Day one of postseason baseball is underway, and the New York Yankees will join the fun on Tuesday. They closely observe the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays series as the winner will be their ALDS opponent. Rays center fielder Jose Siri brought in the first run of the postseason after clearing the left-center field wall. Jose Ramirez quickly responded with a two-run blast which concluded the game’s scoring.
Regardless of the team that advances to the ALDS, the Yankees have primacy in the season series against both teams. As opposed to previous seasons, where the Rays always seemed to out-hustle the Yanks, this year’s edge belongs to the pinstripes. The season series ended in an 11-8 margin, with six of those victories being home games.
As for the Guardians, who only faced the Bombers six times, it’s probably best to forget how the season series ended. The Guardians mustered just one win and surrendered 38 runs throughout the five Yankee wins. Although the two teams haven’t seen each other since July, Cleveland was arguably the hottest team in baseball for quite a while.
Aside from the season series, which has no correlation to the postseason, there are several other factors that coincide. Both potential opponents, the Rays and Guardians, have flaws of their own which may be advantages for the Yanks.
The Rays don’t have a power-heavy lineup
The Rays have coped with injuries all season long, and despite an injury-prone lineup, they don’t have a power-heavy lineup. Wander Franco was expected to take off in his sophomore season but was limited by several injuries. Other than Franco, Kevin Kiermaier, Mike Zunino, and Brandon Lowe all suffered season-ending injuries which left Tampa Bay with a contact-centric lineup.
The Rays hit just 139 home runs throughout the regular season and hit .239 as a whole. It’s fair to say that injuries have taken a toll, although, weak contact is what pitchers like Gerrit Cole would prefer. Cole has been demoralized by the home run ball, after allowing a career-high 33 long balls. Thankfully, his numbers against Tampa Bay are quite laudable after mowing down 35 Rays’ across four starts.
According to Baseball Savant, the Rays rank towards the bottom of the league in two prominent stats. Hard hit rate and barrel rate. Tampa Bay boasts a 6.1 Barrel % (4th-worst) and a 38.7 Hard Hit % (18th).
If the Rays were to find a loophole in the Yankees’ pitching staff, then figures such as Yandy Diaz and Ji-Man Choi will need to contribute. Diaz maintained a high average over the course of the season, and Choi can heat up in a jiffy. He constructed quite an impressive first half until he completely derailed in the second half. It’s simply critical that those two attribute to the addition of several others.
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The Guardians’ lineup has shallow playoff experience
The Guardians haven’t appeared in the postseason since 2020. They are one of the youngest teams in baseball, which has a downside to it. Their young studs Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez were extraordinary in the regular season, although, they have zero postseason experience. It’s still too early to make an observation, but the constant pressure of the postseason may catch them off guard.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor are evidently the playoff veterans for this club, but aside from them, there aren’t too many. Naylor was a monster in the 2020 postseason, and Ramirez has been around long enough to adapt to playoff pitching. Additionally, youngsters like Oscar Gonzalez and Owen Miller are new faces to the postseason.
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