Tigers vs Yankees Preview: Will New York’s Young Guns Continue to Produce?
Yankees Haven't Lost With Jasson Dominguez & Austin Wells On The Roster
The Detroit Tigers will take on the New York Yankees in a three-game series. There are no playoff implications in this matchup. However, the Yankees have won seven of their last ten games and have a lineup filled with young, promising talent.
Meanwhile, the Tigers have won four straight games heading into this series. They’ve got a lot of young talent that has developed more this season. Like the Yankees, the Tigers must revisit some things in the offseason. But both MLB teams have pieces that they’ll want to build around.
So, while neither team will play in the baseball playoffs, these games in September will help front offices build their squad for next year.
Here’s our Tigers vs Yankees preview for the three-game series between two hot teams in the American League.
Tigers vs Yankees 
Date & Time:
Location: Yankee Stadium
The New Kids On The Block
The New York Yankees swept the Houston Astros in a three-game series over the weekend.
The Astros are competing for a playoff spot. Not many baseball predictions had the Yankees earning a three-game sweep over Houston, especially on the road. However, the Yankees got it done behind some of their new, young talent that was called up in September.
Jasson Dominguez earned a call-up with New York when rosters expanded. He hit two home runs in that three-game series against the Astros. Although he’s only had three hits in 13 at-bats, Dominguez came up clutch when New York needed it most.
The Yankees also called up Austin Wells. He’s added two hits in ten at-bats. Although he hasn’t hit his stride offensively, pitchers like Michael King have already raved about pitching to him.
Those two joined Anthony Volpe, who became the starting shortstop when the season began this year. Volpe had a lot of high expectations when he became the starter.
Some would say he’s done better than his expectations. Others would think the opposite. It depends on what stats you believe are more critical.
Volpe has only hit .218. But he’s also got 20 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases. He has ridiculous speed but isn’t always able to provide the Yankees with a spark on the base paths because his average is so low.
Even his OBP is just .296. But it’s his first season, and he’s shown pop. He’ll likely finish with nearly 25 home runs in his rookie season. Next year, he’ll have to work on his average to get on base more. Once he does that, Volpe could be one of the best shortstops in the game.
See You Next Year, Riley Greene
The Tigers found a gem in Riley Greene. Greene was in his second season in the MLB before he injured his elbow late in the season.
Greene played 99 games this year and had a .288 average. He also had an OBP of .349 and an OPS of nearly .800.
He’s not typically a stolen base threat. But he has hit 11 home runs and 37 RBIs in 378 at-bats this season.
Greene hit a .182 ISO and wOBA of .361 as a left-handed bat against righties this season. He was worse against lefties, hitting a .310 ISO. But he’s limited strikeouts better than his rate last season.
Greene’s strikeout rate was still high this season. But it’s improved a little bit.
With nothing left to play for this season. Greene will likely no longer play again until next season. Greene was the starting left field for the Tigers and believes he injured his elbow on a fantastic diving catch against the White Sox on Friday.
Unfortunately, he’ll be on the MLB injury report for the rest of the season with a significant elbow injury. The results of the MRI will come over the next week. Then Greene and the Tigers will figure out plans for Greene for the rest of the season and the offseason to make sure he’s back next season.
Early Odds: RL New York -1.5 (-115), ML New York -240, O/U -115/-105
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
Tuesday, 7:05 pm ET
Alex Faedo vs. Gerrit Cole
The Detroit Tigers haven’t confirmed a starter yet. But Alex Faedo will likely be the man on the mound for the Tigers in the first game. Faedo has watched his last 46 righties’ faces hit a .244 ISO and wOBA of .393. He’s also struck out just 15.2% of righties over the previous month.
The right-hander has been solid against lefties. But he’s not having a great time against righties.
On the other hand, Gerrit Cole will earn another start for the Yankees. He has struck out over 25% of batters in the last month while holding teams to a .287 wOBA. He’s induced nearly 45% of grounders and has limited fly balls and line drives to an above-average MLB rate over the last month.
In the last month, Detroit’s projected lineup has only hit a .161 ISO and wOBA of .310 against righties. The lineup has also struck out 24.9% of the time. That’s never good when going up against a potential 2023 Cy Young candidate in Gerrit Cole.
However, the Yankees’ lineup has a lot of question marks. They’ve got a lot of new faces and young prospects who will take time to develop and produce. New York will get an occasional home run for the young guns, but they’ll still have to rely on the veterans to do most of the damage. New York’s top five batters have hit an ISO of at least .208 against righties in the last 30 days. The other four batters have hit an ISO of no better than .065.
Still, that New York lineup at the top of the order should do enough damage to earn a win with Gerrit Cole on the mound.
The Yankees are currently sitting at -240, with the Tigers at +200. Meanwhile, the total is 8, with the over juiced to -115. I’ve got the Yankees on the runline in Game 1 of the Tigers vs Yankees preview.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
Wednesday, 7:05 pm ET
Matt Manning vs. Clarke Schmidt
Matt Manning will take the ball for Detroit in the second game of the Tigers vs. Yankees preview. Manning has only struck out 11.2% of batters in the last month. However, he’s still held batters to a .124 ISO and wOBA of .242.
Manning has limited line drives to 21.5% and has earned 43% of ground balls in the last month. Those are a couple of reasons he’s been able to perform outstanding analytics.
Manning will battle Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees. Schmidt has held teams to a .186 ISO and wOBA of .350, which isn’t all that good. Lefties have smacked a .167 ISO and wOBA of .430, which is one of the reasons why Schmidt isn’t having the easiest of times.
Suppose the Tigers want to sneak in a win. It’ll have to be against Schmidt in Game 2.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
Thursday, 7:05 pm ET
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Carlos Rodon
Finally, Eduardo Rodriguez will pitch in the finale. It’ll be lefty against lefty in this one. Rodriguez has averaged over 100 pitches per start in the last month. He’s also held teams to a .139 ISO and wOBA of .318, which isn’t all that bad either.
Rodriguez won’t dominate with high strikeouts against righties. But he’s been above average despite his line drive percentage sitting at 31.8% in the last 30 days.
Conversely, it’ll be Carlos Rodon in Game 3 for the Yankees. Rodon is a lefty, allowing a .269 ISO and wOBA of .361 to his last 76 batters. Rodon has allowed 40% of fly balls and has induced just 14% of grounders.
However, the Tigers have only hit a .095 ISO and wOBA of .325 against lefties in the last month. Maybe Rodon will figure things out. The Tigers have been much better at keeping strikeouts down against lefties than righties. Still, the offense lacks power against lefties, with only Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter adding above-average numbers in the last month.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have hit a .251 ISO and wOBA of .314 against lefties last month. DJ LeMahieu, Gleybar Torres, and Anthony Volpe have all hit solid power against lefties in the previous 30 days. I’ll back the Yankees in the potential rubber match.
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