EARLY 2020 RANKINGS LIST YANKEES AS "SECOND BEST"

Okay, I don't mind being the underdog.

Like many of you, I was pretty busy preparing for the holiday this past week. I got behind on rumors  so while my Christmas cheesecake was baking in the oven I decided to catch up on some baseball news and found an interesting perspective from ESPN HERE. A subscription to ESPN+ is needed to read the full article BUT I can give you the breakdown if you don't have access.

In a nutshell, the Yankees addition of Gerrit Cole is HUGE for the team and a massive upgrade to the rotation, but they are still ranked as second best to one team's starting rotation, the Washington Nationals. Now that Stephen Strasburg has re-signed he is stacked up with three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin for a strong starting trio.

That's definitely a scary rotation, but nothing we didn't already know. We saw how effective their rotation was in the World Series. We also know that the Nationals have a good fourth starter in Anibal Sanchez...but what about the Yankees?

Cole is the anchor for a Yankee rotation that also features James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. The Yankees also have J.A. Happ (for now) but his name has been a constant in the rumor mill and the Yankees would move him if they could find the right deal. They also have Domingo German, but until the outcome of his domestic violence investigation we won't know if or how he fits into the Yankees future plans. Even if the Yankees trade away Happ and German does not pitch they have other options in house including Jordan Montgomery and Jonathan Loaisiga. I like those back end of the rotation options.

The Yankees may be projected to be "second best" in baseball for now, but at least we are ahead of that other New York team who is ranked as third led by two-time Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman.

So early on the Yankees are favored with the best AL pitching staff and the Nationals are the best NL pitching staff. Fine, and ESPN can even call us "second best" if they want but we aren't done forming this team yet. Oh and, we have some nice bats to go with that starting rotation. I like our odds going into 2020 and even if ESPN doesn't think we have the best rotation I'm sure other teams out there know not to underestimate us.

Just something for you to chew on as you enjoy the holiday with your friends and family. Whatever you are celebrating....Christmas, Hanukkah or maybe Kwanzaa starting tomorrow we wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday season.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj