The Yankees’ chances for a 28th title hinge on these 3 players

The New York Yankees are under a lot of pressure to succeed in the 2024 postseason.

Aaron Judge is left battling the idea that he can't perform in the postseason. He will never be able to cement himself among the Yankees greats if he doesn't have some postseason success to his name. Juan Soto is set to enter free agency and a World Series victory may help the Yankees retain him. Manager Aaron Boone might be out of a job if New York is bounced early on and the fan backlash is too much for the organization to handle.

But the pursuit for the 28th World Series title doesn't ride on the performance of Judge or Soto. It rides on the way that some of the middle of the road players play. New York is going to need their supporting cast to help keep the team afloat if they want to bring home the World Series this year.

These are the three players that this World Series pursuit really hinges on:

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3. RHP Luis Gil

The Yankees have their ace in Gerrit Cole. Cole is going to be heavily relied on to go toe to toe with the best pitchers in the league, including potential matchups with Cy Young candidates Corbin Burnes and Tarik Skubal. But New York is going to need the other two, three or four starting pitchers to step up if they want to succeed this postseason.

The one that is really going to determine their success is the rookie, Luis Gil. Gil has been spectacular this season, throwing to the tune of a 3.27 ERA through 28 starts entering Saturday. Gil has posted a 2.53 ERA this month, winning three of his four starts in September (before Pirates game). He's been spectacular, but he is going to need to continue to trend this way for the Yankees to have sustained success.

New York has a few other veteran starters that they will be able to turn to if Gil stumbles a little bit. But Gil has been the consistent number two option on the team and New York is going to be much better off if he can pitch his best baseball in the month of October.

2. RHP Clay Holmes

For most of the year, Clay Holmes was one of the most dominant closers in the game of baseball. His sinker and slider combination was something that even the veteran hitters struggled to find a barrel on.

But as time went by, Holmes began to struggle. Holmes has blown three saves this month alone, bringing his total up to 13 blown saves on the season.

When the postseason rolls around, teams just cannot afford to lose a game that they lead after seven or eight innings. If the starting pitcher and the hitters do their job to give the Yankees the lead through seven or eight innings, they just can't afford to have their closer, or high leverage reliever, blow the game. Series' are short and every loss matters.

While Holmes is still incredibly talented, his production when the game is on the line has completely fallen off. New York has turned to Luke Weaver in these high leverage spots recently, but the Yankees still need to be able to hand the ball to Holmes with confidence. If not, a team like the Astros or Orioles will be able to steal games and bounce New York early in the postseason.

1. OF Jasson Dominguez

Trying to find a hitter that New York is going to need to see production from is quite difficult. There are so many different wild cards in Aaron Boone's lineup. Rookie catcher Austin Wells is a crucial piece of the puzzle, tasked with protecting Judge and Soto. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the dynamic piece that New York desperately needed earlier in the season.

But the player that New York needs to see production out of the most is the top prospect Jasson Dominguez.

Dominguez came to the big leagues this year with high expectations, but he's done nothing but disappoint this season. Through 16 games, Dominguez is slashing .184/.310/.327 with two home runs this year. Given his potential and his switch hitting ability, he's going to be a piece of the Yankees postseason roster, likely seeing everyday at bats unless something drastically changes.

Dominguez is already known as a poor defender so he will need to make up for it with his bat. He has the potential to be an absolute game wrecker at the big league level, which is why he is looked at so highly. He just hasn't shown much of that potential this year. If the Yankees are going to bring home their 28th title, they're going to need Dominguez to play to the level that he's supposed to.