The New York Yankees entered this season with a clear, singular goal: This team was designed to end the franchise's World Series drought. It's obvious that manager Aaron Boone's club has not lived up to expectations to date.
There's still time for the Bronx Bombers to recover. Winning a championship might seem like a pipe dream to Yankee fans at the moment, but this roster has enough talent to go on a lengthy postseason run provided they can make it into the playoffs.
To achieve that kind of glory, it's imperative that big-name luminaries like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton play well down the stretch. But that won't be enough to get the Yankees where they want to go; Boone will also need some lesser known players to play the best ball of their 2025 season over the next few months if he wants to secure a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
New York needs some potential X-factors to come up big down the stretch if the team is going to reach its lofty goals. Fans should keep a particularly close eye on the following three names as guys who could give the team that sort of unexpected jolt.
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No. 1: Luis Gil
Last year's Rookie of the Year didn't get back on the mound until after the All-Star break, but he's already made a positive impact on the team's rotation. Gil's ability to continue to improve over the next few weeks could go a long way toward determining the Yankees' playoff ceiling.
At his best, Gil uses his dominant stuff to make accomplished hitters look silly. There are zero question about the quality of his arsenal when he's pitching up to his potential. The questions regading Gil all center around his focus on mechanics when he's on the mound.
Specifically, his high walk rate forces him to pitch out of tough jams far too often. That's why he's failed to get out of the sixth inning in any of his six starts on the season. Gil regularly sees his pitch count balloon during troublesome innings, which prevents him from progressing deep into games.
Gil's erratic nature might prevent him from seizing a starting spot in the postseason rotation, but that could prove to be a blessing in disguise and set him up to be a key piece of Boone's bullpen. He arguably has the best swing-and-miss stuff on the roster, which comes at a premium when the stakes are at their highest.
The Yankees need Gil to continue to give them quality production against elite competition down the stretch if they want to make the postseason. Once they get there, his role might change drastically. His importance to Boone's pitching staff will not.
No. 2: Trent Grisham
Fans claiming they saw Trent Grisham's career year coming need to be administered a lie detector test. The speedy outfielder has ridden his white-hot start at the plate to a massive 28 homers in just 411 at-bats.
The Yankees aren't looking for Grisham to play any better in the coming weeks. They'd be overjoyed if he simply continues to provide a similar level of production to what he's given them all season. Any outfielder who gives his offense 30+ homer power along with above-average defense in centerfield has the potential to be a star in the postseason.
Grisham simply needs to keep everything the same if he wants to power the Yankees to a surprisingly deep playoff run. Running into a few mistake pitches with his compact swing could lead to a postseason power surge that surprises his team's postseason opponents.
No. 3: Cam Schlittler
Cam Schlittler was never supposed to be an impact arm for the Yankees in 2025. He only got his shot in the Bronx after a rash of serious injuries to starters ahead of him on the depth chart. But the hard-throwing right-hander has seized his opportunity by pitching to a 2.61 ERA in nine MLB starts to date.
Schlittler's chances of making a posteason start are even smaller than Gil's. But he also has a strong chance of making a big impact out of Boone's bullpen in the playoffs. Schlittler is striking out over a batter per inning as a starter, and there's a chance his fastball could tick up higher once he is asked to pitch in shorter spurts out of the bullpen.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Schlittler's performance to date is that he hasn't appeared to be intimidated by the pressure of pitching in big moments in the Bronx. Instead, he seems to thrive when the pressure mounts. That cool, calm and collected nature should serve him well as the posteason approaches. He could turn into a big star in New York with a few quality postseason outings as a rookie.