If you drafted any of these Yankees and/or snagged them off the waiver wire early in the season, odds are you’re probably doing very well in your fantasy baseball league.
The following five Yanks entered the season with precious little fantasy fanfare (except for arguably Judge), yet have been explosive over the first month of the season to reward owners handsomely.
Rankings are per Yahoo Sports and in traditional 5×5 format.
Starlin Castro, 2B: Ranked second among second basemen, trailing only Daniel Murphy. Until an 0-for-7 night at the plate last night he led the American League in batting. He’s still hitting .355 with six home runs, 21 RBI and 21 runs scored. He’s ahead of monster names like Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano and Rougned Odor.
Aaron Judge, OF: All he’s done is hit .317 with 13 home runs, 28 RBI, score 28 runs and add a stolen base. If you drafted Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Charlie Blackmon, Giancarlo Stanton or literally anyone other than Bryce Harper over him, you’re regretting that decision right now. Judge is second among outfielder and third overall in fantasy baseball as of this posting.
Aaron Hicks, OF: For a guy who doesn’t even have an everyday place in the lineup, Hicks is still ranked 16th among all outfielders. He’s hit .338 with 6 HR, 15 RBI, 19 runs and five steals. His 38th overall ranking has him higher than Stanton, AJ Pollack, Ryan Braun, Christian Yelich and many other big-name outfielders.
Michael Pineda, SP: Even with a shaky start to the season Pineda is up to 17th among starting pitchers. He’s struck out 43 in 34.2 innings and has his ERA down to 3.12 and WHIP less than one (0.98). He’s currently ranked higher than Yu Darvish, Stephen Strasburg, Zack Greinke, Chris Archer, Noa Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner and countless others.
Luis Severino, SP: As the season started many weren’t confident Severino would even remain in the Yanks rotation past April. He’s proved critics wrong in a huge way and is currently ranked 19th among starting pitchers on the strength of 45 strikeouts in 39.2 innings and a 0.91 WHIP.
Other Yankee Fantasy Rankings:
Aroldis Chapman: 9th among closers.
Chase Headley: 15th among third basemen.
Jacoby Ellsbury: 32nd among outfielders.
Brett Gardner: 31st among outfielders.
Masahiro Tanaka: 69th among starting pitchers (10th over the past 14 days).
Austine Romine: 18th among catchers.