WHO WILL BE THE YANKEES ALDS STARTER?

Source: New York Times

The Cleveland Guardians outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays to sweep the series and head to the American League Division Series as the Yankees worthy opponent. With this in mind, Aaron Boone and his coaches have an important decision to make: Who will be the starter on Tuesday night against the Guardians?

Source: USA Today

“The good thing is, with Gerrit, Nestor and Sevy, I feel really good about where those guys are at and how we can match up from a starting standpoint against really any team right now,” Boone said on ESPN New York 98.7 FM. “So it’s a little bit of a decision right now, but mostly I look at it as a good decision to have," reported ESPN.

Both Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes have pitched well against the Guardians in the regular season. And the Yankees have a leg up when it comes to Cleveland both in the postseason as well as winning 5 out of 6 games against them in 2022, including a sweep at the Stadium. But this is a whole new team, and a whole new "season" as the Yankees face the youngest team in baseball in the ALDS 2022.

"Cleveland features a lineup that includes Jose Ramirez, who would have been an AL MVP candidate if not for the historic seasons put up by Aaron Judge and the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani," wrote the New York Post. "And the youngest team in the game has 25-year-old Steven Kwan in left field. Kwan would have been an AL Rookie of the Year possibility if not for the presence of Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez and Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman. Shane Bieber is the ace of Cleveland’s staff, but Triston McKenzie and Emmanuel Clase might be more dangerous to the Yankees’ hopes."

So with this kind of lineup and defensive pitching facing this Yankee team, Boone has a tough decision—kick off their series against the Guardians with their "ace" or go with one of the most consistent pitchers in the game with Cortes?

Source: NY Post

"By sweeping the best-of-three series, the Guardians avoided using starter Cal Quantrill, so he's the likely Game 1 starter against the Yankees," reported The New York Post. The Wild Card certainly has not disappointed as the Seattle Mariners came all the way back to beat the Yankees' other nemesis in the East, the Toronto Blue Jays. And if the ALDS is anything like what we are seeing now, the competition will be fierce, making Boone's decision for starting pitcher even more interesting.

Who will be the Yankees ALDS starter? We don't know....yet, but if I had to guess Boone will go with the big contract, and big strikeout pitcher in Cole, even though the Guardians are second in the least number of strikeouts in the regular season. Would I prefer Nestor Cortes to kick things off? Yes. And we will soon see who will take the hill as the Yankees get primed for what will surely be a tough start to the postseason for the Pinstripes. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof