Now I am a very pessimistic Yankees fan, so I am not implying that they will be AL East champs, but it would be very difficult for them not to make the playoffs at all.
That being said, I am interested in how the playoff roster/lineup will look like come October. I don’t have much faith in Aaron Boone so I expect a very different result from what my ideal team looks like below.
Another factor is what Yankees will even be healthy come playoff time? Carpenter? Benintendi? Britton? LeMahieu?
I am going to assume everyone makes it back healthy just to make this more fun and interesting.
Starting Lineup:
- DJ LeMahieu (2B)
- Andrew Benintendi (LF)
- Aaron Judge (CF)
- Anthony Rizzo (1B)
- Giancarlo Stanton (DH)
- Gleyber Torres (2B)
- Oswaldo Cabrera (RF)
- Jose Trevino (C)
- IKF (3B)
Bench: Higashioka, Carpenter, Bader
Now this is a realistic lineup that Boone would never do. I don’t see him sitting Donaldson for Cabrera in the playoffs. Cabrera gives this team a spark that they desperately need and I rather have him at the plate than Donaldson.
Pitching:
Game 1: Cole
Game 2: Cortes
Game 3: Montas
Two no-brainers to start Game 1&2. Game 3 is a ? with either Montas or Severino if he’s healthy. Montas is starting to come into his own, and I think he can be a huge weapon for this team come playoff time.
Bullpen:
- Holmes
- Peralta
- Loaisiga
- Marinaccio
- Trivino
- Schmidt
- Severino
- German
- Effross
- Castro
Not a lot of surprises here. I leaned German and Schmidt over Taillon, especially in a short series. Hopefully Effross and Castro are back from injury. The Yankees will rely heavily on Holmes, Loaisiga, Peralta, Marinaccio, and Trivino in the playoffs.
I am writing this article now, in preparation for October when Boone has Donaldson at 3B, Hicks in CF and Chapman is closing out a game.
Cam's Corner 