The New York Yankees feature a star-studded roster that has led the team to the best record in MLB through the first half of the 2022 MLB season. Aaron Judge would likely be the MVP if the season ended today, Gerrit Cole continues to pitch well, and the team simply wins ball games. However, there have been a number of surprises on this roster in 2022. 

Fortunately for the Yankees, most of those surprises have benefitted the team. Let’s take a look at the 3 biggest surprises on this Yankees roster. 

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3 biggest New York Yankees first-half surprises in 2022 MLB season

Yankees cult heroes

Nestor Cortes, Jose Trevino, and Matt Carpenter are the 3 standout Yankees’ cult heroes this season. This trio is beloved by New York Yankees fans and they have performed extremely well.

Cortes and Trevino are 2022 All-Stars, while Carpenter has produced Barry Bonds-esque numbers since joining the team. 

Nestor Cortes owns a 2.63 ERA and 1.00 WHP. He has emerged as an excellent option alongside Gerrit Cole in the rotation. 

Jose Trevino is hitting over .250 with 7 bombs. He has developed into a productive catcher and has done a tremendous job of replacing Gary Sanchez. 

In just 29 games played, Matt Carpenter already has 11 home runs and 24 RBI’s. He continues to mash in New York. 

This trio has been a wonderful surprise for the Yankees. 

Anthony Rizzo

The New York Yankees were expected to be major players in free agency during this past offseason. They were linked to every big name free agent including Freddie Freeman. 

However, fans were left feeling underwhelmed when New York re-signed Anthony Rizzo instead of Freeman. Rizzo was seemingly past his prime and fans did not expect much. 

But Anthony Rizzo got off to a torrid start in the 2022 season. He has cooled down since, but he still has 22 home runs to his credit so far this year. His .832 OPS is solid as well. 

Rizzo isn’t the same player he once was. But the power benefits the team overall. Rizzo has been a pleasant surprise for the New York Yankees this year. 

Clay Holmes over Aroldis Chapman

Aroldis Chapman losing the closer’s job is not shocking. He displayed signs of decline last year and has dealt with injuries in 2022. 

But the emergence of Clay Holmes was a big surprise for the Yankees. Holmes displayed signs of star potential last season. But it was unclear what role he would serve in 2022. 

However, he has become a staple for this New York Yankees’ bullpen.

Clay Holmes owns a sparkling 1.31 ERA and 0.87 WHIP to go along with 16 saves. He features some of the nastiest stuff in the game. Holmes is emerging as one of the best closers in the big leagues. 

His dominance has helped keep an injury-plagued Yankees’ bullpen in-tact. His presence has added stability to the relief core. 

Aroldis Chapman is still a good pitcher. But it seems as if he will play more of a setup man role moving forward. 

Final thoughts 

The Yankees have seen a number of breakout performances in 2022. Their balance of stars and depth has been key to their overall success this year. This is a team with legitimate World Series aspirations.

And each of these big surprises will be crucial to their winning ways down the stretch and in the postseason.