Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in New York Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The New York Yankees will play postseason baseball, barring an absolute disaster. They’ll just most likely play it earlier than they would’ve liked, potentially making an appearance in the ever-dangerous Wild Card round, a graveyard for higher seeds since
baseball adopted this new format (just ask the 2023-24 Brewers).
In an ideal world, Gerrit Cole would be healthy, and the Yankees would possess one of the most fearsome starting trios in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Cole is out with Tommy John surgery, and that leaves New York with a crucial choice to make ahead of a potential Wild Card round. Max Fried and Carlos Rodón will pitch the first two games of a three-game series, but who takes the ball for the decisive one if it gets to that?
We asked you, the fans, who would be your choice. The answer was very clear:
Not to be overly harsh on these talented young pitchers, but the process of making a choice here is one of elimination, in which anyone will inevitably pick the option they feel less bad about. Between Will Warren’s recent struggles in big games (especially in opening innings) and the lack of experience from the rookie Cam Schlittler, it’s natural that the overwhelming majority would gravitate towards what Gil. While the hard-throwing righty has been the least present of the trio this season, his experience—including a couple Game 4 starts last year—still surpasses that of both Warren and Schlittler.
On the flip side, Gil’s 1.500 WHIP in nine starts this season perfectly encapsulates the reason for hesitation in running him out there for such a decisive game, even if it’d be at home. And while Gil did get those two aforementioned starts last October, he walked five hitters in eight innings the World Series run.
More so than the specific choice of which starter the Yankees will use here, it’s worth an acknowledgement that, regardless of the bullpen usage, whoever is chosen will have an unbelievably short leash. It should honestly be self-evident. If everything’s on the line in this legitimate win-or-go-home Wild Card Series Game 3, then the moment the starter falters—perhaps as early as the first inning, à la 2017 Luis Severino—the team would be obligated to get someone warm to potentially save the season.
Moving beyond the Yankees, here are the results of a different Reacts survey that was sent to all MLB fans.
Right alongside the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, and Phillies as one of the more consistent contenders of recent seasons, the Atlanta Braves made what the Yanks and Dodgers have gone through in 2025 look like minor slip-ups. Projected to battle for the NL East, Atlanta is the fourth-worst team in the National League in line for a shocking below-.500 campaign, its first since 2017 (just before Ronald Acuña Jr.’s MLB debut).
Two things separate Atlanta from Baltimore, one of them being a longer track record of success and the other a weaker division. While Baltimore has the excuse of playing in an AL East with no pushovers, it doesn’t excuse such a steep drop-off from 101 wins and an AL East crown in 2023 to a Wild Card in ‘24 to a team that had no choice but to sell in July.
Remember when people were worried about the Orioles’ rotation that had lost its ace and not adequately replaced him? Well, it turns out that was kind of an issue, and not even Trevor Rogers—who the Yankees must contend with tonight—putting in some of the greatest 100 innings we’ve seen in recent years is enough to make up for an underwhelming staff.
Minnesota and Arizona didn’t have the season they were looking for, but they’re in a completely different class than Atlanta and Baltimore as far as the relation between expectation and outcome. Heck, the D-backs are trying to pull a 2024 Tigers and make a last-ditch run at the third Wild Card spot anyway despite making like Baltimore and dealing away talent at the Trade Deadline.
