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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
  3.  <title>Pinstripe Alley -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>Big boi dinger enthusiasts</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51961/pinstripe_alley_minimal.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2025-04-19T06:00:00-04:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.pinstripealley.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2025-04-19T06:00:00-04:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2025-04-19T06:00:00-04:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Today on Pinstripe Alley - 4/19/25 </title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="MLB: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dpnGHla5qp0OFCMUJ_KY6p7qpUM=/0x0:3930x2620/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74032365/usa_today_25963712.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Dave Nelson-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;Bringing the winning ways to the weekend.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="x7iSFM"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt; put together one of the finest overall pitching performances you’ll see last night, shutting out the Rays and allowing three hits with 15 strikeouts. They headed into this series with their three most inconsistent starters, Will Warren, Carlos Rodón, and Carlos Carrasco lined up, and that they’ve come out of the first two games of that stretch with two wins and whole lot of good pitching is something to write home about. Carrasco looks overmatched on paper in today’s pitching matchup with the talented Shane Baz, but Carrasco was at least able to keep his team in it last time out, so hopefully he can repeat the trick this afternoon.&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="WBHj4E"&gt;On the site, the morning will see Kevin write the latest entry in the 2000 Yankees diary, while I’ll keep you up to date with the latest happenings with the Yankees’ rivals. Later on, Josh will wonder about the Yankees as pro wrestlers, with &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/wrestlemania"&gt;WrestleMania&lt;/a&gt; 41s starting tonight, Maximo will discuss how the Yankees have managed to stack some wins even while things have gone wrong this April, and Nick Power will deliver this month’s version of the Reliever Confidence Index. &lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;h2 id="vo7BLd"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Today’s Matchup:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="NTtfkk"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New York Yankees&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; at &lt;a href="https://www.draysbay.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tampa Bay Rays&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="VbLU1Y"&gt;Time: 4:10 p.m. EST&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="QKx9b7"&gt;TV/Streaming: YES, FanDuel Sports Florida&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="FGw6Qi"&gt;Radio: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="2BklVB"&gt;Venue: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;h2 id="m_-4115928306766747049gmail-nGzg6k"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Questions/Prompts:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="Gipoy5"&gt;1. What’s your confidence level regarding Carlos Rodón now?&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p id="sW8PQ8"&gt;2. What performance from a Yankees pitcher has surprised you most so far this year?&lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="c3XJPv"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  32.  
  33. </content>
  34.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/19/24411182/yankees-mlb-pinstripe-alley-4-19-25"/>
  35.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/19/24411182/yankees-mlb-pinstripe-alley-4-19-25</id>
  36.    <author>
  37.      <name>Jake Devin</name>
  38.    </author>
  39.  </entry>
  40.  <entry>
  41.    <published>2025-04-19T05:00:00-04:00</published>
  42.    <updated>2025-04-19T05:00:00-04:00</updated>
  43.    <title>NYY News: Not smooth, Jazz</title>
  44.    <content type="html">  
  45.  
  46.    &lt;figure&gt;
  47.      &lt;img alt="New York Yankees v Tampa Bay Rays" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_OeRL_Mp4QlI5k4o0_JO502Qfws=/0x0:5943x3962/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74032357/2210869625.0.jpg" /&gt;
  48.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  49.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  50.  
  51.  &lt;p&gt;Jazz Chisholm gets a one-game suspension for his Twitter outburst Thursday; Will Warren’s stuff stands out early in 2025; the Yankees’ defense is much improved; the Rays are enjoying George M. Steinbrenner Field.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="ywiNaE"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/yankees-jazz-chisholm-suspended-one-game-after-he-blasted-umpire-on-social-media-following-ejection/"&gt;CBSSports | R.J. Anderson&lt;/a&gt;: In the least surprising development of the young season, MLB announced Friday that Jazz Chisholm Jr. is facing a one-game suspension, pending appeal. The Yankee second baseman exploded Thursday night after a... questionable... called third strike by home plate umpire John Bacon. After Chisholm’s inevitable ejection, he expressed his discontent on X/Twitter before deleting the post. For a plethora of reasons, some of form of automated balls and strikes needs to hit MLB as soon as humanly possible.&lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;p id="0UVo6i"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6288319/2025/04/18/mlb-starting-pitchers-breakout-candidates/"&gt;The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($)&lt;/a&gt;: Ok. I get it. Given Will Warren’s start last night, this article is weirdly timed. But block out his five-out performance and take heart instead from the underlying data. Warren’s pitch movement is outstanding, according to Sarris. All of Warren’s offerings have above-average horizontal movement. Additionally, his change, sinker, and four-seamer all feature vertical movement better than average. Warren has shown glimpses, most notably in his second-to-most-recent outing. More of that, please.&lt;/p&gt;
  53. &lt;p id="o0z5T3"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/yankees/news/new-york-yankees-offseason-gameplan-improve-their-defense-paying-off"&gt;Sports Illustrated | Kenneth Teape&lt;/a&gt;: For no particular reason at all, the &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt;’ defense was a topic of conversation heading into 2025. No. I won’t talk about it. If you don’t acknowledge it, it never happened. Early in the season (though defensive metrics take a while to stabilize), the defense is much improved for the most part. Cody Bellinger has been worth +2 Defensive Runs Saved in center field. Jazz Chisholm, Carlos Rodón, and the much-maligned Jasson Domínguez have each racked up +3 DRS. Anthony Volpe, quite reasonably for anyone who’s watched him this season, leads the club with +4. Overall, the Yanks are third in baseball with +13 DRS.&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;p id="v7Ipry"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/04/18/rays-rave-reviews-yankees-steinbrenner-field-tampa/"&gt;New York Daily News | Gary Phillips&lt;/a&gt;: Thursday night was weird. In a good way. I hate the Trop with an unholy passion, so playing the Rays on the road anywhere else was going to feel better. That the game happened at George M. Steinbrenner Field? Even better. In the early going, the Rays are loving their new digs. Apparently, the cafeteria is one of the big selling points, with several Tampa players raving over the chow at their temporary home. Hopefully, Kevin Cash is also enjoying that bottle of tequila that Aaron Boone left him. &lt;/p&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="cc1TTG"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  56.  
  57. </content>
  58.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/19/24411587/yankees-news-chisholm-suspension-will-warren-pitch-movement-team-defense-rays-steinbrenner-field"/>
  59.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/19/24411587/yankees-news-chisholm-suspension-will-warren-pitch-movement-team-defense-rays-steinbrenner-field</id>
  60.    <author>
  61.      <name>Kevin Winterhalt</name>
  62.    </author>
  63.  </entry>
  64.  <entry>
  65.    <published>2025-04-18T21:53:43-04:00</published>
  66.    <updated>2025-04-18T21:53:43-04:00</updated>
  67.    <title>Yankees 1, Rays 0: Rodón runs rampant against the Rays</title>
  68.    <content type="html">  
  69.  
  70.    &lt;figure&gt;
  71.      &lt;img alt="New York Yankees v Tampa Bay Rays" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1O3FlUTerE3wh4hITHkrIb5Uifc=/0x0:5716x3811/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74032061/2210259453.0.jpg" /&gt;
  72.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  73.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  74.  
  75.  &lt;p&gt;We were treated to a lights-out pitching performance from start to finish.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="ngLGsK"&gt;Carlos Rodón can be such a frustrating pitcher to watch at times. Not because he’s untalented — he’s got ability in droves — but precisely because despite that talent, he can get in his own way. He’ll be nigh on untouchable for 90% of a start, but a lapse of concentration for a few batters can turn an entire outing on its head. There were points during this game where things might have spiraled out of control, but Rodón reined in his command each time, his six scoreless innings providing the bedrock for the &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt;’ 1-0 win. &lt;/p&gt;
  76. &lt;p id="ihaChB"&gt;If there’s one thing that has really hurt Rodón in the early going — and a principal factor in the meltdown innings that have sunken otherwise dominant display — it’s the free pass. His 12.9-percent walk rate entering today was fifth-highest among qualified starters, and it looked like it would be more of the same in the first, Rodón walking the leadoff hitter followed by a Junior Caminero single. However, Rodón buckled down and struck out the next three batters he faced to erase the two on, no out jam.&lt;/p&gt;
  77. &lt;p id="BXir46"&gt;It seemed like his offense gained energy from watching their starter respond to early adversity. Paul Goldschmidt blooped a leadoff single to right, J.C. Escarra drew a one out walk, and Trent Grisham lined a two-out single to center to plate Goldschmidt as the game’s opening run in the second. &lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;div id="s1LE5Y"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/drew-rasmussen-in-play-run-s-to-trent-grisham" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="VHNHGV"&gt;Surmounting the early struggles also seemed to give a jolt to Rodón, because he ran rampant on the Rays for the rest of his start. He erased a Jonathan Aranda walk to lead off the second with a strikeout out and double play. He worked a 1-2-3 third on eleven pitches, aided by an Anthony Volpe &lt;a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&amp;amp;xs=1&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlb.com%2Fvideo%2Fcarlos-rodon-in-play-out-s-to-junior-caminero%3FpartnerId%3Dweb_multimedia-search_video-share&amp;amp;referrer=sbnation.com&amp;amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinstripealley.com%2F2025%2F4%2F18%2F24411582%2Fyankees-mlb-game-score-recap-rays-carlos-rodon-strikeouts-paul-goldschmidt-chisholm-volpe-struggles" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"&gt;web gem and some poor base running&lt;/a&gt; by Caminero. He navigated around a Danny Jansen walk in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts.&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p id="wX7RxH"&gt;He ran into a bit more trouble in the fifth, José Caballero leading off with a double, but he was helped again by stout defense behind him and some more questionable baserunning by the Rays. Taylor Walls smacked a grounder to the right side and Caballero took off for home on contact, but Goldschmidt played it textbook, sprinting with the ball right at the runner, who was shortly thereafter tagged in the rundown. Walls was able to advance to second on the play but Rodón struck out Díaz to end the inning.&lt;/p&gt;
  81. &lt;div id="IyQA7u"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/carlos-rodon-in-play-out-s-to-taylor-walls-hsji4a-mf8cic" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="Ster4m"&gt;Rodón saved his nastiest stuff for his sixth and final inning. Caminero had two batted balls over 111 mph off Rodón in their first two encounters, but Rodón struck out the rising star to open the frame. He then maneuvered around a one-out walk, striking out Jansen to end the inning. If not for the four walks, it would have been a pretty much flawless outing from Rodón. His four-seamer averaged 96 mph, two mph faster than its season average. In total, he limited the Rays to two hits across six scoreless with nine strikeouts, ending his day at 102 pitches. &lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;div id="LmUV3F"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/carlos-rodon-s-dominant-outing" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  84. &lt;p id="xetLwl"&gt;As it happens, Grisham’s RBI single proved the difference maker. They had several half chances to score over the next five innings but could never string together multiple quality at-bats against Rasmussen. Cody Bellinger walked and Goldschmidt singled with two outs in the third but Jazz Chisholm Jr. rolled over a center-cut fastball to strand the pair. Christopher Morel made a &lt;a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&amp;amp;xs=1&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlb.com%2Fvideo%2Ftrent-grisham-lines-out-sharply-to-left-fielder-christopher-morel%3FpartnerId%3Dweb_multimedia-search_video-share&amp;amp;referrer=sbnation.com&amp;amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinstripealley.com%2F2025%2F4%2F18%2F24411582%2Fyankees-mlb-game-score-recap-rays-carlos-rodon-strikeouts-paul-goldschmidt-chisholm-volpe-struggles" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"&gt;diving catch&lt;/a&gt; to rob Grisham of a two-out triple in the fourth. Perhaps their best shot came in the eighth, Oswaldo Cabrera leading off with a single before Ben Rice clubbed a liner to right. However, Caballero reached over the wall to rob Rice of the two-run home run, and Cabrera was later thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning. &lt;/p&gt;
  85. &lt;div id="ZR4gHB"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/edwin-uceta-in-play-out-s-to-ben-rice" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  86. &lt;p id="orJB7T"&gt;Otherwise, there weren’t many positives to take from the offensive showing. Goldschmidt collected his tenth multi-hit game of the season with his three singles but the rest of the lineup combined for just two more hits. The Yankees drew three walks against Rasmussen after he entered the game having walked two total across his first three starts, but none of those runners scored. The poor approach of the Yankees’ middle infield duo is becoming harder and harder to ignore. Volpe and Jazz both came to the plate with a combined eight runners on across all their plate appearances and neither could advance a single runner, Jazz ending 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Volpe 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. &lt;/p&gt;
  87. &lt;p id="7pMt2Z"&gt;Mark Leiter Jr. was the first man out of the bullpen in relief of Rodón, and he gave up a leadoff double to Aranda. However, Aranda made an ill-advised attempt to stretch it to a triple, and a perfect relay by Grisham to Volpe to Cabrera nabbed him at third by a step. &lt;/p&gt;
  88. &lt;div id="6ZM7hH"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/jonathan-aranda-doubles-8-on-a-sharp-fly-ball-to-center-fielder-trent-gri-ccpn9e" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  89. &lt;p id="Jvu0oA"&gt;That took the heat off Leiter, and he struck out the next two batters he faced to send it to the eighth. Fernando Cruz was handed the eighth and he continues to look nastier and nastier with each successive appearance in pinstripes. He struck out a pair giving him 18 strikeouts in just 10.2 innings to open the season. Weaver was given the opportunity to close the game in the ninth, and he followed the dominant examples set forward by the pitchers that preceded him. He blew a pair of elevated heaters by Lowe and Morel for strikeouts before getting Kameron Misner to fly out to end the game and seal the 1-0 win.&lt;/p&gt;
  90. &lt;p id="eB42QM"&gt;The Yankees will look to guarantee at least a series victory tomorrow with Carlos Carrasco set to face Shane Baz. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 pm EDT with the broadcast remaining on YES.&lt;/p&gt;
  91. &lt;p id="SYwlOH"&gt;&lt;a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&amp;amp;xs=1&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlb.com%2Fgameday%2Fyankees-vs-rays%2F2025%2F04%2F18%2F778272%2Ffinal%2Fbox&amp;amp;referrer=sbnation.com&amp;amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinstripealley.com%2F2025%2F4%2F18%2F24411582%2Fyankees-mlb-game-score-recap-rays-carlos-rodon-strikeouts-paul-goldschmidt-chisholm-volpe-struggles" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Box Score&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  92.  
  93. </content>
  94.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411582/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-rays-carlos-rodon-strikeouts-paul-goldschmidt-chisholm-volpe-struggles"/>
  95.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411582/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-rays-carlos-rodon-strikeouts-paul-goldschmidt-chisholm-volpe-struggles</id>
  96.    <author>
  97.      <name>Peter Brody</name>
  98.    </author>
  99.  </entry>
  100.  <entry>
  101.    <published>2025-04-18T18:35:52-04:00</published>
  102.    <updated>2025-04-18T18:35:52-04:00</updated>
  103.    <title>NYY @ TB: Carlos Rodón vs. Drew Rasmussen</title>
  104.    <content type="html">  
  105.  
  106.    &lt;figure&gt;
  107.      &lt;img alt="San Francisco Giants v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/465JJscj0rk7UhpTMU3OMkJfNWw=/0x0:3799x2533/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74031810/2210091005.0.jpg" /&gt;
  108.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  109.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  110.  
  111.  &lt;p&gt;The Bombers get set for game two under the lights at GMS. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="o1QaWV"&gt;The City Connect jerseys are back, as the Rays are donning their alternates in tonight’s contest. The &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt; are one of two teams alongside the A’s who have declined to participate in the promotion, so it’ll be the standard road grays for them. It’s an important tilt with a pair of day games to follow, so the Yankees would love to guarantee at least a series split tonight. &lt;/p&gt;
  112. &lt;p id="VUuMYG"&gt;The last two outings for Carlos Rodón — and indeed a lot of his Yankees career — have followed a similar pattern, the southpaw dominant for long stretches before a meltdown inning completely wrecks the entire start. That he can pitch so well in the other innings proves he has the talent, he just needs to find that mental edge that can help prevent the blowup frames. In four starts, Rodón is 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA, 4.95 FIP, and 28 strikeouts in 23 innings. &lt;/p&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="5jzbF2"&gt;Drew Rasmussen joined the Rays in the 2021 trade that sent Willy Adames to the &lt;a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/"&gt;Brewers&lt;/a&gt;, and he looked like the latest pitcher the Rays’ pitching department had molded into a breakout star. In his first full season with the club, Rasmussen went 11-7 in 28 starts with a 2.84 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 125 strikeouts and 3.0 fWAR in 146 innings. But then injury struck, Rasmussen pitching just 73.1 innings between 2023 and 2024 as he recovered from an internal brace procedure to repair a ruptured ligament in his pitching elbow. He throws three different fastballs — cutter, four-seamer, and sinker — which makes pitch recognition a near-impossible task for the hitter, and perhaps explains why the Yankees have failed to score a run against him in four tries, with a .160 average, .173 slugging, and 26 strikeouts in 21 innings. He’s looked sharp to begin the season, allowing just one run on nine hits in 15 innings (0.60 ERA), with 15 strikeouts, two walks, and no home runs allowed. &lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="ewnMp7"&gt;Ben Rice moves to the leadoff spot against the righty and following the first four-hit day of his career last night. Jazz Chisholm Jr. remains in the lineup as we wait to see if disciplinary consequences are handed down after he tweeted from the clubhouse following his ejection for arguing balls and strikes. Otherwise, the two changes to last night’s lineup see Trent Grisham give Jasson Domínguez the night off in the outfield while a bout of food poisoning means Austin Wells is out again with J.C. Escarra taking his place. &lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="IjTMUv"&gt;Meanwhile, the Rays make four changes with the left Rodón on the bump, Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero, Jake Magnum, Jonathan Aranda, and Taylor Walls retaining their places. Curtis Mead replaces Brandon Lowe at second, Christopher Morel replaces Kameron Misner in the outfield, Danny Jansen replaces Ben Rortvedt behind the plate, and José Caballero replaces Richie Palacios in right. &lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="KTKYB9"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How to watch:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;p id="KBPe4Z"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Location: &lt;/strong&gt;George M. Steinbrenner Field — Tampa, FL&lt;/p&gt;
  118. &lt;p id="SbjCGu"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;First pitch: &lt;/strong&gt;7:05 pm EDT&lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;p id="PHyx0g"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;TV Broadcast: &lt;/strong&gt;YES, FanDuel Sports Sun&lt;/p&gt;
  120. &lt;p id="8JZ61r"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Radio Broadcast: &lt;/strong&gt;WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 | WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM, WQBN/1300AM&lt;/p&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="FwBwNA"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Online Steam: &lt;/strong&gt;Gotham Sports App,&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;MLB.tv&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;p id="daa52l"&gt;For updates, follow us on &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pinstripealley.bsky.social"&gt;BlueSky&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/pinstripealley"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/pinstripealley"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;, and like us on &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinstripealley"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  123. &lt;div id="EVBAau"&gt;
  124. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  125. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Friday Night Lights. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RepBX?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#RepBX&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/bj9PNzV3fr"&gt;pic.twitter.com/bj9PNzV3fr&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— New York Yankees (@Yankees) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1913320457417171018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 18, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  126. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  127. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  128.  
  129. &lt;/div&gt;
  130. &lt;div id="isWjfC"&gt;
  131. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  132. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Almost glow time &lt;a href="https://t.co/XVlwJmNjNU"&gt;pic.twitter.com/XVlwJmNjNU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1913355654276018416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 18, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  133. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  134. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  135.  
  136. &lt;/div&gt;
  137.  
  138. </content>
  139.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411558/mlb-yankees-game-thread-rays-lineups-starting-pitchers-aaron-judge-carlos-rodon-austin-wells-illness"/>
  140.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411558/mlb-yankees-game-thread-rays-lineups-starting-pitchers-aaron-judge-carlos-rodon-austin-wells-illness</id>
  141.    <author>
  142.      <name>Peter Brody</name>
  143.    </author>
  144.  </entry>
  145.  <entry>
  146.    <published>2025-04-18T16:00:00-04:00</published>
  147.    <updated>2025-04-18T16:00:00-04:00</updated>
  148.    <title>Yankees Mailbag: Domínguez’s switch-hitting and the Scranton Shuttle</title>
  149.    <content type="html">  
  150.  
  151.    &lt;figure&gt;
  152.      &lt;img alt="Kansas City Royals v. New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BQC5UKSE_aPseu1Ob14TimiKK14=/0x0:4109x2739/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74031486/2209894835.0.jpg" /&gt;
  153.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  154.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  155.  
  156.  &lt;p&gt;The mailbag discusses the Yankee left-fielder’s concerning splits and more this week.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="RKkuB0"&gt;Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to &lt;strong&gt;pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  157. &lt;p id="6KdsXN"&gt;&lt;em&gt;jmack175 asks:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Should Domínguez&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;abandon hitting from the right side and be a full time left-handed hitter?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  158. &lt;p id="PJX9el"&gt;We actually discussed this topic a bit within the PSA Slack recently, but in general it’s far too early to say that Domínguez should drop switch-hitting. The 22-year-old outfielder has gotten only sporadic time in the majors so far, with this year presenting his first true full-time starting role, and his experience in the upper levels of the minors isn’t that extensive either. He’s had a lot to adjust in short order, and it’s coming bit by bit. His initial biggest issue this year was his defense, which was admittedly sloppy in spring training, but patience won out and Domínguez has been competently manning left field compared to his previous stints. His range isn’t the best, but he’s flipped a -2 DRS in 2024 to a 2 DRS already in 2025 just by minimizing the gaffes.&lt;/p&gt;
  159. &lt;p id="g4uCI5"&gt;Turning back to Domínguez’s offense, it’s inarguably been terrible for him going up against left-handers — not just this year, but in all of his stints in the majors. But that’s a total sample size of 49 at-bats scattered over those three years, which isn’t a lot to go off of. His 2023 performance in Double-A — admittedly a fair bit away from MLB-level competition, but also the last time he got a solid stretch of time playing at a single level — he faired more admirably, hitting .237 with a .331 OBP and .691 OPS in 97 at-bats from the right-hand side. Aspirational? Not quite, but much better than what he’s shown at the plate since. A little more time is what we need to make a real verdict on Domínguez’s hitting here, and if it doesn’t improve then the question becomes more prevalent.&lt;/p&gt;
  160. &lt;p id="yNTUDA"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Damn_yanks asks:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;strong&gt;There was a good stretch of years where the org was good at converting prospects into high leverage relievers. There’s an obvious advantage to having multiple cost controlled relievers with options in the ‘pen. Seems like the last few years they’ve been relying more heavily on reclamation projects from other teams and have had pretty dicey results on that front. It’s also meant less guys with options in the bullpen.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="MmfFF5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Is there a reason for this shift in approach and are there any prospects in AA or AAA that could be impact relievers in the pen?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;p id="imo1Za"&gt;I’d put it down to opportunity cost, mostly. The &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt; have had plenty of pitching prospects come up through the system, but instead of filtering them through as a handful of starting hopefuls and converting the rest to relievers, they started dealing many of the arms that they didn’t think would stick at the position in trades to get other needs for the roster. Then, they filled the hole in the bullpen that normally would’ve been solved by this pipeline with reclamation projects, perhaps fueled in part by the immediate success they saw with guys like Clay Holmes (before control issues spiraled in his later Yankee years).&lt;/p&gt;
  163. &lt;p id="Mr3lwF"&gt;I don’t fault this logic, as outside of a few can’t miss pitching prospects league-wide its a major gamble to rely heavily on internal pitching prospects. Some orgs like the Rays and &lt;a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/"&gt;Brewers&lt;/a&gt; have excelled at it out of necessity, but when you can pay for proven MLB-caliber arms it’s often a surer bet. The downside is the rigidity in the roster when your bullpen lacks minor league options, and the Yankees have been bitten by that lack of flexibility a lot over the past few seasons. Eric Reyzelman stands out as a candidate that just missed out in spring this year but could easily be up with the major league team during the summer, and with luck Brock Selvidge could be a lefty option this year as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  164. &lt;p id="S77xM7"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Michael G. asks:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;strong&gt;If Rice keeps hitting, what do you do when Stanton finally gets healthy? Can’t bench Goldschmidt or Wells. Can’t really put Stanton in the outfield.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  165. &lt;p id="ysexPG"&gt;Unfortunately, given Stanton’s injury history and current health, this is an issue that won’t require an answer for a while and could be resolved simply with another injury to a different player popping up in the meantime. Assuming Stanton comes back to a perfectly healthy roster though, I think the answer is to cycle Rice into starts around each position he can play, sort of like how the Yankees utilized DJ LeMahieu at his peak, so that the other players don’t get too disrupted while he still gets more significant playing time than a traditional bench player. It’s a little tricky because these players don’t have positional flexibility outside of Rice, so starting him in their place almost guarantees days off for them, but at the end of the day the best talent is going to play, and Rice looks too much like the real deal to let him go to waste.&lt;/p&gt;
  166.  
  167. </content>
  168.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411425/yankees-mailbag-jasson-dominguez-switch-hitting-bullpen-prospects-reyzelman-ben-rice-playing-time"/>
  169.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411425/yankees-mailbag-jasson-dominguez-switch-hitting-bullpen-prospects-reyzelman-ben-rice-playing-time</id>
  170.    <author>
  171.      <name>Madison Pavich</name>
  172.    </author>
  173.  </entry>
  174.  <entry>
  175.    <published>2025-04-18T14:30:00-04:00</published>
  176.    <updated>2025-04-18T14:30:00-04:00</updated>
  177.    <title>The hitting genius of Aaron Judge</title>
  178.    <content type="html">  
  179.  
  180.    &lt;figure&gt;
  181.      &lt;img alt="Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CXezH5mGGdvGyrnDCW9vJYG8seg=/0x0:5274x3516/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74031275/2210464695.0.jpg" /&gt;
  182.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Elsa/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  183.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  184.  
  185.  &lt;p&gt;A two-week stretch with no home runs? He’s still just about the best hitter in baseball&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="67yc7E"&gt;The only time I bet on sports is my annual fantasy baseball league. I know the $50 buy-in is technically a bet, but in my mind it’s the fee I pay for access to a group chat full of smart pickups and funny roasts among my fellow players. I’ve been lucky to draft Aaron Judge in the first round every year since 2022; Dodger Stadium prevented that from being a brilliant choice in 2023, but the bookending seasons have gone a long way to top-four finishes in the league.&lt;/p&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="CCxbSk"&gt;I did the same this year, and I looked like a genius as Judge hit six home runs in his first seven games of the campaign. From game seven until the start of play Wednesday night, he didn’t go deep again. Normally, Judge’s total output does rely heavily on home runs — indeed, his infamous April 2024 saw him hit just six dingers and that resulted in a “pedestrian” 115 wRC+.&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;p id="XTIl4r"&gt;The month’s not over but Judge did go quite a stretch without a long ball, but unlike last year that drought saw him be the fifth-best hitter in baseball. From April 6th through the beginning of play yesterday, he notched a 246 wRC+, walking more than he struck out and hitting a hilarious .455. What’s set him apart from the other league leaders in this stretch — Pete Alonso, Corbin Carroll, someone called Pavin Smith — has been the relative lack of power, a .152 ISO that trails the rest of that cohort by half.&lt;/p&gt;
  188. &lt;p id="xSeyab"&gt;I’m coming around to the idea that Aaron Judge may be the best right-handed hitter I’ve ever seen. He’ll never have the longevity of someone like Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, or Albert Pujols, who were all MLB regulars by their 21st birthday. Yet Judge has had better seasons than any of them, and his stretch of hitting since 2022 eclipses any similar stretch ever posted by the two Hall of Famers and should-be Hall of Famer.&lt;/p&gt;
  189. &lt;p id="aRwOCh"&gt;And this stretch shows perhaps the true hitting genius of Aaron Judge. The traditional understanding of his approach focuses on power and walks, and even to a certain extent his above-average BA has to do with those walks lowering the denominator of the batting fraction. We saw this start to change last year, where he hit .322 and had at least an outside shot at the Triple Crown.&lt;/p&gt;
  190. &lt;div id="UOoBrL"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/mlbfilmroom/00u7vmz7zwyFPAlB6356/aaron-judge-reel-4-17-25" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  191. &lt;p id="Kwgroi"&gt;Then this two-week jaunt without a home run, without the thing that Aaron Judge is perhaps more associated with than any other current player, he’s still better at the plate than all but four men. He’s hitting like a prototypical leadoff hitter, when we all know he’s well on his way to another 50-homer season.&lt;/p&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="NgZjQD"&gt;Now, this stretch is going to end at some point — if he goes deep once or twice against Tampa today it might end overnight. His .560 BABIP, even for a guy that hits the ball harder than almost anyone in history, will drop down eventually. Until that happens; and once it does we’ll probably see those home runs start to fly, this mid-month reinvention at the plate has been a joy to watch.&lt;/p&gt;
  193.  
  194. </content>
  195.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24410174/yankees-mlb-offense-aaron-judge-hitting-skill-alonso-corbin-rodriguez-pujols-home-runs-babip"/>
  196.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24410174/yankees-mlb-offense-aaron-judge-hitting-skill-alonso-corbin-rodriguez-pujols-home-runs-babip</id>
  197.    <author>
  198.      <name>Joshua Diemert</name>
  199.    </author>
  200.  </entry>
  201.  <entry>
  202.    <published>2025-04-18T13:00:00-04:00</published>
  203.    <updated>2025-04-18T13:00:00-04:00</updated>
  204.    <title>Reviewing Clarke Schmidt’s 2025 debut</title>
  205.    <content type="html">  
  206.  
  207.    &lt;figure&gt;
  208.      &lt;img alt="Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QvcTRAZJ5hm8bJ1y46KUOeCaw2A=/0x0:6000x4000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74031028/2210089895.0.jpg" /&gt;
  209.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  210.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  211.  
  212.  &lt;p&gt;Coming off the IL to aid a rotation taking its lumps, Schmidt was up and down in his first appearance of 2025.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="OgDFsN"&gt;In a season that has so far been defined by pitching injuries, the &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt; got their first big piece back from the shelf on Wednesday, as Clarke Schmidt took the mound against the Kansas City Royals after building up from a late spring shoulder issue that forced him to start the season on the injured list.&lt;/p&gt;
  213. &lt;p id="5sNsdx"&gt;Just having Schmidt, who registered a 2.85 ERA (143 ERA+) in 16 starts last season, back would be enough for excitement, regardless of how his performance went in his season debut. With all the uncertainty past Max Fried and (mostly) Carlos Rodón, adding a guy who has made 51 above-average starts (including postseason) since 2023 is a massive win for the Yankees. So with his first start &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/16/24410122/yankees-game-score-recap-royals-sweep-aaron-judge-homer-clarke-schmidt-season-debut-bellinger-catch"&gt;in the books&lt;/a&gt;, it’s time to examine how Clarke looked, what stood out, and what we can take away from it going forward.&lt;/p&gt;
  214. &lt;p id="IFs0nn"&gt;Schmidt did not start out great. After getting ahead of Jonathan India and forcing a fly out, he was ambushed by Bobby Witt Jr. on a first-pitch sinker down the pipe.&lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;div id="pbnvCJ"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/clarke-schmidt-in-play-no-out-to-bobby-witt-jr" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  216. &lt;p id="wzauXD"&gt;The first thing I noticed with Schmidt’s outing was that he was fully built back up in the velocity department. He was down a tick on his cutter, which averaged 91.1 yesterday (92.4 mph last year), but sat around his 2024 averages. That sinker to Witt was at 95.3, his hardest pitch of the day.&lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="Q7n4bH"&gt;After a five-pitch walk to Vinnie Pasquantino, Schmidt spun a sweeper directly into the bat path of a struggling Salvador Perez, who opened the scoring with an RBI single.&lt;/p&gt;
  218. &lt;div id="EGVC6l"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/clarke-schmidt-in-play-run-s-to-salvador-perez" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  219. &lt;p id="SNCtan"&gt;At a crucial point in the game, Schmidt broke out a pitch that would become his best weapon for the remainder of his start: the knuckle curve.&lt;/p&gt;
  220. &lt;p id="Q7Hu3T"&gt;While his first one was a &lt;a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=fc946c9a-34af-32ae-aab2-c6255567d325"&gt;hanger &lt;/a&gt;that Maikel Garcia nearly deposited in the short porch, Schmidt was able to execute better against MJ Melendez, registering his first strikeout of the season on a good curve that darted away from Melendez, inducing a chase off the plate.&lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;div id="CFAw3m"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/mj-melendez-strikes-out-swinging-r8u5qh" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  222. &lt;p id="el660E"&gt;The biggest development for Schmidt in 2024 was how much his cutter improved, especially against lefties. After allowing a .344 BA and .397 wOBA on his cutter against LHH in 2023, he decreased those numbers in 2024 to .260 and .311 respectively. On Wednesday night, his cutter was so-so, with Royals lefties going 2-for-3 with a triple and zero whiffs on 12 pitches, while righties went 0-for-4 with six whiffs in 14 pitches.&lt;/p&gt;
  223. &lt;p id="rnWHoI"&gt;Schmidt’s fielding ability was tested frequently in this one, getting a few assists along the way:&lt;/p&gt;
  224. &lt;div id="Mvjw3y"&gt;
  225. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsporty-clips.mlb.com%2FMTZXZ25fWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFZQ0IxY0NWbEVBV1FjS0F3QUhBRkJSQUFCUVZsSUFWMUFBQUFBTUFGZGRBd0ZX.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  226. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  227. &lt;/div&gt;
  228. &lt;p id="ejR9l1"&gt;He was able to get some awkward swings out of right-handed batters on his sweeper, with Garcia barely making contact on this one in the fourth inning.&lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;p id="BzWOWa"&gt;After striking out Melendez on a barrage of curves in the first, Schmidt decided to overload him with the knuckle curve in the next AB, getting another strikeout on another one that the bottom just fell out of:&lt;/p&gt;
  230. &lt;div id="01slWH"&gt;
  231. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsporty-clips.mlb.com%2FMTZXZ25fWGw0TUFRPT1fQUFrRFV3Y05CMUFBQUFRSFV3QUhCUTVYQUFBTVUxa0FWd0FOQWxVQ0JBTUFWUVJT.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  232. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  233. &lt;/div&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="ht2HKf"&gt;Schmidt worked three very efficient innings heading into the fifth, where things began to unravel. On consecutive cutters against lefties, he gave up a hit to Drew Waters and a 104-mph fly out by Tyler Tolbert. That loud contact didn’t dissuade him from throwing one on 0-1 against Kyle Isbel.&lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="SNCb3h"&gt;Catcher Austin Wells set up for it to land on the outside part of the plate, only for it to be grooved as a 90-mph cookie that led to an RBI triple.&lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;div id="zg3YbN"&gt;
  237. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsporty-clips.mlb.com%2FMTZXZ25fWGw0TUFRPT1fQWdWU0FWTU1VUU1BQ0FBQ1VRQUhWRkFIQUZnQUFRY0FVVmRUVWxGUkJBRlNWbEZY.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  238. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  239. &lt;/div&gt;
  240. &lt;p id="ONcuwe"&gt;His cutter was getting wrecked by lefties, but he rebounded by getting the next two righties  out with the pitch. I do question his pitch selection to Jonathan India, though.&lt;/p&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="hsKYCB"&gt;Up by a run with a runner on third with one out, Schmidt got ahead of India 0-2. Instead of using his sweeper out of the zone to chase a strikeout, he looks to go up-and-away with the cutter, which isn’t placed well enough to get a whiff.&lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;div id="BdbRBU"&gt;
  243. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsporty-clips.mlb.com%2FMTZXZ25fWGw0TUFRPT1fQndVSEFBRUJYMUFBV1FjS1ZRQUhWVk5lQUFBSEFGWUFDMVVEQjFjQkFWRUFDVkZS.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  244. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  245. &lt;/div&gt;
  246. &lt;p id="9bY5yn"&gt;In the sixth, Schmidt fell behind 3-0 against Pasquantino and got into a full count against Salvy, but got both of them to ground out.&lt;/p&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="fqI9hR"&gt;It just looked like he ran out of gas at the end, which is to be expected with his semi-rushed build-up. After avoiding walks to the first two hitters, Schmidt refused to give in on 3-2 to Garcia, &lt;a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=e986de9b-cd91-37a9-8f6e-1d69cbece903"&gt;failing to get him to expand the zone&lt;/a&gt; on a knuckle curve below the zone. Manager Aaron Boone lifted him from the game immediately thereafter. Mark Leiter Jr. and Fernando Cruz combined for the final 10 outs to help nail down a Yankees sweep.&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;p id="rHtE99"&gt;Overall, Schmidt allowed three runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5.2 innings, generating nine whiffs. He leaned on his sinker, followed by his sweeper, curveball, and sinker.&lt;/p&gt;
  249. &lt;p id="wcXQTV"&gt;Schmidt notably ditched his sinker in the fourth inning, only throwing it seven times total for a 9.6 percent usage rate, down from 20.5 percent last season. While his sinker usage decreased at the hands of his cutter usage last season, it was an increase in the knuckle curve today:&lt;/p&gt;
  250. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  251.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S1PM1ou4Jja6mi-RYygc5XQNXoM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25958280/Screenshot_2025_04_17_at_8.51.43_PM.png"&gt;
  252.      &lt;cite&gt;Baseball Savant&lt;/cite&gt;
  253.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  254. &lt;p id="eYk3Be"&gt;His fastball and sweeper, which were almost completely wiped out last year, appear to be gone for good.&lt;/p&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="Zgxt3X"&gt;Overall, this was a good outing. If I had to take anything away from this start, it’s that Clarke Schmidt is healthy and that is absolutely massive for the Yankees. How his cutter fairs against left-handed hitters will be an early trend to watch with him, as he cannot afford it to revert to what it was in 2023 with it being his clear No. 1 pitch.&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;p id="QNEjoI"&gt;What’ll mean the most to the Yankees, however, is for Schmidt to stay healthy and be a guy who can take the ball every five days through the end of the season. Before they can dream of him being a frontline starter, he needs to be a rock-solid mid-rotation contributor, especially given the injuries and ineffectiveness elsewhere on the staff. More days like Wednesday will be welcome.&lt;/p&gt;
  257.  
  258. </content>
  259.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24410813/yankees-analysis-clarke-schmidt-debut-season-2025-royals-april-16"/>
  260.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24410813/yankees-analysis-clarke-schmidt-debut-season-2025-royals-april-16</id>
  261.    <author>
  262.      <name>Michael Zeno</name>
  263.    </author>
  264.  </entry>
  265.  <entry>
  266.    <published>2025-04-18T12:30:00-04:00</published>
  267.    <updated>2025-04-18T12:30:00-04:00</updated>
  268.    <title>Yankees fans say Goldschmidt is team’s best hitter beyond Judge</title>
  269.    <content type="html">  
  270.  
  271.    &lt;figure&gt;
  272.      &lt;img alt="MLB: San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kFzs1yiumWU16M40P93159l-fNI=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74030960/usa_today_25913821.0.jpg" /&gt;
  273.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Tom Horak-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  274.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  275.  
  276.  &lt;p&gt;The 2022 NL MVP and seven-time All-Star got the nod, but up-and-comer Ben Rice wasn’t far behind.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="hOEiwa"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New York Yankees&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; fans and fans across the country. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/0DWS6R/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sign up here&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  277. &lt;p id="gUszJh"&gt;In this past week’s Reacts survey, we had a question about the state of the &lt;a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/"&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt;’ offense beyond Aaron Judge. The captain can safely be relied upon for MVP-quality production, but as the 2021-23 seasons demonstrated, he needed someone like Juan Soto alongside him in the lineup to really make this lineup menacing. Otherwise, he can be safely pitched around.&lt;/p&gt;
  278. &lt;p id="YOXW9l"&gt;Judge is, of course, dangerous enough that he’ll probably be pitched around regardless, but with Soto now in Queens, we wanted to know who Yankees fans thought would be their second-best hitter in 2025. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll produce near Soto’s level, but even a very good season would provide a boost. Here were the five candidates we considered:&lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;ul&gt;
  280. &lt;li id="TEFH8l"&gt;Austin Wells, who was third in 2024 AL Rookie of the Year voting while hitting cleanup quite a bit, began this year with a bomb, and provides a power threat from behind the plate&lt;/li&gt;
  281. &lt;li id="9d6kol"&gt;Ben Rice, who put up serious muscle in the offseason and despite not having much of a track record, has been hitting like prime Giancarlo Stanton during the opening month while filling in for the injured masher at DH&lt;/li&gt;
  282. &lt;li id="b2mkOY"&gt;Cody Bellinger, who hasn’t looked quite himself yet due to a balky back and food illness but put up a resurgent 125 OPS+ with the Cubs from 2023-24 and can definitely capitalize on the Short Porch&lt;/li&gt;
  283. &lt;li id="mbmWyu"&gt;Paul Goldschmidt, the old pro who can still destroy lefties and has gotten off to a better start than most fans expected&lt;/li&gt;
  284. &lt;li id="ppHhm9"&gt;Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is currently tied with Judge for the MLB lead with six homers even though his timing’s clearly not quite there yet&lt;/li&gt;
  285. &lt;/ul&gt;
  286. &lt;p id="BSYADv"&gt;Below, you’ll find the results, which are brought to you by &lt;a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb"&gt;FanDuel&lt;/a&gt; and were collected this week from our survey of Yankees fans.&lt;/p&gt;
  287. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  288.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VYmspuL2arTWxuq7obShUaA6-D4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25959095/NewYorkYankees_1_041525__1_.png"&gt;
  289.      &lt;cite&gt;Kyle Thele&lt;/cite&gt;
  290.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  291. &lt;p id="0YejbH"&gt;There was no majority here, though Goldschmidt safely notched the plurality at 46 percent. He’s off to a .352/.397/.465, 149 wRC+ start at age 37. Although he didn’t have a track record of leading off, the Yankees have been comfortable deploying him there or elsewhere near the top of the lineup, and he’s definitely done his job of getting on base in front of Judge across the first three weeks of the season.&lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;p id="yE5FvP"&gt;That being said, at 38 percent, Rice was not terribly far behind Goldschmidt. It’s a testament to how impressed everyone has been with his game in the early goings, as his newfound muscle and skilled approach at the plate have him at .317/.414/.650 (!) with an eye-popping 204 wRC+. (For a little context, Judge had a 206 wRC+ in his 62-homer 2022.) Will the excitement of these first 70 plate appearances likely fade? Almost certainly! But Yankees fans are enjoying the ride and have a lot of confidence that even after he cools down a bit, Rice’s bat will remain an important part of this lineup.&lt;/p&gt;
  293. &lt;p id="MDSLxy"&gt;Beyond New York, the Reacts survey question sent to the league writ large focused on offseason additions. Here, there &lt;em&gt;was&lt;/em&gt; a majority, and it was someone who the Yankees had a chance to acquire.&lt;/p&gt;
  294. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  295.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PHtxfFuy2D_OuwbbzzjRvnDc9-c=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25958876/_National_1_041525.png"&gt;
  296.      &lt;cite&gt;Kyle Thele&lt;/cite&gt;
  297.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  298. &lt;p id="ucOLdw"&gt;The Yankees took a risk when they passed on including 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil in a rumored deal with the Astros for outfielder Kyle Tucker. Like Soto last year, he’s a free agent at season’s end, but a clear MVP-caliber talent. The Yankees didn’t want to lose what Gil could possibly offer the rotation for multiple years in the future, so they reportedly passed.&lt;/p&gt;
  299. &lt;p id="LO2N5r"&gt;Now, Gil is gone for at least the season’s first few months battling a lat injury while Tucker is an NL MVP contender with the first-place Cubs, batting .301/.410/.578 with a 173 wRC+ in 100 plate appearances. It is still April of course, and how Gil potentially fares in the second half will help make it a more palatable decision, but no matter what, the Wrigley faithful are ecstatic to have Tucker in tow.&lt;/p&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="GeS2iX"&gt;Goldschmidt and Max Fried were the Yankees’ representatives in this survey. They’ve been helpful, and Fried has been invaluable, capably stepping in as the de facto ace and only reliable starter with Gerrit Cole down with Tommy John surgery. But yeah, it’s fair to say that Tucker’s better. Red Sox trade addition Garrett Crochet finished a distant second in this poll at 19 percent, though that’s no shade on him. Boston has been so pleased that he’s already been extended for six years and $170 million.&lt;/p&gt;
  301.  
  302. </content>
  303.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411285/yankees-fan-survey-best-hitter-not-aaron-judge-paul-goldschmidt-ben-rice-mlb-top-offseason-addition"/>
  304.    <id>https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/4/18/24411285/yankees-fan-survey-best-hitter-not-aaron-judge-paul-goldschmidt-ben-rice-mlb-top-offseason-addition</id>
  305.    <author>
  306.      <name>Andrew Mearns</name>
  307.    </author>
  308.  </entry>
  309. </feed>
  310.  

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