Projecting the Yankees starting rotation in 2019

Starting pitching was the weakness for the New York Yankees in 2018. Here’s how the team will retool the rotation for 2019. 

The Yankees are headed for a very busy offseason. One of the top items on Brian Cashman’s shopping list will be to strengthen his team’s starting rotation. Starting pitch was the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox in 2018.

Fortunately, the team has money to spend. This isn’t a great crop of free agents, but there are some guys the Yankees will pursue. Expect next year’s rotation to be a healthy combination of familiar faces and new arrivals.

In this piece, we’ll walk you though the five guys who will make up Aaron Boone’s starting rotation on Opening Day. Things always change as the season goes on, but this is how we believe the Yankees will start the season. We’ll start by talking about the pitcher who will certainly start 2019 as the team’s ace.

1. Luis Severino

Severino ended his season with a pretty poor start against the Red Sox, but that doesn’t erase his entire body of work. The fact that the Yankees handed him the ball for the Wild Card game despite his second half struggles proves they believe he’s their ace of the future.

The challenge for Severino will be to correct the issues that plagued him down the stretch. Many people around MLB believe he was tipping pitches during the second half. That’s certainly something he and Larry Rothschild will work on during Spring Training.

Fortunately, tipping pitches is absolutely something the organization can correct. Severino has all of the things you can’t teach. His electric fastball and devastating slider can make hitters look silly. Add in a rapidly improving changeup and it’s easy to see why he’s a strong bet to get the ball on Opening Day. Severino isn’t a perfect pitcher, but he’s the most talented guy on Boone’s staff. He’ll begin the season as the Yankees ace.