New York Yankees 2023 Season Thus Far-Judge for MVP?

The New York Yankees are 29-20 and six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League East division lead. If the Yankees’ season were to end today, they would qualify for the second American League Wild Card.

Yankees SP Gerrit Cole is the top favorite at +325 (DraftKings) to take home the coveted 2023 AL Cy Young award, rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe is +1000 to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award, and OF Aaron Judge is +1200 to win the AL MVP.

2023 New York Yankees Season Thus Far

Considering their injury issues, the Yankees are off to a great start to their 2023 campaign. The Bronx Bombers are 3rd in the AL East table and playing above .500 at Yankee Stadium, and are 13-10 as the away team. New York has eight series victories this season and opens up a six-game homestand Tuesday night with division rival Baltimore, and then the San Diego Padres come into town for a three-game set starting Friday.

We'd say this week's top play was pretty good, eh? 👨‍⚖️🍁

(@FDSportsbook x Yankees) pic.twitter.com/3Mar6sMQrY

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 22, 2023

2023 New York Yankees Offense

New York bats rank seventh in the AL and are behind Tampa Bay for the AL home run lead. The Yanks have a high strikeout rate but also the fifth-highest walk rate. Injuries to players like Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Harrison Bader have hurt the Yankees, but they leave the fewest runners in scoring position in baseball (3.10).

Anthony Rizzo leads the Yankees in batting average, hits and is second in home runs
Aaron Judge leads New York in home runs and is second in batting average
Harrison Bader has missed 30 games but has 18 hits in 19 games
Giancarlo Stanton has missed 36 games and hasn’t played since mid-April
Gleyber Torres has five home runs and has missed one game this season
Anthony Volpe leads the team in stolen bases but has struggled with a .212 batting average and has played in all 49 games.
DJ LeMahieu is third on the club in hits but has struck out 47 times

Yankees 14-6 record in May is the best in MLB pic.twitter.com/4s4MZsXPiF

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 21, 2023

2023 New York Yankees Pitching Staff

The Yankees’ pitching staff is probably better than its seventh-best team ERA, but they are a rotation boasting the AL Cy Young Award frontrunner. Cole has been outstanding this season, but he’s had some help–Domingo German is spinning a 0.90 WHIP while striking out 9.2 per nine. Walks and home runs have been the culprit to most of the rotation woes, but the starters seem healthy, and with Luis Severino back from a long absence, this rotation could end up very good by season’s end.

The Yankees bullpen leads the AL in team ERA with 0.80 home runs per nine innings pitched. Wandy Peralta leads the team with five holds and has seized the closer’s role from a struggling Clay Holmes.

Gerrit Cole is tied for fourth in wins and leads all AL starting pitchers in WAR
Nestor Cortes is 4-2 but has allowed eight bombs and 28 earned runs
Domingo German is the Yankees WHIP leader but has just two quality starts
Clarke Schmidt has struggled, but his xFIP is two runs lower than his ERA
Former closer Clay Holmes has a 3.36 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP and two blown saves
Albert Abreu has issued 16 walks and has surrendered three bombs over 23.1 innings
Jimmy Cordero has 20 strikeouts over 21 innings pitched with three holds
Ron Marinaccio has four holds and 28 punchouts over 22 frames
Wandy Peralta has allowed four earned runs over 18.2 innings

Sevy Sunday. pic.twitter.com/K93UEkOYu2

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 21, 2023

New York Yankees Team Futures

Yankees to Win the Division +330

It’s too early to write any AL East team off, and the Yankees could realistically win the AL East. The Yankees and their 15-4 record thus far in May have been encouraging, and six games is nothing with over 110 games remaining. New York has the lumber to get the job done–their lineup, when healthy, is as daunting as any in baseball. Cole and the rest of the starting rotation will need to step up their games, and if they can stabilize the bullpen, the Yankees can win the East.

New York Yankees Individual Awards

Gerrit Cole to Win AL Cy Young Award +350

Cole is the favorite to win, and it stands to reason that if we believe the Yankees will win the East, Cole will greatly impact that result. The Yankees hurler has been close to winning this award in the past, but this season he became the first Yankee pitcher to post a sub .500 record and deal 30+ strikeouts through his first four games of the season. He’s posting career numbers, and while his competition is stout, +350 is a good price to pay for this bet.

First strikeout of the night for Gerrit Cole pic.twitter.com/n2Hlx6Ujja

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 17, 2023

Anthony Volpe AL Rookie of the Year +1000

Volpe has played in every game this season, and while he’s posted an underwhelming batting average, he’s in the lineup every day and probably will be for the foreseeable future. The only way Volpe will win this award is if Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida falls off, which isn’t likely. Volpe will get some votes, and we have a long way to go, but right now, +1000 isn’t the best price for this play.

Volpe delivers 👏 pic.twitter.com/DptFiApgpd

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 21, 2023

Aaron Judge AL MVP +1200

The Yankees won’t win the East without Judge in the lineup, and they won’t win the East without him cracking baseballs into the stands. When Judge is healthy, he smashes baseballs and is one bomb off the American League home run leaderboard despite playing eight fewer games than Texas Rangers OF Adolis Garcia. Angels swiss-army knife Shohei Ohtani is always going to be in the hunt, but if Judge stays healthy and keeps swatting, he’ll win the 2023 AL MVP.