Baltimore Orioles and the beast that is the AL East

2 of 6

May 29, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

New York Yankees: First place in AL East, 32-22

The Yankees were expected to be young and contending, and they are doing just that. Aaron Judge has been a star and is leading the major leagues in home runs. Several others such as Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Starlin Castro also have had very good seasons. Luis Severino has re-emerged as a top of the rotation starter, and Jordan Montgomery has been a pleasant surprise as well. And, of course, the back end of the bullpen is never a concern in New York, despite Aroldis Chapman spending time on the disabled list.

Causes for concern: Masahiro Tanaka has been, well, terrible. And if there is regression to come for Montgomery, that would make the rotation a major question mark. C.C. Sabathia continues to defy the odds, and Michael Pineda continues to be up and down. Severino has been the only consistent starter. The other concern is that the Yankees are made up of several types of players. You have young players like Judge and Gary Sanchez, where you wonder if they can keep this up for a full season.

You have players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holliday and Brett Gardner, who are on the other side of the baseball age spectrum and can they stay healthy (we already know Ellsbury can’t). Then you have a guy like Hicks and wonder if he can have a career year, or if he is just on a hot streak. This is the thing with a team where a lot of players are young. Are they establishing a new track record, or is a regression in order? We are going to find out.

Home/Baltimore Orioles