
2. Cody Bellinger, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Manuel Margot, OF, San Diego Padres
4. Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox
5. Kyle Freeland, SP, Colorado Rockies
6. Antonio Senzatela, SP, Colorado Rockies
7. Mitch Haniger, OF, Seattle Mariners
8. Jordan Montgomery, SP, New York Yankees
9. Jharel Cotton, SP, Oakland Athletics
10. Trey Mancini, LF/DH/1B, Baltimore Orioles

Much like Corey Seager in the National League last season, Aaron Judge has the potential to not only with the Rookie of the Year Award, but may also make a run at the AL MVP. Judge’s top competition for AL top rookie honors appeared to be Mitch Haniger, who is hitting .342/.447/.608 with four homers, but an oblique strain landed the Mariners outfielder on the DL. Therefore, Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi is the only conceivable player capable of beating Judge out at this point – and Benintendi would have to put together a solid five months to do it.

In the National League, Manuel Margot jumped out to an early lead in WAR among rookies thanks to his every day role in center field and at the top of the order for the Padres. The former Red Sox farmhand is hitting .280/.329/.417 in 33 games. However, Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger exploded onto the scene and should now be considered the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

In just 12 games, Bellinger has five home runs and 14 RBI. He has hit .326/.392/.717 across his first 51 plate appearances. With Adrian Gonzalez hitting the disabled list with a herniated disc, Bellinger is likely to see the bulk of his time at first base after making playing eight of his first nine MLB games in left field.

Useless Info

Max Scherzer pitched into the sixth inning with a no-hitter Tuesday – the sixth time he has done so in 74 starts since joining the Nationals in 2015 (8.1 percent). Scherzer, who struck out 11 hitters in eight innings, tied Clayton Kershaw for the active lead with 52 career double-digit strikeout games in 272 career starts (19.5 percent).

Through Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles are the only MLB team yet to hit a triple.

With their 3-2 win over the Angels Monday, the Oakland A’s won their third straight games in walk-off fashion. The last time the A’s walked off winners in three consecutive games was 2004.

As Daren Willman pointed out Monday, Padres infielder Ryan Schmipf has hit just six ground balls all season. Schmipf has nine home runs.

Statcast data showed the home run Mark Trumbo hit against Gio Gonzalez Monday was 4.62 feet off the ground – the tallest pitch to be hit for homer in at least eight seasons.

Sunday night (and into Monday morning), the Cubs and Yankees set a new major league record with 48 combined strikeouts in their 18-inning marathon. The Yankees struck out 26 hitters in the 5-4 victory, tying the 1971 Athletics and 2004 Angels for the most ever in a single MLB game.

Next: Top 30 MLB nicknames of all-time

Joe Mauer hit his first career walk-off home run May 5. It was Mauer’s 132^nd career home run in 14 major league seasons. As Aaron Gleeman pointed out, Justin Morneau holds the Twins franchise record with five walk-off homers. Former Twin David Ortiz hit 11 walk-off long balls during his career and former Twin Jim Thome holds the all-time record with 13.

The Yankees are 11-0 in games in which Aaron Judge hits a home run.