The New York Yankees' blistering 24-8 start to begin the 2022 MLB season is making fans salivate at the possibilities for October.
Guys like Michael King and Clay Holmes are big reasons for why.
The 24-8 start to the season marks just the fifth time in franchise history and the first time that the ‘Bronx Bombers' have hit that mark since the 1998 season.
Of the previous four times that the Yankees have started a season winning 24/32 games, the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
This is the 5th time in franchise history the Yankees have won at least 24 of their first 32 games of the season (also in 1998, 1958, 1939, 1928).
They won the World Series each of the previous 4 times.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 14, 2022
The previous four seasons (1928, 1939, 1958, and 1998) have all ended in a World Series title in October for New York. Which, points to a positive omen for the team moving forward this season.
Like most seasons recently, the bullpen for the Yankees is the backbone of the club.
The bullpen consists of guys like Aroldis Chapman, King, and Holmes to form maybe the most formidable ‘pen in the MLB.
Michael King, in particular, has been as surprising as he has been dominant so far in 2022. Through the first 32 games this season, King leads the Yankees with a 36.5% K% and is holding opponents to a 1.70 xFIP so far.
Holmes, meanwhile, is picking up exactly from where he left off after being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021.
Clay Holmes hasn't given up a run since he gave up 1 on opening day and im pretty sure he won't give up another one for at least the rest of this season
— Gabe (@PlayoffTanaka_) May 14, 2022
Holmes's groundball rate % of 80.5% leads all relievers in baseball so far in 2022 by a fairly wide margin. The closest one to Holmes, in fact, is Chris Martin of the Chicago Cubs, who sports a groundball rate % of 73.3%.
The #Yankees sacrificed 2 mph of velocity to pick up 6" of horizontal movement on Clay Holmes' slider between 2021 and 2022.
How? They flipped him to a 2-seam SL grip. 💫⚾️
Swinging strike rate on the pitch went from 17% ➡️ 31%. pic.twitter.com/OMqRIFKggy
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) May 12, 2022
If the bullpen continues to perform like it has, this team has a real chance to win it all in October.
Follow Us
Subscribe