It’s a bit of a cliche, but one of the great things about baseball is that it never fails to surprise us. You can go to the ballpark and see something you’ve never seen before every night. The worst team in the league is liable to beat the best team in the league on any given day. And most crucially, ballplayers themselves are breathing, dynamic people that can and do change. Players who you thought were backups at best can shake up their offseason regimen, learn a new pitch, overhaul their plate
approach, make any number of infinite changes, and turn into something you’d never dreamed of.
Of course, the process works in reverse too (players you never thought could regress and fail manage to surprise and go backwards). But let’s focus on the bright side right now and consider the Yankees that have surprised in positive ways this year. Now that we’re three-quarters into the season, which Yankee has raised your opinion of them the most?
Early in the season, I thought the answer to this question was sure to be Ben Rice. On May 3rd, Rice had a 1.214 OPS, and his 222 wRC+ led the majors. Rice carried a high level of production into the summer, but he’s cratered the last month or two. His 140 OPS+ on the year is still excellent, but it’s also probably not a hugely surprising figure to anyone that watched Rice closely in 2025.
Cam Schlittler also seemed like a great answer to this question early in the year, and thankfully, that remains the case even as we head toward the home stretch. Though he hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was during the season’s first couple months, Schlittler is still at or near the top of every AL pitching leaderboard and has a very real shot at the AL Cy Young. He’s an Ace, which was not a guarantee at the beginning of the year.
If no one on the Yankees has moved your expectations of them more than Schlittler, that’s fair. But there are some other candidates on this roster. Ryan Weathers comes to mind; his 3.56 ERA/3.62 FIP on the year are excellent for a mid-rotation arm, and if you put a little added weight onto his most recent stretch in which he’s allowed just three runs over his last five outings, Weathers starts to resemble a front-line starter.
There’s also the matter of the rooks. Everyone knew entering the year that George Lombard Jr. had real talent, but the idea that he’d be ready to contribute at a high level in the majors by the summer seemed a bit of a stretch. While we don’t know how long he can sustain this, Lombard has been a plus player in every way during his first few weeks in the majors after looking extremely polished in Triple-A. We also can give an honorable mention to Spencer Jones, who still strikes out too much but at least has looked like a major-league caliber player during his debut.
If you’re able to look past the Anthony Volpes and Jasson Domínguez’s of the world, there really are quite a number of Yankees who have taken steps forward and shifted our expectations of them. David Bednar has solidified himself as the Closer that was promised, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn have flourished into high-leverage arms, hell, even Gerrit Cole has done a lot to wipe away any concerns during his return from elbow surgery.
What do you think? Try and go back to the start of the season, and remember how you felt about each player. Who’s done the most to raise your opinion of them since then?
We’ve got the finale in Baltimore tonight, and we’ve got lots on the site to keep you busy beforehand. In the morning, Nick reviews Wednesday night’s action, and Michael calls for the Yankees to amp up their aggressiveness on the base paths. Later, Peter profiles the great Graig Nettles, and also praises Carlos Rodon’s work in his return against the Orioles this week, while Jonathan discusses the Yankees’ tendency to downplay injuries at times.
Today’s Matchup:
New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
Time: 6:35 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, MASN
Venue: Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
