The Yankees’ 2-7 road trip left a sour taste in all our mouths, the club following up a stellar stretch of play with a frustrating week and a half that saw a number of bullpen blowups and close losses. New York now trails the Rays by three games in the AL East despite pacing the American League in run differential, ERA, wRC+, and a host of other measures.
These periods of time are grating, but they happen to every team, even good ones, over the course of the season. As we wait for the Yankees to pull
out of this current skid, let’s try and focus on the positives and ask: what has been the most positive development so far in 2026?
I think there are two obvious choices that will pop first into everyone’s heads, those being the play of Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Rice enjoyed a breakout 2025 campaign, but every last piece of underlying data we had available to us from Rice’s first two seasons suggested that he was capable of even more. This year has been proof of concept, Rice leading the majors in wRC+. For almost every team in baseball, there’d be no question that a player like Rice, in his prime, blossoming into one of the finest players in the league would be the best development of the early season.
And yet, it’s possible to argue that Schlittler’s ascension is not only the most positive development of the Yankees’ season, but of any team’s campaign thus far. Somewhat similar to Rice, Schlittler had a great 2025 that hinted at even greater promise, and just like Rice, Schlittler has fulfilled that promise and then some. He’s been the AL’s best pitcher so far and, even if it’s still early, is the current favorite to take home the Cy Young award. A year ago, many Yankee fans wouldn’t have even known Schlittler’s name; now, he is the premier name to watch in the Junior Circuit.
In truth, the most positive development of this season probably has to come down to one of these two, but I do want to highlight some other positive things we’ve seen this year that were far from guarantees. It might seem strange to note Aaron Judge here, with Judge’s metronomic excellence take for granted at this point, but the fact that at age-34 he’s still producing a 172 wRC+ even while slightly underperforming some of his underlying numbers, and while also just feeling like he hasn’t even really gotten going yet, has to qualify as a positive. And, though he has yet to debut in the majors and thus we can’t yet say anything all that definitive, the fact that Gerrit Cole has progressed has far through his rehab both healthy and flashing elite velo is also a nice development for this Yankees club. Just like Judge, Cole is at an age where precipitous physical decline could be around the corner at any moment. The fact that the team’s two superstar veteran cornerstones have not fallen off an athletic cliff yet is a positive that can’t be taken for granted at this point in their careers.
What do you think? What’s been the most positive development so far out of these 2026 Yankees?
On the site today, we’ll get Michael’s recap of the week that was down on the farm for the Yankees, while Matt sums up Monday night’s American League action. Josh will wonder whether the Yankees’ apparent sense of urgency early this season will translate to the trade market, Peter’s At-bat of the Week features some good work from Anthony Volpe (!), while Jonathan profiles Gil McDougald, one of the driving forces behind the Yankees’ 1950’s dynasty.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
Video: YES Network, Sportsnet One, TBS
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
