As we have seen in the analysis of the batters’ statistics the Yankees really over-depended on the pitchers in June, and in particular their bullpen.

Obviously, this cannot continue. In a peculiar way, the steady drip, drip, drip, of pitchers returning from injury means that fresh arms are being made available. Some have been out all season (Tommy Kahnle), others for a shorter time (Ian Hamilton). And the return of Carlos Rodon is not too far away.

It seems likely that before the trading deadline, the Yankees will need to bring new offensive and pitching stars. Let’s hope they are able to do so without giving too much away.

Let’s take an overview of which pitchers at least kept the Yankees just below .500 on the month:

* indicates left-handed pitcher. No * indicates right-handed pitcher

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Ian Hamilton rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	1.00
Tommy Kahnle rp	0	0	0.00	11	0	3	0	1	10.2	4	0	0	1	12	0.47
Ron Marinaccio rp	2	1	0.00	8	0	2	0	1	8.1	6	1	0	3	9	1.08
Randy Vasquez sp	1	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	0	5.2	2	0	0	1	3	0.53
Greg Weissert rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	1	0	0	1.1	1.1	0	0	0	2	0.00
Clay Holmes rp	1	0	1.00	9	0	4	0	4	9.0	4	1	1	3	10	0.78
Albert Abreu rp	0	1	1.08	7	0	2	0	0	8.1	7	4	1	1	11	0.96
Jhony Brito sp/rp	1	1	1.59	2	2	0	0	0	11.1	6	2	2	3	5	0.79
Nick Ramirez rp*	0	0	1.86	9	0	1	0	0	9.2	9	2	2	3	9	1.24
Gerrit Cole sp	2	1	2.40	5	5	0	0	0	30.0	28	8	8	5	34	1.10
Jimmy Cordero rp	0	0	2.45	8	0	1	0	0	7.1	3	2	2	4	8	0.95
Clarke Schmidt sp	1	1	3.04	5	5	0	0	0	26.2	26	10	9	7	14	1.24
Wandy Peralta rp*	0	0	3.68	11	0	2	0	1	7.1	6	3	3	6	1	1.64
Isiah Kiner-Falefa of/if/rp	0	0	4.50	2	0	2	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	0	1	1.00
Ryan Weber rp	0	0	4.50	1	0	0	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	0	1	1.00
Domingo German sp	2	2	5.67	5	5	1	1	0	27.0	25	19	17	7	25	1.19
Luis Severino sp	1	2	6.93	5	5	0	0	0	24.2	34	21	19	11	22	1.82
Michael King rp	0	3	6.97	8	0	3	0	2	10.1	11	9	8	4	11	1.45
Matt Krook rp*	0	0	27.00	1	0	0	0	0	1.2	4	5	5	1	0	3.00

Starters

In terms of their starting rotation, the Yankees have an interesting question to answer. Two of the starting pitchers who have done best in June are young arms whom the Yankees don’t seem convinced are ready for the major leagues. Jhony Brito started two games this month. Because of lack of run support he only took one win, but this clearly wasn’t because of a weak performance. Over the two starts, he pitched over 11 innings, with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Despite this, and the fact that starters like Nestor Cortes, Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon were out injured, Brito is bouncing back and forth between the Majors and the Minors. Another in this category, Randy Vasquez spent most of the month at Scranton (Triple-A). When he made an appearance for the Yankees, he also pitched over 5 innings. Notably he only gave up 1 walk and 2 hits, resulting in an exceptional ERA of 0.00, and a 0.53 WHIP.

Gerrit Cole continues to lead the way amongst the four pitchers who pitched regularly. His performances were at times a little uneven, but he still managed 2 wins, 2 no-decisions, and a loss. His ERA of 2.40 makes him one of the few who can stand alongside the exceptional performances of some of those who came out of the bullpen.

Clarke Schmidt is coming up with better outcomes than he did in the earlier months of the season, but exactly how is still a question. His ERA of 3.04 tells one story (1 win, 1 loss, three no-decisions), but the 26 hits in 26.2 innings tells another. His WHIP of 1.24 tells a truer story, and the question remains how he will fare in the second half, if the relievers’ arms become over-tired by over-used.

The big story of the month is obviously Domingo German who bounced back from supsension to pitch a perfect game – the fourth in Yankee history, more than any other team in MLB. He showed grit and determination, as he followed Don Larsen (1956 World Series), David Wells (1998), David Cone (1999) in this tremendous feat. Now, it is notable that each of these four pitchers had quite a controversial tenure in one way or another, and I’m guessing that if the Yankee faithful had their choice of a pitcher to bring about this amazing feat it probably wouldn’t be German. And other than this game, he had a poor month meaning that even with 9 hitless, scoreless innings, his ERA was still at 5.67 and a WHIP of 1.19. What will happen next in this pitcher’s career?

And then… Luis Severino. Severino is a mystery to me. He complained that the Yankees were holding him back, when he wanted to be restored to the active roster and they didn’t think he was ready. Then, they put him back on the roster and he played two good games which seemed to back his argument. But since then it has all fallen apart. In June, he started 5 games, and made 1 win, 2 losses, and 2 no-decisions. If that was the whole story, things wouldn’t seem so bad, However, the 6.93 ERA (worst amongst regularly used pitchers), and perhaps even more significantly a 1.82 WHIP (worst among regularly used pitchers), paints the bigger picture. 34 hits in 24.2 innings… 11 walks… and an average of less than 5 innings per outing. Rest him? send him for medical tests??? I don’t know, but he can’t go on like this…

Relievers

And in the midst of all this mess, the bullpen is a tower of strength.

Four relievers, appearing in 21 games, maintained an individual zero ERA across the whole month. Amongst these was Ian Hamilton just returning from injury, and Greg Weissert on a short call-up and return to the Bronx from Scranton.

This leaves two regular pitchers who were exceptional. First, Ron Marinaccio who only made his debut in 2022. In June, across 8 appearances, he didn’t give up an earned run, but freakily somehow managed to take a loss in the game at Yankee Stadium against the Boston Red Sox. A fielding error by Gleyber Torres cost the Yankees the game, and because Marinaccio was on the mound at the time it gave him the loss, even though he didn’t give up the run. He pitched 8 1/3 innings over the month, and was a mainstay of the relief corps.

Perhaps even better was Tommy Kahnle. Kahnle is in his second stint with the Bronx Bombers. He started the season with an injury that kept him unavailable through March, April, May, and the first day of June. Just when the fans were groaning about another potential bad signing, he stepped in to his role on the 2nd of June to pitch versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. 10 appearances later, he still hadn’t given up a run and those 11 appearances make it possible that he will set a record for the Yankees for appearances without giving up a run. This larger-than-life clubhouse presence is proving an even larger presence on the mound. He has given up only 4 hits, and 1 walk. His 0.47 WHIP means that he leads the team on the month for any player who has appeared in more than one game. Outstanding!

Clay Holmes has bounced back and consequently is now the most-of-the-time closer once more. June figures – 1 win and 4 saves, only one unearned run conceded. On the month, he also threw into the mix a 1.00 ERA, and a 0.78 WHIP. Now, if he can also add a little more consistency he will a key member of this bullpen. The Yankees just need him to be reliable.

Speaking of reliability problems, Albert Abreu had a good month, with a WHIP of less than one… but how will it be in July?

Nick Ramirez has advanced. Not too long ago, this journeyman reliever, who didn’t pitch at all in the majors last year, was expected to spend most of the year in the minors. In June, all that changed, and he pitched in 9 games (more than all the other months of the season combined prior to June), he pitched 9.2 innings for a 1.86 ERA. The WHIP is a little high, but more opportunities might fix that.

Jimmy Cordero had a really good month, – part of his best season of his career so far. However, whispers are saying that the season for him might be coming to a crashing and sudden end. More on this as soon as we know.

Wandy Peralta and Michael King who have had good seasons, so far, rather lost their way in June. of the regulars, Peralta had the worst WHIP of anybody coming out of the bullpen (1.64), and King had the second worst (1.45) – all the more surprising for two pitchers who had been so consistent in 2023, especially as the rest of the bullpen was so good.

And then two unusual figures making two appearances each. Isiah Kiner Falefa has played in the outfield and the infield, but few expected him to be coming in to provide pitching relief. You may remember that in a laugher in April, he made his debut in this role. Two more appearances in June have followed. The first June outing in this role saw him struggle. The second was better. It’s just somebody soaking up innings when the bullpen is flagging, and the team is getting slaughtered, but it is an interesting curiosity.

Finally, Matt Krook, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2016, also made two appearances including his debut. After the Giants traded him to Tampa Bay Rays, he spent time in their farm system. He joined the Yankees on the Rule 5 draft in time for the 2021 season. His performances in the minors in 2021 and 2022 suggested he might have a future. Howeverwhen promoted in 2023, in these two performances, he has been dreadful. Only the first game comes in this period, so I’ll leave the second alone – but let’s just say the performance on the 1st of July was no better than the first. In June, he gave up 5 runs in 1.2 innings to the tune of a 27.00 ERA, and a 3.00 WHIP. I’d like to believe it’s going to get better, but my gut tells me the likelihood is that it is not.