Yankees’ Best Starters Aren’t the Guys They Shelled Out the Big Bucks For

The New York Yankees’ rotation has been a team strength this season, despite Gerrit Cole being sidelined.

The 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner (60-day IL) has been shelved since experiencing elbow inflammation in spring training. Those are some big spikes to fill: last year Cole led the league in starts (33), innings pitched (209), ERA (2.63), and WHIP (0.98) to go with 222 strikeouts.

Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil have been filling the void during Cole’s absence so far this season. Outside of Cody Poteet making a start in a doubleheader, one of these starting five has taken the hill each time out.

Cortes has returned from a rotator cuff injury that cut his 2023 campaign short. He’s got a 3.72 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 48.1 innings pitched over eight starts so far.

Rodon, whom the Yankees signed to a six-year, $162 million deal in December 2022, struggled in his first year in pinstripes — but has looked sharp in 2024. The 31-year-old southpaw has also made eight starts, pitching to a 3.56 ERA with 43 punchouts in 43 IP.

Stroman joined the club in January 2024 on a two-year, $37 million deal. Despite a rocky start against the Astros on May 9, the 33-year-old veteran has a 3.80 ERA and 40 Ks in 42.2 IP.

But the revelations have come from the two homegrown guys: Schmidt and Gil. These back-of-the-rotation guys have the best numbers of the bunch. And they’re making only $2 million, and $750,000 this season, respectively.

Together, New York’s starting rotation has a 3.36 ERA and 225 strikeouts, which ranks second overall in the bigs.

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Schmidt Is Far Exceeding Expectations

Schmidt looked to be no better than a back-of-the-rotation arm based on his performance last year — and the other guys on the staff. The 28-year-old, a first-round pick by the Yanks in the 2017 MLB draft, went 9-9 with a 4.64 ERA. Schmidt had routinely struggled the third time around an opposition’s batting order.

With Cole on the IL, Schmidt has worked as New York’s fourth starter and seems to benefit from the ace’s mentorship.

“I feel like I’ve learned more in the past year than I ever have in my career,” Schmidt told The Athletic regarding Cole’s guidance.

Schmidt worked into the seventh inning in the Bronx Bomber’s 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10. Schmidt picked up his fourth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.95 after allowing five hits and no runs.

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Gil Coming Along After Tommy John

The 25-year-old Gil broke onto the scene in August of 2021. He became the first major leaguer to start his career with three scoreless starts. However, Tommy John surgery cut his 2022 campaign short and kept him out all of last year.

Gil made the Yankees’ rotation after an impressive spring training.

The righty has been dominant outside of his MLB-leading 24 walks. Gil’s allowed just 18 hits in 37 innings over seven starts. He’s also got 45 strikeouts and a team-best 2.92 ERA. Gil allowed one run on one hit over six innings in New York’s 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on May 7. He struck out five batters.

Gil has benefitted from Cole’s guidance — and even received an endorsement from Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.

“He keeps on growing and he’s got a really high ceiling,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Gil.

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