Five reasons to be optimistic about the Yankees down the stretch

Giancarlo Stanton recently suffered another setback, the veteran DH’s prospects for playing again this season very much in doubt.

Max Fried, though the initial testing didn’t appear to show anything resembling a worst-case scenario, landed back on the injured list with symptoms from the left elbow bone bruise that cost him two months earlier this season.

And there still remains some mystery around Aaron Judge and exactly when the three-time AL MVP will get back this season.

There are any of number of reasons to be pessimistic as the calendar soon flips to September and the Yankees enter the thick of things trying to best position themselves for another run at winning the World Series title that has eluded them since 2009. But, despite much of the discourse surrounding the Yankees after every loss – and plenty of it is warranted – there are reasons to be optimistic down the home stretch of the regular season. Here are five:

1. George Lombard Jr. has more than looked the part.

Lombard so far has honored all the hype that’s accompanied him pretty much from the time the Yankees drafted him in the first round of the 2023 draft. The 21-year-old not only has been Gold Glove-caliber at short since being promoted on Aug. 4, but he’s more than held his own at the plate. The first is not a surprise as Lombard’s defense was considered, by most rival scouts, to be big-league ready two years ago when he was in Double-A. The bat has always come along slower during his development but, 17 games into his major league career, Lombard has been a consistent contributor, hitting .288 with two homers and a .755 OPS. At no point, in the field or at the plate, has the rookie looked overmatched, which bodes well for when the pressure gets turned up a notch in September and, more important, in October.

2. Speaking of looking the part, Spencer Jones has, too.

Jones, another touted prospect, is beginning to thrive in what is his third stint with the big-league club. Given everyday playing time, Jones has looked more than comfortable in the field, whether it be in right (where he has played the most), left or center (his natural position). But where the 25-year-old has made a dramatic impact of late is at the plate, where suddenly Jones is showing some of the ability that had the Yankees, while he was coming up in the minors, dreaming of him developing into a multiple-time All-Star. Jones, who reached base three times in Sunday’s victory over the Blue Jays, is hitting .308 with two homers, four doubles and a .921 OPS in his last 11 games.

3. The rotation is just getting started.

Even with Gerrit Cole starting the season on the IL and Fried missing the time he did, the Yankees rotation, fronted by AL Cy Young co-favorite Cam Schlittler (along with Toronto’s Dylan Cease), has starred all season. Yankees starters, who collectively have an MLB-best 3.35 ERA, have allowed three runs or fewer in 103 starts this season, their most such starts through their first 130 games of a season in franchise history. Few teams can match the quality of the Yankees’ Nos 1-3 – Schlittler, Cole and, assuming the bone bruise isn’t as serious this time, Fried.

4. The pen is mightier.

GM Brian Cashman’s trade deadline played to mostly poor reviews, his inability to add to the bullpen among the biggest reasons. But though constant criticism has been levied at the group since the season started, through nearly five months of the season it has been one of the sports’ better units. And, seemingly, getting better. Closer David Bednar, after shaking off a rough first part of the year, has been dominant, and righty Paul Blackburn, a failed starter earlier in his career, and Brent Headrick, an unproven lefthander whom the Yankees quietly had high hopes for the in the spring, have been revelations. There remain concerns – Headrick’s workload certainly is one – but there’s not a bullpen in baseball without those. And the Yankees’, with September beckoning, has fewer than most.

5. Aaron Judge is swinging a bat.

Judge, on the IL since June 5 with a fractured rib, isn’t anywhere close to being ready for major league games, but there at least has been tangible progress. He began hitting off a tee last week, that a significant step as the outfielder had spent the better part of 10 weeks being unable to do anything upper-body related as to protect aggravating the rib. Though the rib is not completely healed, Judge being cleared to swing a bat is meaningful. It may take him a month or so to build himself back into playing shape, but at least, even with the calendar working against him in terms of the regular season, Judge being at peak physical condition, or at least something close to it, in time for October seems a possibility. And reason for optimism.